Anyone watching Secy. Paulson? He looks and sounds terrified.

[nc4bo]

Sputtering, rushing his words, fidgety and out of breath.

Grabbed that bottle of water and for a moment I thought he was going to drown in it rather than drink it.

:wtf: going on?

Sorry if this is in the wrong section.

[bdamomma]

1. is he on C Span?

what a waste he is.

[nc4bo]

2. MSNBC now live. nt

Talking about the bailouts, house market, something about credit, etc.

I can't listen to his words as his body language is just plain disturbing.

[Ichingcarpenter]

11. The Market is jumping all over the place ... up 50, down 50, up 50

I'm glad he's on his way out and has too many connections to the problem entities.

[The Backlash Cometh]

72. Who knows? Maybe a bad day for Paulson, is a good day for us.

No telling what this guy planned to do if given too many resources to do it with.

[KakistocracyHater]

95. sounds like he's been threatened

like O'Neil when he 1st said "I'm old & rich & have nothing to lose" but then he retracted his claims in his book. I wonder what the Banksters are saying behind the scenes?

[Mike 03]

3. Listening now on Sirius. He doesn sound a bit unhinged. But he's got good

reason to be.

[HamdenRice]

4. Hank "Uncle Fester" Paulson always looks a little spooked --->

by the financial crisis

[nc4bo]

7. Jeezus. He really needs to stay the heck off the tellie. He's awful

and if I had any $$ invested in ANYthing, he'd send me running for the door.

[lamp_shade]

5. I don't understand a thing he's saying... but that's just me.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

6. He's an idiot that's scared because he, like everyone else, allowed Republicans to destroy the US

Now things are looking horrific and he's out of his mind. Screw him. We need to arrest Bush and Cheney and the others responsible and get on with fixing what they destroyed. Who needs this weak-spined sob?

[bemildred]

10. And suffering from cognitive disconnect.

This is what comes of faith-based economics. It's supposed to be a science, not a religion.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

13. He needs to stfu and just admit he's an idiot, his president is an idiot, the VP is an evil @$$hole

Then he needs to resign and go work for a carnival or something. Republicans and their pals are such F idiots. Look at Lieberman. They all need a good ass-kicking.

[bemildred]

23. Ok, OK, I can support that.

We just gave them a good ass-kicking. It's going to take more than one.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

25. Yes we did. This administration will go down in history as one of the worst, if not the worst

They can all go F themselves. :-)

[bertman]

68. Bemildred, it's a nice thought, but we HAVE NOT given anybody involved in this fiasco any

Ass-Kicking in any shape, fashion or form. The giveaway is still progressing nicely. In fact, we're now getting ready to give away billions more to the arrogant assholes who didn't think they needed to build automobiles that were small, miserly on gas consumption, comfortable, and that last hundreds of thousands of miles.

The political party in power is about to change, but the puppet masters are the same. The financial elites control our "democracy" and they are kicking OUR asses and taking OUR money right now as we type.

Hank Paulson is scared because he is the "poster child" for the economic disaster we are involved in and his ugly face will be forever known to the citizens of this country wherever he goes and whatever he does. I'd be a bit worried if I were the one in his shoes. Right now he's probably hoping he can move in with Dubya on Bush's ranch down in Uruguay.

[bemildred]

86. It appeared to me that Ms Ibarruri was talking about Republicans and Lieberman.

Who we did just give an ass kicking, and I pointed out that we are far from done.

[bertman]

87. Okay Bemildred. That makes sense. My apologies for the erroneous assumption.

[bemildred]

88. No problem, I believe we are on the same side. nt

[MadrasT]

76. I wish I could rec that comment.

This is what comes of faith-based economics. It's supposed to be a science, not a religion.

:applause: :applause: :applause:

[bemildred]

90. One of the things that annoys me most about discussing economics.

It descends immediately to the level of 3rd century theological disputes.

