Top executives in corporate America justify their golden parachutes, and outrageous salaries based on the "risk" of running a large corporation.
Bullshit! Where is the risk?
"The Federal Reserve and U.S. Treasury step in to help bolster mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as losses from their mortgage holdings threaten their survival. The two housing companies either hold or back $5.3 trillion of mortgage debt, which is about half of the outstanding mortgages in the U.S."
Who is going to "bolster" the 5.3 trillion of debt, and the salaries, and golden parachutes here. Yep! The American Taxpayer again. If all of these "public and private corporations" are always sucking up US tax revenues, then how do they continue to be "public" or "private"?
When a small business goes under because of outright fraud and criminal larceny, does the government sweep with truckloads of cash to "bolster" its existence?
Pod, I'd be very surprised if either of these two GSEs needs to execute against any sort of rescue plan. Both are adequately capitalized and the vast majority of the mortgages they guarantee are investment grade that are higly unlikely to default. Knowing that the gov is there if needed, however, will go a long way to stabilizing the markets - the primary goal here. I didn't even mention here the fact that combined, these two have saved homeowners billions over the years through lower interest rates by providing liquidity by connecting Wall Street to Main Street.
There is a way to stabilize markets that is more sound and lower cost, it name is REGULATION. This is NOT a dirty word. It is what government is supposed to do.
If the FTC and SEC were actual regulatory agencies working for the PEOPLE of the US, and not for the corporate elite, then there would be stability in the markets, and foreign investment would return on the a platform of trust.
Using the tax base is NOT a way to stabilize markets, especially when the world knows that the US government is borrowing money to do it. Its like paying your mortgage with your credit card.
Not sure what you're saying here Pod. They may borrow at the same rate that big banks do. It's not free $$ that will never be re-paid. Both these institutions are already higly regulated. I'm not saying that more regulation isn't warranted, but such measures take a long time to ripple through the system. Now if the gov were to step in and actually buy stock in the companies, I'd agree with you.
Part of the bailout plan IS the purchase of stock in these corporations.
It is NOT the US Tax payer's responsibility to support private and public corporations in ANY fashion or by any means whatsoever. If such monies are used in support of said corporations, then they cease to be public or private corporations, and become wholly owned entities of the PEOPLE of the US.
In a financial basis they become nationalized, and should cease to garner profits for the investor, or the officers therein.
As to their corporate malfeasance, the officers assets should be seized, and used to ameliorate the immediate debt.
You only view this as business as usual because they have been doing this since Regan. It is NOT the way America is supposed to function. The Government IS the regulatory entity, and corporations are to be subservient to the regulations set.
To believe this is in any way correct behaviour is to have been brainwashed by historical bailouts. Bank bailouts of the 80's, General Motors, Bear Stearns, and now these and many more in the near future.
Neither Republican or Democrat can justify such actions.
If disregard of regulatory law is legal, then any thief that robs the local 7-Eleven should be bailed out as well, and then given a regular salary from the tax base for NOT stealing as a reward for the crime.
Every large corporation in the US is sucking hard on the government teats, and they are sucking the country dry.
Uh Podman these WERE government agencies til they were cut loose. They were not to blame, they did not make stated nor subprime mortgages which caused the whole mess. The sudden devaluation of home prices from all those bad loans starting circa 1997 which added a huge, unwarranted influx of potential homebuyers into the market is the real culprit to their problems. http://www.rgemonitor.com/blog/roubini/143855 should sufficiently explain how messed up things are.
While I agree with you that the government should not be bailing out corporations whose board of directors, management and such approve risky behavior for high returns then cry when they get burned, in the case of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac which were prior government agencies they really are the backbone thruway to the secondary market we should be behind them. I also agree we should not have bailed out Bear Stearns whose highly risky and rewarding CDO writing practices along with the likes of Merrill Lynch and Lehman Brothers got them into this mess.
serious - If the incompetent CEO's decided to buy the bad paper in the hopes of making a profit, by passing it on in re-bundled derivatives then they were involved in criminal behaviour supported by the lobbyists, and congress.
The whole mess, as well as the failure of these two corporations was well known in the lat 90's. These entities could use their political leverage to cover up the entire mess while paying out nearly 1/2 billion in bonuses to their executive officers.
You can defend them as saintly entities helping the downtrodden, but I believe history will prove otherwise.
Pod, the gov plan is a contingency plan. I actually agree with the discount window component and disagree with the stock purchase component. It's questionable, however, whether either will be needed, especially the latter. Therefore, it's not a foregone conclusion that there'll be any burden on the taxpayer. The mortgage-backed securities that they issue are not that complicated and it's been shown by objective third parties the tangible value the two entities have added to the housing markets (via lower interest rates). One only has to look a the difference between the conforming (the business thery're in) and non-conforming (they're not alowed to be in) interest rates to get a small glimpse into their benefit. Also, they are vastly different to other stockholder-owned companies in that they still have goverment charters that tell them what businesses they can and can't be in. They're also mandated by the government such that approximately 1/3 of the loans they buy must come from affordable program/low income, etc.. These are loans that they might have chosen not to buy had they not had such a government mandate!!!! So yes, they shoud be treated differently.
oh, i just remembered: i think i figured out why a copy-and-paste adds all those extra symbols. if i am right, it is actually pretty simple: obviously, if you go to a website there is generally a background color (even if it is just white). that color is the result of a programming language, in most cases HTML. when you copy something, like text, it also copies some of the background. perhaps for other sites or systems it filters the HTML out, but if glumbert doesn't, then the extra text is probably the HTML in text form. just a thought, if anyone else here knows a bit about website construction and programming languages, perhaps you could expand on this idea.
