Cost Of Bailout Hits A Whopping $24 Trillion Dollars

Phtha · 07-20-2009, 11:23 PM

Tragicomedy!!

According to the watchdog overseeing the federal government’s financial bailout program, the full exposure since 2007 amounts to a whopping $23.7 trillion dollars, or $80,000 for every American citizen.

The last time we were able to get a measure of the total cost of the bailout, it stood at around $8.5 trillion dollars. Eight months down the line and that figure has almost tripled.

The $23.7 trillion figure comprises “about 50 initiatives and programs set up by the Bush and Obama administrations as well as by the Federal Reserve,” according to the Associated Press.

In testimony which will be delivered to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee tomorrow, Neil Barofsky, the inspector general for the TARP, will tell Congress that “the Treasury Department has repeatedly failed to adopt recommendations aimed at making the TARP program more accountable and transparent.”

According to Barofsky, taxpayers are in the dark as to who has received the money and what they are doing with it.

As we have repeatedly highlighted, the destination of some $2 trillion in TARP funds was the subject of a lawsuit filed by Bloomberg late last year after the Fed refused to disclose the recipients. The suit is still ongoing as Bloomberg attempts to discover names of private financial institutions that received the money.

The American people will ultimately pick up the tab as their dollar is devalued because the Fed lends the money from its own balance sheet or essentially just prints more money, as a San Francisco Chronicle article explained last year.

Wages will not keep pace with inflation and if we add to the equation the raft of new taxes being introduced by the Obama administration, the consequences are clear – another lowering of the living standard for millions of middle class Americans.

Meanwhile, Henry Paulson, one of the chief architects of the bailout and the man who committed financial terrorism by threatening the Congress with martial law and food riots if they didn’t pass the initial TARP package, brazenly pockets $200,000 in Goldman Sachs profits tax free while handing out billions in ill-gotten gains to his bankster buddies, all this after he pulled a bait and switch by changing the entire focus of the bailout from buying up toxic debt to giving money directly to financial institutions.

We dread to think what the bailout figure will be in another eight months. Will it triple again to $70 trillion dollars? How about $100 trillion dollars?

The only thing that can bring an end to the wanton looting is Ron Paul’s bill to audit the Fed, which has received overwhelming support in the House but is being blocked by the bought and paid for traitors in the Senate who would rather see a continuation of the grand larceny rather than real accountability and transparency.

Monday, July 20, 2009
http://www.infowars.com/cost-of-bail...llion-dollars/

peaceandlove · 07-21-2009, 08:48 AM

Goverment's Potential Wall Street, Bank Support $24 T

Jul 20 01:16 PM US/Eastern
By JIM KUHNHENN
Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) - The watchdog overseeing the federal government financial bailout says the government's maximum exposure to financial institutions since 2007 could total nearly $24 trillion, or about $80,000 for every American.

The whopping amount compiled by the inspector general for the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program takes into account about 50 initiatives and programs set up by the Bush and Obama administrations as well as by the Federal Reserve.

Many of the programs are backed by collateral and the $23.7 trillion represents the gross, not net, exposure that the government could face. No one has suggested that the full amount, in fact, will be used.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

WASHINGTON (AP)—The government's main watchdog over the federal financial bailout says the Treasury Department has repeatedly failed to adopt recommendations aimed at making the $700 billion program more accountable and transparent.

Neil Barofsky (buh-RAHF'-skee), the inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, says in a report to Congress that Treasury's inaction means taxpayers have not been told what the financial institutions that have received assistance are doing with the money.

Barofsky's conclusion is contained in testimony he is prepared to give Tuesday to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

SOURCE and COMMENTS: http://www.campaignforliberty.com/wire.php?view=6572

peaceandlove · 07-21-2009, 10:42 AM

Karl, your soooo funny!!!

Monday, July 20. 2009
Posted by Karl Denninger

TWENTY-FOUR TRILLION DOLLARS?!

Ex-freaking-scuse me? http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/...009-07-20.html

Barofsky said that while the TARP program that Congress passed amounts to $700 billion, the total federal government support since 2007 for the economy and the financial sector could reach a far higher figure of $23.7 trillion. The government has committed significantly more money through a variety of other federal agencies and programs.

WHAT?!

$23.7 trillion dollars?

Where was the Congressional appropriation for that?

This is blatantly unconstitutional folks. We're talking about nearly double the nation's GDP in debt commitments and more than 33 times the amount authorized by Congress.