[xiamiam]

15. correct me if I'm wrong..but didnt he make a ton of money on the deregulation

that allowed those to bet that the mortgage bundles would fail?..I think I heard that on 60 minutes..I'm hoping all of those who helped this country and us to financial ruin are worried that justice is on its way..

[Sarah Ibarruri]

34. Did he? Well, then the asshole needs a triple ass kicking. We need to write him letters and

tell the dumbass what a frikkin' incompetent he is. Then we need to write the press and ask them to do articles about what a bunch of F-tards this administration has been and had for 8 years.

That's what happens when, instead of carefully and cautiously, and with great thought selecting the staff, cabinet and everyone, instead of doing that, a president-in-idiocy selects the frat pals he @#$@#@#d off with at the frat house while skipping classes.

[bdamomma]

49. remember he is ex CEO of Goldman Sachs

to know where his loyalties lie.

[Trailrider1951]

83. He was also assisstant to John Ehrlichman

Yes, THAT John Ehrlichman, so we know where he got his looting philosophy.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hank_Paulson#Early_career

[OnceUponTimeOnTheNet]

8. He is a fidgety type. Watching, wondering if there will be questions?

[earthside]

9. We are crashing.

In the end, bailing out American Express and General Motors will get us nowhere but deeper in debt.

Paulson knows this ... and anyone with eyes and an internet connection knows it, too.

[soothsayer]

12. His 'tells' (signals that he is lying) are stammering and blinking.

He's got a funky little finger too. Seems to get locked in weird positions. But I'm not sure that has anything to do with his lying.

[OnceUponTimeOnTheNet]

14. Wonder what his heart rate is.... 124?

And those deep breaths, he's gonna hyperventilate. Give this man an Ativan, or 2.

[nc4bo]

16. Fight or flight!.... and I bet he wants to run like hell. I could actually hear him

trying to swallow that water.

[OnceUponTimeOnTheNet]

18. That's what it is. Fly awayyyyy!!!!!

[HamdenRice]

17. Reading between the lines, it seems like the IMF is trying to get in

He said something bizarre and unexpected -- something to the effect that the IMF can't solve our problems. But no one publicly has said the IMF was going to do anything.

I think our foreign creditors suggested or demanded it and that we cede control, and he's saying no in this kabuki theater press conference.

[Poll_Blind]

19. Oh man, I don't want the IMF vampires involved...

PB

[galileoreloaded]

56. The IMF is in the middle of a US audit. Bush told them not to release the results

until he was out of office. The IMF is already here. Started in June or July.

[HamdenRice]

58. You're right. I remember that nt

[Marie26]

100. Do you mean the US is already taking IMF loans

under the table?

[indepat]

20. Ever since seeing Paulson saying oil at $140+ per barrel was solely due to supply and demand

issues and there was no speculation in the price, I've regarded him as either supremely stupid and naive or disingenuous. :P

[CoffeeCat]

42. Paulson...

is being obtuse, because our government knows damn well that if Americans understood the complete economic
disaster we're in for---that we would further hoard money, decrease spending and probably take our money out
of banks.

Paulson's speeches--are the equivalent to the captain of the Titanic periodically emerging--up to his ankles
in water--and giving lengthy speeches on the history of the White Star Line and discussing the architecture
of the ship and what happens, from an engineering perspective, when steel meets ice.

Every family needs to ignore this distraction, and grab a lifeboat while you can. Seats are limited.

[indepat]

85. We're in totally uncharted waters, an entirely new paradigm in which the outcome just might be worse

than envisioned by Nouriel Roubini who foresees the S+P ultimately in the 600 range, maybe 500 if memory serves me correctly, which would indicate a largely collapsed economy. And in my native state, the white electorate gave Obama a resounding 34% of their vote indicating that 66% must rather stay with those who brung us to this dance. :P

[CoffeeCat]

94. Tell me about it...

I'm so cynical about what is going to happen, and I see nothing less than a
major crash.

