Bernanke, Paulson Pressed to Seek Big-Government Bank Bailout

[NeoConsSuck]

Source: Bloomberg.com

Ben S. Bernanke and Henry Paulson are under pressure to embrace the big-government policies of America in the 1930s, or Sweden in the 1990s, to contain the conflagration engulfing the U.S. housing and financial markets.

Among the ideas: Using taxpayer money to shore up the capital of loss-ridden Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, setting up new agencies to buy and refinance mortgages in default, even taking over failing financial institutions.

The government's current ``fire-brigade approach to dealing with the fallout from the extremely weak domestic economy is eroding general confidence in the U.S. financial system,'' says Brian Bethune, chief U.S. financial economist at Lexington, Massachusetts-based Global Insight. ``Bold, creative, aggressive policy action is needed.''

Trying to envision what steps Washington might have to take, economists hearken back to the last time the country faced a nationwide decline in house prices, during the Great Depression. In response to those travails -- which were far worse than today's -- President Franklin D. Roosevelt adopted a radical, multipronged approach with a much bigger government role than anyone is proposing now.



Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601170&refer=home&sid=ajKgUAmJ3Rfo

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Oh, now I get how the capitalists mindset works: When ordinary people need help, Roosevelt policies are socialism. When the capitalists need help, Roosevelt policies are 'Bold and Creative'

Jeez, you can't make this stuff up.

[Purveyor]

1. Before this happens, all stock currently issued should be declared 'null and void'. No way in hell

should the taxpayer be made to 'bailout' these stockholders.

New stock should be issued for those that want to 'play again'.

[PDJane]

3. One more time.

since the taxpayer has been carrying Fannie Mae and now will own Fannie Mae, make the company a federal asset. Why should the shareholders get bailed out at all? Why isn't the taxpayer getting a bailout?

[whistle]

2. Bailout for Big Banks why again?

[greyghost]

4. They're doing it because they are staring a complete collapse...

right in the face.

Let it collapse, maybe then the majority will finally wake the fuck up.

[mtf80123]

5. No No No!!!!

Help the victims... not the criminals!!!

Let them fail!

[Maggie_May]

6. No Bail out

Called my congress women and my senators today and issued a statement on this. The tax payer should not be bailing out stockholders they played the game and lost thats how it works. I told them they should be helping out the people who are losing there homes. We lower the interest rate for banks to borrow money but have you see your mortgage payment or credit card rate go down NO you have not.

[UpInArms]

7. worse than socialism - privatizing the profits and socializing the risks

and doing this under a totalitarian umbrella with no protection for the individual

these people suck

[Kaleko]

8. This is a wave of dominoes collapsing.

The upside is, it should bring the PNACers to their knees as well, because you can't create enough "Green Zones" around the world quickly enough to hide in for long.

Moreover, the US Emperor wannabes are absolutely despised by their allies in Europe, Russia, China, and probably Saudi Arabia too, by now. The Israeli-Likudnik and US-Neocon Alliance looks pretty isolated and out of touch these days.

[greyghost]

9. That's definitely the upside.