Oh, and it gets worse:

Meanwhile, Barofsky's office has opened 35 criminal and civil investigations into issues including suspected accounting fraud, securities fraud, insider trading, mortgage servicer misconduct, mortgage fraud, public corruption, false statements and taxes.

That's right, we have 35 criminal investigations connected to this nearly $24 trillion dollars of largesse too, and that's only what Mr. Barofsky knows about. Anyone care to gander about what's hidden from him? Oh wait - we got a problem there too:

"Treasury’s continued unwillingness to provide basic transparency despite the many recommendations of SIGTARP and Congress and the repeated demonstration that meaningful data from TARP recipients can be gathered and easily disseminated is unacceptable," said a memo prepared by Republicans on the oversight committee.

Hello Richard Nixon! Bailoutgate anyone? Obstruction?

Shall we continue?

This is outrageous and threatens the very stability of our nation. How anyone can believe our banking system or indeed our nation's Treasury can survive the exposure of $24 trillion dollars, twice our GDP, is beyond me.

We most certainly cannot, and when (not if) our creditors and lenders, including China and Japan, wise up to what's going on here the game will quite literally be over, perhaps as soon as "right now."

A couple of market technicians have noted certain "patterns" in the market that have potential downside targets of zero. That sort of thing normally results in a loud guffaw from me - even though I'm bearish I'm not that bearish - I couldn't imagine anything short of global thermonuclear war, ala "Joshua", that could lead to such an outcome.

Well I think I just found something purely economic that could lead to that outcome, and its right here.

Congress is all we have left - they need to take control of this problem right here and now, revoke the authorization for this ersatz spending commitment immediately, and appoint a whole passel of special prosecutors to start issuing indictments to everyone involved in this outrage.

We need cops and we need 'em right now before our creditors decide to cut off our credit card and destroy this nation's economy and government - a decision that they could make literally at any time.

SOURCE: http://market-ticker.denninger.net/a...-DOLLARS!.html

peaceandlove · 07-21-2009, 11:03 AM

Monday, July 20. 2009
Posted by Karl Denninger

More 30% Trouble

Excerpt:

Then there was this: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p...d=aPilD2Deb2bg

July 20 (Bloomberg) -- Advanta Corp., the credit-card company that cut off almost 1 million small-business accounts after posting three quarterly losses, said the default rate more than doubled in June from May to 56.95 percent.

Excuse me? 57% delinquent credit cards among small business? You mean to tell me that nearly six out of ten small business accounts can't pay their bills? This is bullish? Small business provide the bulk of job and economic growth - how are they going to do that when 6 out of 10 can't pay their credit card bills?

Ignore the idiots, look at the trends and what CEOs are telling you: There is no recovery evident in the economy; at best expectations are that things are flattening out, but they're flattening out down THIRTY PERCENT from where they were a year ago and THIRTY TO FORTY PERCENT FROM THE TOP!

There is no recovery in sight and you are once again being led down the primrose path by those who have repeatedly misled you through The Internet Bubble and then The Housing Bubble, and now they're desperately trying to get you to buy stocks from those institutional players who desperately need you to take them - before prices one again crash lower, sticking them (instead of you) with the loss.

Don't fall for it.

If you're going to call these sorts of results "green shoots" you first need to get the Federal Government to legalize marijuana so you don't get arrested for smoking them.

Complete Commentary: http://market-ticker.denninger.net/a...5-Trouble.html

peaceandlove · 07-21-2009, 11:10 AM

Not to go

but as a response to Karl's commentary.

This at Catherine Austin Fitts' blog:

Calif. tax officials: Legal pot would bring $1.4B

By MARCUS WOHLSEN, Associated Press Writer – Wed Jul 15, 9:14 pm ET

SAN FRANCISCO – A bill to tax and regulate marijuana in California like alcohol would generate nearly $1.4 billion in revenue for the cash-strapped state, according to an official analysis released Wednesday by tax officials.

The State Board of Equalization report estimates marijuana retail sales would bring $990 million from a $50-per-ounce fee and $392 million in sales taxes.

The bill introduced by San Francisco Democratic Assemblyman Tom Ammiano in February would allow adults 21 and older to legally possess, grow and sell marijuana.