Here it is - listen up! Capitalism only works for a certain amount of time. Marx recognised this fact, and spawned a philosophy that would have worked had not human beings got in the way.
Western economies' asses are now bleeding all over the safety diaper and the drones are pissed off.
So......
REVOLUTION!!!!!!
ok, i figured it out: who gives a shit whether i am infinity or not, i know i am not, and that is what matters. badlywiped can think all he wants, it obviously isn't getting him anywhere.. seriously, he thinks i am freakin' DIRTBAG!
if you pegged everyone that did that on here as whatever you're trying to frame me for being, that would mean i would maintain, hmm, maybe 5-6 accounts. if i was infinity, and he is as dumb as you say, do you really think he/i (w/e) could maintain that many when he couldn't even keep two of them running for a week? i find that hard to believe.
How you post (the words you use and how you use them, the whining sense of the message, the underlying theme of being misunderstood and preyed upon unfairly, and in general, your expressed need for love and understanding - forgive me - all quite immature in nature) is what others respond to.
I expect you are a really nice person. Young, and sincere. This is not a nice site, in terms of swathing nubiles in warmth and welcoming. Despite your goodness, you are swimming with sharks...well, not all sharks, but even us Tunas have a limit re: tolerating vacuity...and you may be reaching it.
If I say "have a nice day", and you think that's a special thing, well, do sudoku, and stay away from the sometimes-slicing surroundings Glumberaria often presents.
On the other hand, you might (unlikely for a year or two) develop a leather layer, and not take offense so quickly...and certainly not look for "friends" here. They may or may not come, but you should not spend any part of your life waiting or hoping for it. Certainly, you - no one - should beg for it.
Best wishes...........chaz
OK - this was assembled over three days (life interrupts fun) and I don't know exactly where I intended it to go...so here goes (if wrong, I'll paste it where it should have been).
hmmm ... let me think ... I can swallow a hot dog whole ... I can put my foot behind my head ... I once gave a blow job to a Catholic priest ... I prefer girth over length ... hmmm ... I think that's about all the surprises I can think of for now
WARNING! This dildo is HUGE, not just big..., HUGE! It is more of a novelty than a usable dildo. Some people may be able to actually insert this monster into an orifice, but not many. Please, do not order this dildo unless you are certain you want it. Dildos cannot be returned. (for obvious reasons) Before ordering, pull out a ruler and have a look at the 11.5" mark, that's how deep this thing will penetrate. Then look at the 4.5" mark (13" circumference, folks!), that's how wide one of your orifices will have to expand in order to accommodate this beast. Not for the faint of heart, but relished by lovers of size.
Oh my god! Did you girls know (some guys could be interested I suppose) that you can get a vibrator for your iPod??? http://www.sediva.com/11540.html I'm getting one right now ... I'll let you know if it's worth the 70 bucks!!! LMAO
My gf had that on her nightstand the first time I slept with her, and I looked at it and she said "Yeah, I've got some sex toys. Not that you should be intimidated or anything." (She has since told me that she's never used it.)
the idea that the "private" companies fannie mae and freddie mac were solidly invested is untrue.... they have been poorly managed by incompetent executives, who have received enormous benefits and salaries for quite a while... enjoy....
Former Federal Reserve President Poole Says Fannie Mae And Freddie Mac Are Insolvent
..... It's one thing when Jim Cramer says Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are "technically insolvent", "over-the-top" comments are his trademark. Now however, we are hearing the same thing from a noted and less flamboyant source former St. Louis Federal Reserve President William Poole:
former St. Louis Federal Reserve President William Poole said in an interview. Freddie Mac owed $5.2 billion more than its assets were worth in the first quarter, making it insolvent under fair value accounting rules. The fair value of Fannie Mae's assets fell 66 percent to $12.2 billion, data provided by the Washington-based company show, and may be negative next quarter, Poole said. creative bookeeping probably kept them afloat this long
"Congress ought to recognize that these firms are insolvent, that it is allowing these firms to continue to exist as bastions of privilege, financed by the taxpayer," Poole, 71, who left the Fed in March, said in an interview.
fair accounting rules...hmmm....isn't that what did enron in
former fannie mae ceo franklin raines engaged in accounting improprieties that hid earnings volatility, disregarded accounting standards, and in one case, secured $3 the regulatory agency estimated that raines probably stole ~$50 million dollars. he was fined ~$5 million as well as forfeiture of his FM stock....
Hi everyone! I'm buttocks, one of the nicest guys on Glumbert. I sometimes fall out with people, but usually they realize I'm just being a prick. chaz, chucknorriss and throbstick are clever guys and even though they come from left field mst of the time, some of what they say makes a little bit of sense (if you're a retarded tree sloth) but what the hell, life's for living eh? Canuck doesn't like me much, but I forgive him because he's a canadian, if you know what I mean.... a latent homosexual probably, but - woah! - nothing wrong with that in the 21st century. The only one I'd warn you about if you're new here is Infinity/Moderator/Tyranus/Dirtbag (all the same guy) who is a pile of fecal matter the size of Bolivia.
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