People say it might be another "Great Depression." Uh, in 1929, Americans
weren't living in 4,000 square-foot homes, with 20k in credit card debt
and two 50,000 leased vehicles---cable tv, ipods, computers, gas prices
through the roof with 30 mile commutes, sky-high food prices.

It costs so much more just to survive now. When it all comes crashing
down, the pain will be WORSE than the Depression--because our standard
of living and our culture is much more complex.

Those who survived The Depression have loads of tales about planting
large gardens and relying off the land. Back then, people were one
step away from 'living off the land.' Now, we're about 10 steps away.
No one knows how to make anything, grow anything or do anything themselves.
It's all about the Yellow Pages.

As Demi Moore's character said in "St. Elmo's Fire", "I'll be a bag lady...but
at least I'll have Gucci bags."

I also agree about the S&P. I've been desperately trying to convince
my husband to put our remaining 401k into a money-market fund, until this
hell blows over. We've only lost 17 percent, and I think it's time to seek
save haven. I see a major crash, with a whole new DOW emerging--because
many, many companies will not emerge from the ashes. We're not going to see
a typical crash were things tank and then emerge and flourish. Many companies will
crash, go bankrupt and never return. Circuit City is one example.

Credit cards funded Best Buy, Circuit City, mom & pop electronic stores
and the electronic depts at Kmart, Target and Walmart. Now that spending
is contracting and credit-card spending is falling off a cliff--it's not
possible to sustain all of those competitors. So many companies will
not survive with fewer dollars being spent.

I gotta keep working on my hubby! Damnit!!

[indepat]

96. Good luck! The only thing that stuck with me in ECON 101 some 56 years ago is when money is lent,

the economy expands, the money comes back in and can be re-lent again further expanding the economy, over and over again, constrained only by the reserves banks must keep. It would seem just the reverse should be true when the lending grinds to a crawl, that the contraction in the economy will continue to feed on itself until an expansion in lending resumes. :D

[CoffeeCat]

21. He doesn't want us to understand what is happening!!

I've listened to insurance seminars that were captivating bastions of excitement---when
compared to the ramblings of Paulson.

And hey! I'm interested in the economy, I studied economics in college and I'm very plugged in.

This guy drones on and on and on----spouting off a half hour, run-on sentence full of gibberish
and jargon.

The American people need to understand what in the hell is going on. We don't need to be treated
like preschoolers, but for the love of Pete--the man needs to communicate effectively.

I think he's purposely filling his speeches with rambling bullshit, so people will remain disinterested
and in the dark about what is really going on.

My cats are in a damn coma after listening to him!

[closeupready]

22. He's terrified because Goldman's stock is trading at 70!

And I've never seen it that low, even during the prior crash, it didn't get lower than 90.

Down 5% today, and I just checked, 70 is lowest price it has been since at least 5 years ago.

[Mike 03]

24. Whoa, he really is off his game today. Did I hear him correctly that we are no longer

to view the "bail out" as an acquisition of financial assets (i.e., an "investment"). Is he basically admitting that we won't recoup this money??? I hope I misunderstood him.

[OnceUponTimeOnTheNet]

26. Hope someone posts the transcript of this.

[nc4bo]

27. I'd appreciate an interpreter because he's not making sense

someone in an earlier post said Americans need this broken down into logic not nonsense rambling.

Looking at him now my gut tells me we're in deep sh*t but I knew that already (so does most of DU) - what is he NOT telling us because his speech patterns and body language is alarming.

[OnceUponTimeOnTheNet]

30. My hands are sweating just watching him. He is not helping the situation at all.

[lligrd]

28. What I Read Was That We Are No Longer Buying Bad

assets but are buying stock in these failed companies instead. Perhaps that is what he is trying to sputter.

[lligrd]

29. Here Is The Story

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/081112/financial_meltdown.html

Paulson: bailout program won't purchase troubled assets; focus remains on financial markets


WASHINGTON (AP) -- Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said Wednesday the $700 billion government rescue program will not be used to purchase troubled assets as originally planned.
Paulson said the administration will continue to use $250 billion of the program to purchase stock in banks as a way to bolster their balance sheets and encourage them to resume more normal lending.