Continues: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090716/...arijuana_taxes

SOURCE: http://solari.com/blog/

07-20-2009, 11:23 PM	#1
Phtha Avalon Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 947	Cost Of Bailout Hits A Whopping $24 Trillion Dollars Tragicomedy!! According to the watchdog overseeing the federal government’s financial bailout program, the full exposure since 2007 amounts to a whopping $23.7 trillion dollars, or $80,000 for every American citizen. The last time we were able to get a measure of the total cost of the bailout, it stood at around $8.5 trillion dollars. Eight months down the line and that figure has almost tripled. The $23.7 trillion figure comprises “about 50 initiatives and programs set up by the Bush and Obama administrations as well as by the Federal Reserve,” according to the Associated Press. In testimony which will be delivered to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee tomorrow, Neil Barofsky, the inspector general for the TARP, will tell Congress that “the Treasury Department has repeatedly failed to adopt recommendations aimed at making the TARP program more accountable and transparent.” According to Barofsky, taxpayers are in the dark as to who has received the money and what they are doing with it. As we have repeatedly highlighted, the destination of some $2 trillion in TARP funds was the subject of a lawsuit filed by Bloomberg late last year after the Fed refused to disclose the recipients. The suit is still ongoing as Bloomberg attempts to discover names of private financial institutions that received the money. The American people will ultimately pick up the tab as their dollar is devalued because the Fed lends the money from its own balance sheet or essentially just prints more money, as a San Francisco Chronicle article explained last year. Wages will not keep pace with inflation and if we add to the equation the raft of new taxes being introduced by the Obama administration, the consequences are clear – another lowering of the living standard for millions of middle class Americans. Meanwhile, Henry Paulson, one of the chief architects of the bailout and the man who committed financial terrorism by threatening the Congress with martial law and food riots if they didn’t pass the initial TARP package, brazenly pockets $200,000 in Goldman Sachs profits tax free while handing out billions in ill-gotten gains to his bankster buddies, all this after he pulled a bait and switch by changing the entire focus of the bailout from buying up toxic debt to giving money directly to financial institutions. We dread to think what the bailout figure will be in another eight months. Will it triple again to $70 trillion dollars? How about $100 trillion dollars? The only thing that can bring an end to the wanton looting is Ron Paul’s bill to audit the Fed, which has received overwhelming support in the House but is being blocked by the bought and paid for traitors in the Senate who would rather see a continuation of the grand larceny rather than real accountability and transparency. Monday, July 20, 2009 http://www.infowars.com/cost-of-bail...llion-dollars/

07-21-2009, 08:48 AM	#2
peaceandlove Avalon Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Turtle Island Posts: 2,776	Re: Cost Of Bailout Hits A Whopping $24 Trillion Dollars Goverment's Potential Wall Street, Bank Support $24 T Jul 20 01:16 PM US/Eastern By JIM KUHNHENN Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) - The watchdog overseeing the federal government financial bailout says the government's maximum exposure to financial institutions since 2007 could total nearly $24 trillion, or about $80,000 for every American. The whopping amount compiled by the inspector general for the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program takes into account about 50 initiatives and programs set up by the Bush and Obama administrations as well as by the Federal Reserve. Many of the programs are backed by collateral and the $23.7 trillion represents the gross, not net, exposure that the government could face. No one has suggested that the full amount, in fact, will be used. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below. WASHINGTON (AP)—The government's main watchdog over the federal financial bailout says the Treasury Department has repeatedly failed to adopt recommendations aimed at making the $700 billion program more accountable and transparent. Neil Barofsky (buh-RAHF'-skee), the inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, says in a report to Congress that Treasury's inaction means taxpayers have not been told what the financial institutions that have received assistance are doing with the money. Barofsky's conclusion is contained in testimony he is prepared to give Tuesday to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. SOURCE and COMMENTS: http://www.campaignforliberty.com/wire.php?view=6572

