Watchdog: Government Potential Support Of Financial Sector Could Approach $24 Trillion

[Purveyor]

Source: Associated Press

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.


Read more: http://www.the33tv.com/business/sns-ap-us-meltdown-oversight,0,7602558.story

[RandomThoughts]

1. I think many of the programs that went into effect

were insurance like programs, basically some people like Paulson tried to tie the survival of big banks to the government, so if they fail so will the government.

Regardless of their value, the making of money needs to be in the hands of a transparent government ran body not banks, and big banks need to be broken up till they are not too big to fail. Regulation to keep systemic risk down is also needed. Many small banks would also allow competition and would bring down the obscenity of the bonuses.



(Or just crash the whole thing world wide, that's always an option also, and it combined with nationalizations would clear the slate pretty good also. If you live in a house it is yours, if you worked or work at a company you get the shares of stock of the company. Now that's redistribution of wealth.)
:rofl:

[corpseratemedia]

2. hmm..ok so american's salaries have stagnated or have been driven down

people can't buy so much chinese-made-everything, most people now carry thousands in debt (or more), millions (thanks to clinton) owe tens of thousands or much more in student loans (that will continue to compile interest in perpituity),...we have millions more out of work and out of homes with no prospect of reemployment because of the neo-liberal slave-traders, the Depression, and for-profit health care,and now every single one of us is made to owe an additional 80K or more to the goldman-sachs govt.


I guess our leaders are incapable of understanding the concept of "recipe for total catastrophic failure."

[Hydra]

3. What if "Total Catastrophic Failure" is what they want?

If this all led to a crash beyond all crashes, they could put in all sorts of emergency procedures and rewrite the gov't itself.

[closeupready]

4. Do you really think they are that dumb?

Don't you think maybe they are simple crooks? Occam's Razor would suggest that, yes, indeed, our legislators don't care, because they are on the take.

[Po_d Mainiac]

5. I thought it read "quadrillion!" Phew had me going there for a minute

:sarcasm:

[Wednesdays]

6. K&R

:kick:

[Zenlitened]

7. (dupe) U.S. Rescue May Reach $23.7 Trillion

Source: Bloomberg

U.S. taxpayers may be on the hook for as much as $23.7 trillion to bolster the economy and bail out financial companies, said Neil Barofsky, special inspector general for the Treasury’s Troubled Asset Relief Program.

The Treasury’s $700 billion bank-investment program represents a fraction of all federal support to resuscitate the U.S. financial system, including $6.8 trillion in aid offered by the Federal Reserve, Barofsky said in a report released today.

“TARP has evolved into a program of unprecedented scope, scale and complexity,” Barofsky said in testimony prepared for a hearing tomorrow before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

Costs include $2.3 trillion in programs offered by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., $7.4 trillion in TARP and other aid from the Treasury and $7.2 trillion in federal money for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, credit unions, Veterans Affairs and other federal programs, he said.

Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aY0tX8UysIaM

[Skink]

8. We'll have to pare down the military budget then.

[DJ13]

9. ....... meanwhile people continue losing jobs, homes, hope

Wall Street should be sent to Gitmo en mass for terrorism.

[Javaman]

13. Hey don't worry, be happy! the fed says the recovery is happening as we write!

all is well! all is well!

sigh.

[tomm2thumbs]

10. Don't worry - I got this one. (writing check out and adding tip)

Is 25% for tip enough?

[RedCloud]

11. Houdini must be hiding their money

How can you make that much money disappear and pretend you lost it? Where did it go? If it didn't exist in the first place, why make it exist?

I do think this will create a revolution and that they are hoping we all are a bunch of dumb ass sheeple who are going to fork over every possible maximum profit only scenario fantasy whim of the deranged super rich.

[Iowa]

12. Yet our worthless president & congress wring their hands about every nickel spent on health care...

They dump trillions to bail out banks that should fail, and they do it with all the urgency of a three-alarm fire. Yet they're as miserly as scrooge when it comes to every dime spent on human beings.

[gorfle]

14. Bingo.

Plenty of money for wars and bankers, but fuck-all if there's any money for Social Security or health care.

[high density]

16. Without a banking system, I don't see how we deal with health care

So that did help human beings to the point that most still have jobs and the country/world has a working money system. I prefer that to plunging for a decade or two into a deep depression just to teach the bankers a lesson (which history has shown us they won't learn anyway). I do wish we'd see the regulation start being ramped up sooner rather than later to stop these wild boom/bust cycles. I guess that has been put on the back burner until the health care issue is ironed out.

I agree though that congress is far too thrifty when it comes to spending money on things like health care or infrastructure. We have really messed up priorities in this country and I don't know how we ever fix them. DC loves that corporate money.

[high density]

15. "May be?" So that assumes a 100% loss. When that happens we're f--ked anyway

I'll put this in the "unhelpful, detached exaggeration" column.

[lindisfarne]

17. And they're worried about $60-$100 billion annually for health care reform - which will save money

long term, as well as lives.
Glad the priorities are straight.

I didn't hear talk about "how are we going to pay to bail out the banks" or "CBO cost estimates".

[CountAllVotes]

18. what!

I thought that recovery was right around the corner! Where or where are those green sprouts I've been hearing about?

:sarcasm:

[Joanne98]

19. AIG and their credit default swaps!