He announced a new goal for the program to support financial markets, which supply consumer credit in such areas as credit card debt, auto loans and student loans.

Paulson said that 40 percent of U.S. consumer credit is provided through selling securities that are backed by pools of auto loans and other such debt. He said these markets need support.

[Mike 03]

44. Great. How did you get this so fast? N/T

[lligrd]

51. Was Posted Here Even Before He Spoke

http://finance.yahoo.com/

Check out the story on the real cost of the bailout.

[Mike 03]

38. Okay, that's not so bad. It's not the original plan, but that's what many

economists were suggesting he do in the first place, a la what Buffet did with GE.

The idea behind buying the toxic assets is that they weren't really that toxic and eventually would yield a fair amount of their theoretical value.

[HamdenRice]

55. I'd be very worried about this because mortgage securities

at least have a house behind them and these other asset backed securities don't. Then again with the housing market in freefall, I guess they are starting to look the same.

Some economists have expressed the fear that if the Treasury owns consumer and student debt, it will use the IRS to collect, which is scary.

[gravity]

45. He is buying equity stakes in the good banks

What the treasury wants to do is to prop up the good banks, and allow the poorer ones to fail.

The equity stakes are preferred shares which are different than common stocks that are traded on the market. These banks are required to pay the government the dividend, and the treasury will have priority on the assets if these institution do go under. It is an appropriate means of injecting capital from the government.

[formercia]

70. Someone put the fear of God into him...

Wall Street losses steepen as Paulson unveils plan to not buy distressed bank assets

NEW YORK (AP) -- An already disheartened Wall Street turned sharply lower Wednesday after Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said the government won't buy banks' soured mortgage assets after all, disappointing investors who hoped to see the bad debt wiped off companies' books. The Dow Jones industrials fell about 250 points, and all the major indexes dropped more than 2 percent as the market retreated for a third straight session.

Paulson said the government's $700 billion financial rescue package will not purchase troubled assets from banks as originally planned. He said that plan would have taken too much time, and that the Treasury instead will rely on buying stakes in banks and encouraging them to resume more normal lending.

While the market had been pleased by the government's decision weeks ago to buy banks' stock, investors still hoped to see the financial industry relieved of the burden of the mortgage assets whose decline in value helped set off the nation's financial crisis.

--snip--

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/081112/wall_street.html

[gulfcoastliberal]

74. I guess he admitted that the billions are nothing more than moving public funds to the ultra rich!

Sorry everyone, this is a straight up robbery.

Paulson:

"We will expect the bottom 95% of Americans to sacrifice your social security, medicare, medicaid, and all other publicly funded welfare programs in order to pay for this. We only have the money & resources to help the super rich and globalist corporations - certainly not the poor, working, or middle classes. Thank you for your sacrifice, and god bless Amerika!"

[Mike 03]

31. Jesus God. It sounds like he's just thrown out the whole "purchase of illiquid assets" aspect

of the program. THAT was the main selling point of the program with the Congress and Senate!

This is incredible. I hope to god I'm not hearing him right.

[lligrd]

35. You Heard Right See My Post Above nt

[Mike 03]

39. Thank you for the post above! N/T

[sendero]

82. these idiots..

... are just making it up as they go along. It's astounding.

[gkhouston]

92. Looks like Olbermann nailed it the other night when he made the remark about

"and some day, we'll call this 'this is why Daddy went to prison'".

[yurbud]

32. maybe a prosecutor is going through his personal financial records (finally)

[wroberts189]

46. one could only hope n/t

[galileoreloaded]

60. You mean the records where he was compelled by his position as Tres. Sec.

to dispose of his assets a Goldman Sacs without paying any taxes??? Those. The rabbit hole is deeper than you think.

[yurbud]

97. geeze. To fix our economy, we need to invade th Cayman Islands, Seychelles, Andorra, and any other

place those bastards hide their money so we can tax it or just plain seize it.

