since the core financial problem lies in Housing. the best way to overcome the housing woes and to revive the total economic activity is reduce mortgage rates across the board to 3% on 30 year fixed.every one having a house / condo / investment property will immediately refinance and there will be massive financial activity in the market.the banks and financial institutions have already taken billions of tax payer bail outs so that they can shoulder the drop in revenue they will face with lower interst rate of 3% they will charge now.

What they are not telling us is that they have looted social security. Bush wanted to get rid of social security to begin with, then opted for privatization, which failed to pass. Now, he has taken it and used it for the bailout. Watch it unravel. He should be hung from the highest tree.

The quandary and delima is that since the American people were DEFRAUDED by deception, they are NOT going to have faith and confidence in the market UNTIL FULL DISCLOSURE IS PROVIDED.

I agree that the impact of full disclosure will create (well deserved) difficulties for some of the corporations. However, FEW people are willing to allow themsleves to be sucked into a second fraudulent bashing. I'm not going to invest in a "pig n a poke" . . . not after all of the major corporations that have failed. There are NO GUARANTEES . . . why would I risk my "principle" in a risky investment without adequate information to make an intelligent investment.

The obvious TRUTH is that the government doesn't think that the nation can afford to know the truth . . . that should concern EVERY American. If that is there truth, then "recovery" may take several decades.

This entire bailout process is nothing more than an ill disquised charade to preserve the salaries and bonuses of the financial 'mental midgets' that caused the problems in the first place.

Where are the cries from Congress to have these masterminds of finance, with all their MBA's, etc., dragged before investigating committees in the same manner as the Enron, WorldCom, etc. CEO's, CFO's? I hear no cries from members of Congress to recoup some of this 'ill-gotten' income to lesson the amount that these people have accumulated as the result of breeching their fiduciary responsibility.

Congress continues its utter stupidity with the same reckless abandon they exhibited when they were first confronted with the Freddie and Fannie problem over two years ago.

The answer, according to these intellectual geniuses is to 'sack' the taxpayer with the bill, all in the name of saving the economy.

This last six months has been an enlightening revelation which reads something along these lines: If you mismanage your business and it goes broke, if you have purchased a house without the means to pay for it, or for that matter an automobile, do not worry for 'Big Brother' will forgive your stupidity and either force your lender to refinance at a lower (and liveable, for you) rate or they will negate your responsibility altogether and absolve your liability(s).

Now the taxpayers will be told we have to 'bail out' the Big Three automakers and in the process we will be 'forced' to forgive their past 25 years of total mismanagement.

Perhaps before this comes to a final resolution we (taxpayers) shall all be reimbursed a minimum of $100,000 per person because we have been dumb enough to allow these dumb people to represent us, both in business and in government.

They get paid for being dumb, why shouldn't we?

Helen, between the TRILLION+ spent on the war in Iraq so far, the $750 Billion+ on the Bailout so far, and the projected costs of 7-15 TRILLION service costs on the current DEFICIT, I would say that you are unequivocally correct that, in essence, Social Security has been bankrupted, as has our economy. Our government unquestionably feels that they cannot "afford" to give the American people the truth in all of this.

You won't hear from Congress, just like Obama, they demanded the inner city folk be included in these loans, knowing full well they could never pay or qualify for one. It got them re-elected in their districts, it helped to get Obama elected, and that's why no media coverage of facts of RE bailout the vast majority of defaulted properties were from the inner city. Can't bring that up, they'll call you a racist. Who cares if they can't deal with their own reality, that's pretty sad.

democracy what a wonderful name to give to secrecy. maybe socialism will be better for all. a government that lies to its people is doomed and should be replaced by some other form of government. when will they start killing citizens for their benefit. an incompetent government is to blame for all of this and the public has allowed it. time for a major change in our system.

The Iraq was has been expensive, yes, but the money spent on the war has gone into US industries for such items as weaponry, clothing, munitions, trucks, tanks, salaries for those serving in the armed forces, and on and on. This new spending is really payoffs of $1Trillion which will be going to a select few people and not into the economy but to BMW and Mercedes (European car makers) for their bonus cars, vacations in the Caymens, Italy, Europe, etc. and for he select few senior executive salaries of $15 M each, their $650,000 bonuses (for over 1000+ people) as well as paybacks for the $1 Billion these people paid to elect Obama for president and to foreign oil interests such as OPEC for their contribution to elect a Democrat majority. It does not take many single expenditures of $10 million each to add up to $1 Trillion US dollars.

Aren't you happy you voted Democrat? Now you can see your tax dollars go out of country as fast as the wire transfers can be written up and sent.