07-21-2009, 10:42 AM	#3
peaceandlove Avalon Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Turtle Island Posts: 2,776	Re: Cost Of Bailout Hits A Whopping $24 Trillion Dollars Karl, your soooo funny!!! Monday, July 20. 2009 Posted by Karl Denninger TWENTY-FOUR TRILLION DOLLARS?! Ex-freaking-scuse me? http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/...009-07-20.html Barofsky said that while the TARP program that Congress passed amounts to $700 billion, the total federal government support since 2007 for the economy and the financial sector could reach a far higher figure of $23.7 trillion. The government has committed significantly more money through a variety of other federal agencies and programs. WHAT?! $23.7 trillion dollars? Where was the Congressional appropriation for that? This is blatantly unconstitutional folks. We're talking about nearly double the nation's GDP in debt commitments and more than 33 times the amount authorized by Congress. Oh, and it gets worse: Meanwhile, Barofsky's office has opened 35 criminal and civil investigations into issues including suspected accounting fraud, securities fraud, insider trading, mortgage servicer misconduct, mortgage fraud, public corruption, false statements and taxes. That's right, we have 35 criminal investigations connected to this nearly $24 trillion dollars of largesse too, and that's only what Mr. Barofsky knows about. Anyone care to gander about what's hidden from him? Oh wait - we got a problem there too: "Treasury’s continued unwillingness to provide basic transparency despite the many recommendations of SIGTARP and Congress and the repeated demonstration that meaningful data from TARP recipients can be gathered and easily disseminated is unacceptable," said a memo prepared by Republicans on the oversight committee. Hello Richard Nixon! Bailoutgate anyone? Obstruction? Shall we continue? This is outrageous and threatens the very stability of our nation. How anyone can believe our banking system or indeed our nation's Treasury can survive the exposure of $24 trillion dollars, twice our GDP, is beyond me. We most certainly cannot, and when (not if) our creditors and lenders, including China and Japan, wise up to what's going on here the game will quite literally be over, perhaps as soon as "right now." A couple of market technicians have noted certain "patterns" in the market that have potential downside targets of zero. That sort of thing normally results in a loud guffaw from me - even though I'm bearish I'm not that bearish - I couldn't imagine anything short of global thermonuclear war, ala "Joshua", that could lead to such an outcome. Well I think I just found something purely economic that could lead to that outcome, and its right here. Congress is all we have left - they need to take control of this problem right here and now, revoke the authorization for this ersatz spending commitment immediately, and appoint a whole passel of special prosecutors to start issuing indictments to everyone involved in this outrage. We need cops and we need 'em right now before our creditors decide to cut off our credit card and destroy this nation's economy and government - a decision that they could make literally at any time. SOURCE: http://market-ticker.denninger.net/a...-DOLLARS!.html Last edited by peaceandlove; 07-21-2009 at 10:57 AM.

07-21-2009, 11:03 AM	#4
peaceandlove Avalon Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Turtle Island Posts: 2,776	Re: Cost Of Bailout Hits A Whopping $24 Trillion Dollars Monday, July 20. 2009 Posted by Karl Denninger More 30% Trouble Excerpt: Then there was this: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p...d=aPilD2Deb2bg July 20 (Bloomberg) -- Advanta Corp., the credit-card company that cut off almost 1 million small-business accounts after posting three quarterly losses, said the default rate more than doubled in June from May to 56.95 percent. Excuse me? 57% delinquent credit cards among small business? You mean to tell me that nearly six out of ten small business accounts can't pay their bills? This is bullish? Small business provide the bulk of job and economic growth - how are they going to do that when 6 out of 10 can't pay their credit card bills? Ignore the idiots, look at the trends and what CEOs are telling you: There is no recovery evident in the economy; at best expectations are that things are flattening out, but they're flattening out down THIRTY PERCENT from where they were a year ago and THIRTY TO FORTY PERCENT FROM THE TOP! There is no recovery in sight and you are once again being led down the primrose path by those who have repeatedly misled you through The Internet Bubble and then The Housing Bubble, and now they're desperately trying to get you to buy stocks from those institutional players who desperately need you to take them - before prices one again crash lower, sticking them (instead of you) with the loss. Don't fall for it. If you're going to call these sorts of results "green shoots" you first need to get the Federal Government to legalize marijuana so you don't get arrested for smoking them. Complete Commentary: http://market-ticker.denninger.net/a...5-Trouble.html Last edited by peaceandlove; 07-21-2009 at 11:13 AM.

07-21-2009, 11:10 AM	#5
peaceandlove Avalon Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Turtle Island Posts: 2,776	Re: Cost Of Bailout Hits A Whopping $24 Trillion Dollars Not to go but as a response to Karl's commentary. This at Catherine Austin Fitts' blog: Calif. tax officials: Legal pot would bring $1.4B By MARCUS WOHLSEN, Associated Press Writer – Wed Jul 15, 9:14 pm ET SAN FRANCISCO – A bill to tax and regulate marijuana in California like alcohol would generate nearly $1.4 billion in revenue for the cash-strapped state, according to an official analysis released Wednesday by tax officials. The State Board of Equalization report estimates marijuana retail sales would bring $990 million from a $50-per-ounce fee and $392 million in sales taxes. The bill introduced by San Francisco Democratic Assemblyman Tom Ammiano in February would allow adults 21 and older to legally possess, grow and sell marijuana. Continues: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090716/...arijuana_taxes SOURCE: http://solari.com/blog/