The link was a diagram illustrating the story you posted: http://www.maumedia.com/testbed/bailout-pie.png
On 26-Nov-08, at 3:56 PM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: >> A touch of perspective: >> >> http://www.voltagecreative.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/ >> bailout-pie.png >> > > That site is too busy. And the link is annoying. (For some reason, > cutting and pasting won't get both lines.) > > Here's some additional perspective from Urgent Agenda: > > We get some of our best information here at Urgent Agenda from > informed readers. Reader Ray Cleveland alerts us to a remarkable > set of statistics comparing the federal payouts being made to deal > with today's financial crisis with payouts made in the past. > Consider: > > If we add in the Citi bailout, the total cost now exceeds $4.6165 > trillion dollars. People have a hard time conceptualizing very > large numbers, so let's give this some context. The current credit > crisis bailout is now the largest outlay In American history. > > Bianco Research crunched the inflation adjusted numbers. The > bailout has cost more than all of these big budget government > expenditures – combined: > > • Marshall Plan: Cost: $12.7 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: > $115.3 billion > • Louisiana Purchase: Cost: $15 million, Inflation Adjusted Cost: > $217 billion > • Race to the Moon: Cost: $36.4 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: > $237 billion > • S&L Crisis: Cost: $153 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $256 > billion > • Korean War: Cost: $54 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $454 > billion > • The New Deal: Cost: $32 billion (Est), Inflation Adjusted Cost: > $500 billion (Est) > • Invasion of Iraq: Cost: $551b, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $597 > billion > • Vietnam War: Cost: $111 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $698 > billion > • NASA: Cost: $416.7 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $851.2 > billion > > TOTAL: $3.92 trillion > > That is $686 billion less than the cost of the credit crisis thus far. > > The only single American event in history that even comes close to > matching the cost of the credit crisis is World War II. Original > Cost: $288 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $3.6 trillion. > > The $4.6165 trillion dollars committed so far is about a trillion > dollars ($979 billion dollars) greater than the entire cost of > World War II borne by the United States: $3.6 trillion, adjusted > for inflation (original cost was $288 billion). > > Bianco Research, which crunched the numbers, is often quoted in > financial news stories. > > Ray Cleveland goes on to note a Bloomberg report that the total > bailout this time represents $24,000 for every man, woman and child > in the United States. > > It seems to me that Americans, including many journalists, still > don't understand the enormity of the federal bailouts and the > implications for our economic system. The federal government now > has equity stakes in major American banks and corporations. True, > it can get some or all of the money back in the future, as the > economy grows once more - if it grows. There are no guarantees. > > And we are far from out of the woods. > > > >> >> On 26-Nov-08, at 2:45 PM, Bruce Johnson wrote: >> >>> <http://tinyurl.com/5s5w2b> >>> >>> Excellent article about the current economic mess as told by Wall >>> Street insiders. >>> >>> None of this 'blame it all on the poor folks and ACORN/CRA' >>> stuff. It >>> was straight-up financial fraud, mainly by the subprime lenders, the >>> ratings agencies and the investment banks. >>> >>> The money quote: ( [] added by me) >>> >>> "That�s when Eisman finally got it. Here he�d been making >>> these side >>> bets [buying credit-default swaps] with Goldman Sachs and Deutsche >>> Bank on the fate of the BBB tranche [lowest quality mortgage-backed >>> bonds] without fully understanding why those firms were so eager to >>> make the bets. >>> >>> Now he saw. >>> >>> There weren�t enough Americans with shitty credit taking out >>> loans to >>> satisfy investors� appetite for the end product. The firms used >>> Eisman�s bet to synthesize more of them. Here, then, was the >>> difference between fantasy finance and fantasy football: When a >>> fantasy player drafts Peyton Manning, he doesn�t create a second >>> Peyton Manning to inflate the league�s stats. But when Eisman >>> bought a >>> credit-default swap, he enabled Deutsche Bank to create another bond >>> identical in every respect but one to the original. >>> >>> The only difference was that there was no actual homebuyer or >>> borrower. The only assets backing the bonds were the side bets >>> Eisman >>> and others made with firms like Goldman Sachs. Eisman, in effect, >>> was >>> paying to Goldman the interest on a subprime mortgage. In fact, >>> there >>> was no mortgage at all. �They weren�t satisfied getting lots of >>> unqualified borrowers to borrow money to buy a house they couldn�t >>> afford,� Eisman says. �They were creating them out of whole >>> cloth. One >>> hundred times over! That�s why the losses are so much greater >>> than the >>> loans. But that�s when I realized they needed us to keep the >>> machine >>> running. I was like, This is allowed?� " >>> >>> There's a term to describe this: "Ponzi Scheme" >>> >>> >>> -- >>> Bruce Johnson >>> University of Arizona >>> College of Pharmacy >>> Information Technology Group >>> >>> Institutions do not have opinions, merely customs >>> >>> >>> >>> >> >> >>> >> > > Francis Drouillard, PE > Novato, CA 94945 > > > > > -- Michael Luscombe [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.maumedia.com "The only valid censorship of ideas is the right of people not to listen." - Tom Smothers --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "StrataList-OT" group. 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