They should be shot.

crooked government

Why doesn't the government give its taxpayers the money it gave the companies who outsmarted themselves with greedy manipulations?
If 2 Trillion dollars would be divided among its citizens instead of the wayward businesses, then we will assuredly spend it on cars, on taxes, on food, on buying houses and still put money in the bank and purchase stocks.
The citizens of U.S.A. would make sure that the money would start circulating and make this sluggish economy move on all cylinders again.
Give me my share of the money and I'll promise to spend it in such a way to have a boom in the economy.

Say it ain't so, Ben. At worst, the loans might have been rolled over by the Fed, but don't tell me there's $2 Trillion in loans due, since that number far exceeds the total amount of toxic CDO's and other mortgage collateral, excluding, of course, credit default swaps. If the Fed has been rolling the dice with credit default swaps, adios amigos to the economy as we have known it.

I have somany questions that go unanswered. Why do bank's only fall on the weekend and companies are the one's that file Bankruptcy on the weekend? This happens before the investor know's the wiser. He wakes up Monday morning a poor man and this is somehow legal in our great land in our land of democracy. the truth will never be told because we just won't take that news lying down and they know it. Why do our investors continue in such a market like this and throw their monday at wall Street when it is so tainted? Was Obama hired as our President fall guy sort of like Beneke and why did these guys accept the job? Why does our congress just stand there and why did the republicans give up the seat for president when they didn't have to? Why dowe throw huge amounts of money at companies that we know will fall after all is said and done

11-10-2008 @ 1:34PM

Helen said...
What they are not telling us is that they have looted social security.

Helen, how could this have come to pass? I understand that there is about $2.2 trillion in surplus in the OASDI surplus fund, but that it is in the form of NON-NEGOTIABLE Treasury notes. Can these be converted to negotiables?

The word is that they used that money to prop up the stock market in the last few months !!!!! Remember those UNEXPLAINED rallies !!

Anybody has any insight ???

The baby boomers will no longer be running this country. Gen X is taking over. It pisses me me off that the mess we are left with. I honestly think that there is no way that current financial system can continue. The Fed prints this money out of thin air and then goes and charges interest on it. Down with the Fed. How many people really know that the Fed is not even a govt. institution? It is a private bank whose stock can only be inherited and not sold. All those share holders of the Fed are the ones that created this financial mess. Maybe the Govt. should make the fed issue its stock publicly. If I could by stock in the fed, I'm sure it wouldn't bother me with all of these "fed" bailouts. And why in the hell is the govt. still not helping the homeowner who cannot get a decent mortgage because of forces beyond their control?

BUSHED!!! ALL THE MONEY WENT TO THE NEO-NAZI BUSH FAMILY. IT WENT TO ALL THEIR NEO-CON FRIENDS. P*SS ON THE COMMON MAN. THEY CAN ALL GO AND BUY ISLANDS TO LIVE ON. THIS IS ALL DUE TO THE REPUBLICANS, DELETING ALL REGULATION INTO A FREE FOR ALL OF MONEY GRUBING FRIENDS ON WALL STREET.

The following people need to be tried and convicted of treason with the appropriate penalties:

1. Barney Frank (Keeper of FNM and FRE).
2. Alan Greenspan for allowing the issuance of credit and derivatives with reckless oversight.
3. Ben Bernanke for continuing Greenspan policies.
4. Henry Paulson for opening government coffers to help the private sector, in particular GS, AIG, and others.
5. W for being a dumb ass.
6. The heads of every Fortune 1000 bank for giving loans to undeserving people.
7. Every borrower who knowingly lied on their applications for loans.
8. Every real estate appraisor who inflated property values.
9. Every mortgage broker who knowingly assisted in this fraud.
10. Every member of Obama's and McCain's campaigns, including the namesakes, for not providing clear answers to the future solution and for being part of the problem.

In Algebra it possible to make a 0 = 10 or any other number, or divide by 0 allowing for substitution of course. That is what we have with all these bailouts 'worthless dollars' being used to off set big fat zeros followed by many corporation and companies intertwined by loose regulations. The value of the dollar is like that of GM stock=0. So we find that GM is spending 75 million per month and the fed is spending 1000 times per month. Government for the people and by the people has been squeezed into a thimble where only an echo is heard. U. S. citizens should be so darn mad that a loud shout to close the FED reserve (private bank) and make congress do their own work for a change in regulation of our currency should me made by faxes, and any other means possible. OH I forgot that the pres elect will make it all go away with his change for America, Yes we can. There won't be any change left to make if the economy, finance, and jobless Americans have nothing to grab on to. Yes Hope is all that will be left and that can't buy a slice of apple pie. The only salvation left will be the Bible for one to follow. This is the true hope, where we lay up our treasures in Heaven. As this world is distend to be destroyed by God almighty. The judgment day is coming and now we see the growth of panic, first it is the finances, then the economy, then the nation and where will it end.

Buy Gold and Silver!!!