Could you use an extra $23,545?

[KansDem]

If the secret “loans” given to the bankers and brokers ($7.77 trillion)] were divided up among Americans, every man, woman and child would receive $23,545. Oh, of course this would be a loan and the interest rate would be 0.01%, just like the bankers and brokers got.

http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2011/11/28/376430/wall-street-banks-fed-loans-secret/?mobile=nc


But just imagine: a family of four would receive $94,180 to do with what they want.

Just a sampling:
--Pay off student loans (imagine how much more you’d have each month)
--Pay for college for children (imagine no student loans)
--Get out of foreclosures (imagine no “program” to sell bundled foreclosures to investors-turned-landlords).
--Buy a house (imagine no more rent)
--Pay off credit cards (imagine how much more you'd have each month!)
--Find extra care for needy family members (A good friend of mine had a major stroke last February. He’s on disability now and his wife takes care him every minute she’s home from work. They barely have the funds for an in-home care provider why she’s at work. Total cost for 24 hour-a-day/7 days-a-week care? $5,000 a month. Imagine that they could purchase in-home care for ten years).
--Buy a new car (imagine no more clunker to have repaired regularly).
--Have a medical or dental procedure done that you’ve been putting off because you didn’t have the money (imagine braces for your children's teeth).
--Invest in your retirement (imagine a day you could really retire!)

But imagine the boost to the economy when all these Americans start buying products and services.

But remember! This is not a give-away! This is a loan that you’ll have to pay back at 0.01%!

Oh, and you don't have to borrow the full amount. Just the amount you'll be needing.

[villager]

1. Why, why, why... that's Communism!

They'll need to start a file on you!

(Oh wait: They already have... )

[KansDem]

4. Say, are you pronouncing that word correctly?

Real American patriots pronounce "communism" the way J. Edgar Hoover did!

"COM-mi-nism"

And remember...this is a loan, not a give-away!

[villager]

5. You've found me out. My pronunciation tips that I'm an effete, over-educated egghead, and thus

... a clear and present danger to the state!

[Initech]

2. $23K could pay my car, credit cards and I'd have money left for school.

But of course only the rich matter in this country and we don't. At least that's what my impression is.

[DrDan]

3. so the 1% would only get $23k each also? It'll never fly.

[trumad]

6. Helicopter drop

I'm for it.

[sad sally]

7. Mosey on up to the discount window, folks - there's plenty more where this came from.

seriously, excellent idea!

[Louisiana1976]

8. I wouldn't want it if it was a loan.

[sarcasmo]

9. Imagine the economic stimulus this would create.

[KansDem]

13. Precisely!

People could pay off credit-card debt and student loans and have plenty left over to buy products and services!

For example, we need a stove badly but have to wait until we have some "extra money" to purchase one (the one we have now is a four-burner, 25 years old, but only two burners work). Plus, our son, who will be 14 in a couple of weeks has been playing percussion since 6th grade. He now wants a drum set so he can play jazz and pop music, and get into the jazz ensemble at his middle school. But we have to wait until we can afford a used set by setting aside some money each month until we have enough.

It's no big thing, really. We should have both in a few months. But...

With this "loan," we could buy the new stove and a really nice drum set for our son now! And we'd really be "creating jobs" by increasing demand!

[REP]

10. Buy a house? Fuck. That wouldn't pay for the heating/cooling I just installed. I'll take it, though!

[Cleita]

11. A loan for that amount at $23,545 with that interest rate?

You betcha I could use it.

[maggiesfarmer]

12. ok, I'll play. I don't have an econ background. can someone who does

tell me what would've happened if the gov't had NOT bailed out the banks, and instead had paid each American the $23k? I'm asking this seriously, TIA

[Kellerfeller]

14. What are the terms for repayment?

How long is the term of the loan?

[Lance_Boyle]

15. good question

the devil's in the details. But his simple-minded demon followers are playing fantasy economist on DU.

[KansDem]

16. Well, Alan Grayson remarked recently that a $200,000 mortgage at 0.01%...

...would cost $2 a month in interest.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rep-alan-grayson/a-200k-mortgage-for-2-a-m_b_1140070.html

So I'm assuming that you would work out the details depending on how much you could repay each month. For example, I borrow $20,000 (1/10 of $200,000) then agree to pay 20 cents a month interest (1/10 of $2). I pay off credit-card debts, student loans, and other loans costing me over $1,000 a month. Then I agree to pay $500.20 a month. The loan would be repaid in 40 months, or a little over three years.

Nifty, huh?!! What would have taken me a decade or more to pay off now only takes me a little over three years. And I have an additional $500 a month to put back into the American economy!!!

It's a "win-win" for all!

[Kellerfeller]

17. If we are going to compare

apples to apples, we need to know what the term is before we can calculate it.

Using standard amortization it would be 84 cents a month. (15 year loan)

But if I have to pay the $200,000 back with 6 months, it's probably not worth it to take the loan regardless of the interest rate.

[KansDem]

18. But still...

I'm not sure of the details, but 0.01% would certainly be better than 14.9, 19.9, 24.9, or 29.9. Even better than 6.9% on some mortgages today.

One could pay off all debts and still have a lot of money at the end of the month! The prospect of being a debt slave for the rest of one's life would become a thing of the past!

It would be beneficial to both the individual and the country!

[Nuclear Unicorn]

19. I could do without $23,545 in added debt

It's not like the money would be in my pocket directly. Now I have the debt with no goods or services of my choosing to show for it.

...the secret “loans” given to the bankers and brokers ($7.77 trillion)...

To put into perspective how much was wasted on the bankers/stolen from the people -- 10 years of wars in dozens of countries cost the US $1 trillion, so the banker's and their cronies pissed away in mere months what would have taken Bush 70-plus years under a full-court press of global antagonism.

Should we hate the bankers for wasting our money or thank them for bankrupting us into peace?