[DU GrovelBot]

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[HamdenRice]

36. OK another thing he's saying: the program was focused on thrifts, savings banks

and other regulated banks that focus on real people, and he wants to use the TARP program on non-regulated institutions (ie other financial companies, like investment banks).

But his demeanor is horrible, like he's hopped up on some serious meds. He looks like uncle fester on crystal meth.

:rofl:

[Lumpsum]

37. He's kind of being a prick to the reporters, too. nt

[OnceUponTimeOnTheNet]

40. Bet he passes out from hyperventalating......

[Lumpsum]

41. Holy shit. Is this really happening?

So Congress gave this guy 700 billion of our money to buy out troubled assets.

Now he's saying that they won't be buying out troubled assets.

And then he just said he "won't apologize" for changing the "plan."

Who the fuck do these people think they are?

[Lex]

50. He doesn't have the 700 billion yet

as far as I know, so I'm wondering what he thinks he's doing.

[lligrd]

57. It's Worse Than That - 25% Of Us Economy Spent On Bailouts

Yes, $3.45 trillion has already been spent, as as Bailoutsleuth.com details:

$2T Emergency Fed Loans (the ones the Fed won't discuss, as detailed here)
$700B TARP (designed to buy bad debt, the fund is rapidly transforming as we'll discuss in an upcoming segment)
$300B Hope Now (the government's year-old attempt at mortgage workouts)
$200B Fannie/Freddie
$140B Tax Breaks for Banks (WaPo has the details)
$110B: AIG (with it's new deal this week, the big insurer got $40B of TARP money, plus $110B in other relief)

Tallying up the "true" cost of the bailout is difficult, and won't be known for months if not years. But considering $3.5 trillion is about 25% of the U.S. economy ($13.8 trillion in 2007) and the U.S. deficit may hit $1 trillion in fiscal 2009, hyperinflation and/or sharply higher interest rates seem likely outcomes down the road.

More > http://finance.yahoo.com/tech-ticker/article/126117/Cos...

[Lumpsum]

59. Thank you.

I didn't know about bailoutsleuth.com - very helpful.

What worries me the most is the 2 trillion the Fed won't disclose/discuss.

[galileoreloaded]

63. More likely IMHO is repeudiation of US Debt. n/t

[Sal Minella]

69. Well, he asked for $700 billion with no strings attached and was denied, so he's MIFFED.

When one has been head of Goldman-Sachs, one has become accustomed to having things fall in with one's wishes, I suppose.

The people listening to him now are not touching their foreheads to the floor in obedient silence, and this throws him off, I think.

[earth mom]

71. How about calling them mafia dons who held a gun up to Congress.

:argh:

[wroberts189]

43. I would too if I just committed and pulled off the crime of the century. n/t

[nc4bo]

47. I'm doing what I can to live within intent of the bailout bill??

Oh hell no you aren't!

This is insanity. Wasn't this bailout passed on the basis that there would be help for MAIN street as well as Wall Street.

dammit.

[Mike 03]

48. Reading between the lines of his presentation, I thought I was hearing him nearly BEG for

some sort of coordinated assistance from the global central banks, almost as if he knows we can't do this without a huge amount of help.

I wonder if he's having trouble getting cooperation from the ECB or other economies in Japan, China, etc? I'm curious about what he's not getting that he wants.

[HamdenRice]

53. I thought so too, and fear of them dictating terms

There was some "it's no one country's fault" language, and something weird about the IMF being the wrong entity to handle this.

Wouldn't it be weird if the Chinese State Administration of Foreign Currency, and the Chinese, Japanese and Saudi central banks were behind the scenes telling him, listen up asshole, just give us the keys to the treasury, you've had your chance.

[Arugula Latte]

52. Well, that's reassuring.

:scared:

[Lumpsum]

54. DOW dropped 200 points because of him...

Good job.

