Financial Crisis Tab Already In The Trillions

[katty]

more: http://www.cnbc.com/id/27719011

Financial Crisis Tab Already In The Trillions

Given the speed at which the federal government is throwing money at the financial crisis, the average taxpayer, never mind member of Congress, might not be faulted for losing track.

CNBC, however, has been paying very close attention and keeping a running tally of actual spending as well as the commitments involved.

Try $4.28 trillion dollars. That's $4,284,500,000,000 and more than what was spent on WW II, if adjusted for inflation, based on our computations from a variety of estimates and sources*.
Biggest Budget Items In US History

Not only is it a astronomical amount of money, its' a complicated cocktail of budgeted dollars, actual spending, guarantees, loans, swaps and other market mechanisms by the Federal Reserve, the Treasury and other offices of government taken over roughly the last year, based on government data and news releases. Strictly speaking, not every cent is a direct result of what's called the financial crisis, but it is arguably related to it.

[ixion]

1. congratulations America, you're now saddled with more debt

than you can ever hope to pay off.

Great. :argh:

[katty]

2. the great american heist--shock and awe

[clear eye]

3. Can't help thinking that but for the Supreme Court

none of this would have likely been needed. Gore, his wonky self in particular, would have been savvy about regulating or forbidding the various disastrous new derivatives. He isn't overawed by high-flying, arrogant bankers and such. And our nation would be loaded with "green" jobs. Prosperity would have diminished the temptation for financial bigshots to engage in risky schemes.

Generally I try not to dwell on what would have been, but sometimes it just jumps out at me.