Bush Overpaid Banks $78 Billion in Bailout

Ya, but God forbid that we should bailout the auto industries.

Well, I think that's probably just partisan, sorry. The whole idea was to save these firms, and paying whatever the market then supported wasn't going to help a bit. They could have gotten that price from anyone, sorry. That's not to say this wasn't a Bush giveaway to his rich Wall Street base, just that if you accepted the premise of the bailout, which I didn't, but apparently many did, it's hardly surprising.

Um, A democrat congress had a hand in this the bailouts. Now the democrat congress is looking stupid, in my opinion, because the banks are mismanaging the money. Citi Group and Bank of America come to mind.

Seems Bush was forced to start a Democrat Agenda before he was out of office.

And I'm sure Pelosi and her knowledge of numbers didn't have anything to do with it, why not just put the blame on her, and her bad math and knowledge of numbers.

I think the democrats are looking for a scapegoat and they will continue to bash Bush now that their 'god' is coming under fire.

He already admitted, under pressure, that the stimulus bill was nothing more than a package for spending.

Its no surprise that the GOP is balking at every move he makes and so far in this term, I have supported most of their efforts.

I still feel that Obama was and is a mistake.
Mooch

mooch,
You are, and apparently have been, blind to the realities of the situation. This was a Bush pushed program, passed by a congress in bipartisan numbers, that were told we HAD to do something, and had to do it NOW, to stop the slide of the economy in the toilet. Trying to put the blame on democrats is like saying the moon went down, and that's the democrats fault. Could you be any more obtuse?

Lex, when it stops being Bush's fault, we will stop blaming him, but on the economy, and it's slide to the toilet, Idoubt that's ever going to happen, for obvious reasons.

Well, obvious to everyone but you and apparently, Mooch. There's probably a few other wingnuts that will chime in, as well, but I repeat, the Bush Administration sold this to EVERYONE. IT was their baby, and if anyone has to accept egg on their faces, they need to step up first. I get so tired of Republican and Democrats trying to redefine history. It's pathetic, in my book. History is what it is, and all the spin doesn't say a damn thing except how biased you are.

"I still feel that Obama was and is a mistake." Mooch

That's why it is always better to think than to feel in matters of importance.

In that case Sandy
Not only do I feel that Obama is a Mistake, I also THINK he is a mistake.

Thanks, Mooch. It's always nice to know that you are just plain wrong, and not in some sort of emotional fog.

I know you hate these Sandy, but LOL.

Can I say I'm surprised? Nope. I will repeat this.. Worst President Ever.

It was Bush appointees who doled out the money without caring how it was spent.

This was already posted.

Didn't see it Jack.

It's bad enough that it was our tax money going to these people, but to give them an extra $78 billion is hard to swallow...

Here is my solution, I would propose that we give every employer who hires a new employee $20,000 to $30,000 per new hire (no laying people off for a year), that would still cost at most $75 billion (assuming 3 million unemployed today). Or just give $30,000 tax credit for each home purchased in the next 12 months (1 million homes), costing only $30 billion. So for one year cost of about $100 billion, we can put people back to work, and bring housing industry back to life.

Read my post "Jeff's Editorial #31"

Thanks, Jeff. The tax credit for buying a new home is already in the stimulus package. And I like the idea of giving companies money to hire, but it has to be monitored. Too many companies would just give it to their executives I think.

Yes, the tax credit for buying a new home is in this proposed stimulus bill. That's the problem. There are so many hands touching this money (must be FHA, oversight, etc.) that it will probably cost $100K per home inside this stimulus bill. This Congress is addicted to control of our tax money.

That's the reason I am suggesting that Congress not touch this money, put $30K directly in the hands of consumers through tax credit with no strings attached (very little overhead), so that the tax credit can be opened up to anyone who buys a new or used home (as long as you have sufficient downpayment of at least 10%), and that we are not going back to the same mortgage problem that we experienced in the last 2 years.

This idea will never materialize because this Congress cannot accept money with no control.

Jeff, if you limit it to only those who pay 10% down a lot of people will not get it because so many people have lost savings. And perhaps you are right that it shouldn't be in this bill. But I think they're trying to get as much done as possible at one time.

Carla, the number should not be 0% down. People who put nothing down are the losers who created this mess. This is a turning point for America when we should take personal repsonsibility for the decisions we make. Yes, there are many people who lost a chunk of money, but there are more people now that are sitting on the sideline (like me) who have cash that they want to invest in something that will go up in value. The next target is the housing market.