[Stinky The Clown]

61. Clueless, frustrated, over his head, and the world's worst public speaker.

[spanone]

62. their banking pals are gonna get THE REMAINDER OF THE MONEY

[wroberts189]

64. while we are looking for stuff to eat in the forest ..some of us dying

he will be wining and dining then a dip in the jacuzzi in a luxurious house ....the good life

There will be no guilt .. they have nothing but contempt for the masses.


count on it

[Myrina]

65. Someone ask him about Section 382 of the tax code!!!

Greedy Corporate Bastards. :mad:

[kentuck]

66. When you steal that much money and then try to explain it...

in front of a questioning audience, the American people, it tends to make one sound like Porky Pig.

[nc4bo]

67. Short, sweet and to the most unpleasant point, I fear.

Unfrickinbelievable.

What happened to the promises? I wonder if Congress was privy to this latest bombshell before they blessed the bailout? I wonder what they have to say now?

I'd love to know what our President Elect thinks of this and if he will address it?

[earth mom]

73. But Thank Gawd it passed!

:sarcasm:

:puke:

[nc4bo]

75. Rep. Jane Harman (D) House Intelligence Sub Comm. says she's shocked. Says she wasn't notified

of Paulson's decision.

damn it.

She's on MSNBC now with Mrs. Greenspan.

[SlowDownFast]

77. Thank God It Passed!!!1111

:sarcasm:

:puke: :puke: :puke:

[DireStrike]

78. Either he is trying to inspire fear, or he is about to get away with something big

Either way, we lose.

[SweetieD]

79. He's scared that he won't have enough time to finish looting the Treasury!

He gets kicked out Jan 20, and like the grifter he is, he is trying to get all he can before he is kicked out. They are going to have to work day and night to finish the looting.

[TexasObserver]

80. He always looks and sounds terrified.

This guy has been lying since day one about the bailout.

This guy sounds like the Tom Hulce character from Parenthood. He's got a bright idea and needs your money, but don't ask him for details.

[SweetieD]

81. Can Congress oust Paulson? I mean this is ridiculous! Something needs

to be done before he does any more damage.

[BootinUp]

84. Did anyone else catch this amazing sentence from Paulson:

"And to adequately reform our system, we must make sure we fully understand the nature of the problem which will not be possible until we are confident it is behind us," he said.

:wtf:



http://finance.yahoo.com/tech-ticker/article/126386/Bailout-Improv-Paulson-Rolls-Out-New-TARP

[nc4bo]

89. This entire POS is FUBAR. This entire paragraph, including your quote, had my head rotating

These changes appear smart, but the bottom line is the government is essentially making this bailout up as it goes along. "Since announcing the we have been examining a wide range of ideas that can further strengthen the financial system and get lending going again to support the broader economy," Paulson said.

It's also clear that Paulson still doesn't have the answers ... and maybe not even a clue, which he unwittingly admitted today: "And to adequately reform our system, we must make sure we fully understand the nature of the problem which will not be possible until we are confident it is behind us," he said.

Further strengthen the financial system to get lending going again??!! Really??!! Lending what to whom and where and why haven't the banks loosened their lending already - after having billions of $$ already thrown at them??!! :mad:

Making stuff as you go along is just madness and insuring your banking buddies come out of this smelling like a patch of roses is just....priceless.


:mad: :mad: :mad:

[leftofthedial]

91. most criminal gangs don't send the bagman out into public

to announce how they plan to divvy up the spoils


I can imagine it must be stressful for him.

[Elidor]

93. I think it's probably illegal to say what I want to do to him

And all his buddies.

[yurbud]

98. what Paulson needs: tar & feather and golden shower PICS & VID:

tar & feather animation:
http://fascart.blogspot.com/2008/09/photoshop-video-tar-feather-wall-st-for.html

golden shower animation:
http://fascart.blogspot.com/2008/09/video-golden-shower-for-wall-st-bailout.html

[Horse with no Name]

99. Wow.

Rarely am I 100% correct in my perceptions. I hit this one on the head.
Yeah me!:cry: