2 *trillion* dollars is missing from US Treasury

[DavidS]

Just to put this in perspective, 2 trillion dollars is 1/8 of our national debt, 2 trillion dollars is nearly 3 bailout bills, 2 trillion dollars is a very large chunk of our annual budget.

Fed Defies Transparency Aim in Refusal to Identify Bank Loans
By Mark Pittman, Bob Ivry and Alison Fitzgerald
The Federal Reserve is refusing to identify the recipients of almost $2 trillion of emergency loans from American taxpayers or the troubled assets the central bank is accepting as collateral. Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said in September they would comply with congressional demands for transparency in a $700 billion bailout of the banking system. Two months later, as the Fed lends far more than that in separate rescue programs that didn't require approval by Congress, Americans have no idea where their money is going or what securities the banks are pledging in return.

Link here.

 

[CSM]

Just to put this in perspective, 2 trillion dollars is 1/8 of our national debt, 2 trillion dollars is nearly 3 bailout bills, 2 trillion dollars is a very large chunk of our annual budget.

Fed Defies Transparency Aim in Refusal to Identify Bank Loans
By Mark Pittman, Bob Ivry and Alison Fitzgerald
The Federal Reserve is refusing to identify the recipients of almost $2 trillion of emergency loans from American taxpayers or the troubled assets the central bank is accepting as collateral. Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said in September they would comply with congressional demands for transparency in a $700 billion bailout of the banking system. Two months later, as the Fed lends far more than that in separate rescue programs that didn't require approval by Congress, Americans have no idea where their money is going or what securities the banks are pledging in return.

Link here.

Not "missing" but certainly hidden.

 

[Annie]

Just to put this in perspective, 2 trillion dollars is 1/8 of our national debt, 2 trillion dollars is nearly 3 bailout bills, 2 trillion dollars is a very large chunk of our annual budget.

Fed Defies Transparency Aim in Refusal to Identify Bank Loans
By Mark Pittman, Bob Ivry and Alison Fitzgerald
The Federal Reserve is refusing to identify the recipients of almost $2 trillion of emergency loans from American taxpayers or the troubled assets the central bank is accepting as collateral. Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said in September they would comply with congressional demands for transparency in a $700 billion bailout of the banking system. Two months later, as the Fed lends far more than that in separate rescue programs that didn't require approval by Congress, Americans have no idea where their money is going or what securities the banks are pledging in return.

Link here.

I'm shocked! Just shocked! not.

 

[Neubarth]

I point out to everyone that half of our national debt is "Interagency Loans/Debt."

I have asked professors and so called "experts" what that is, and not one has been able to explain it to me with links proving their points.

I wonder if it is money that we have borrowed from ourselves and thus do not have to pay any interest on it.

I also point out to people that just because we are spending money does not mean that we are printing it. Money can be spend electronically (like those direct deposits to your checking account) and need not have paper printed to do so.

I have a theory that money spent electronically can effectively be free money to the US government. That is because only "money in circulation" is inflationary and only "money in circulation" needs to be recalled or replaced when necessary. Electronically spend money is a different animal and just adds to the economic strength of the country.

 

[editec]

YIKES!

Jesus criminny on crutch, it's worse than even I imagined.

You know, you people accuse me of being cynical?

I try to be cynical, but it's so damned hard to keep up my cynicism, when what's happening is even worse than I can possible imagine.

I think I'm hard headed and cynical, then the truth comes out and I find I was being too optimistic!

 

[DavidS]

We're spending money left and right on the most useless programs, Cheney wants to bomb Iran into oblivion and we don't have $10 billion to give the auto makers to save 3 million jobs and stop this country from a depression so bad, we'll WISH we were living in the 1930s?

This is the absolute WORST government that the United States has ever had. I hope Cheney stocks up on bacon and french fries once he's out of office... that stuff will do wonders for his bad heart.

 

[Annie]

We're spending money left and right on the most useless programs, Cheney wants to bomb Iran into oblivion and we don't have $10 billion to give the auto makers to save 3 million jobs and stop this country from a depression so bad, we'll WISH we were living in the 1930s?

This is the absolute WORST government that the United States has ever had. I hope Cheney stocks up on bacon and french fries once he's out of office... that stuff will do wonders for his bad heart.

Classy post. Can't wait to see what awaits the new president.

 

[Care4all]

This is why handing the banks money to loosen the credit crunch was the wrong way to do it, especially without transparancy...

They should have just gone from the bottom up....can you imagine $850 Billion being added as stimulus on rebuilding America....our roads and all of those jobs including the manufaturing of the products it takes to do it. And bridges falling apart, the same thing...

And then all of the green issues, can't imagine how many gvt cars could have been retrofitted to run on electric and the jobs tied in to that, or how many government buildings could have added solar electric, and all of the jobs and products tied in to that, and all of the wind farms and the turbine manufacturing that would have come from that and our schools being rebuilt, the oldest first or the in need first and jobs from that....

This would have been spending smart. Doing what the gvt will have to foot the bill for ANYWAY somewhere down the road and doing it NOW with the bailout money...putting people to work, while restoring the people's infra structure...their children's infrastructure...AFTER ALL, we are making the "children of the future" pay for this thru their own future taxes, WHY NOT give them SOMETHING for it? (instead of the fricking banks who are HORDING IT for themselves and not even lending it to others.....sheesh)

Care

 

[DavidS]

Classy post. Can't wait to see what awaits the new president.

I do not intend to have class towards Bush or Cheney. They are nothing more than thugs. Everyone thinks Bush is just a dummy, that he has no smarts and just lets everyone else make the decisions for him. Anyone ever see Season 4 of 24? Reminds me 100% of Bush... let everyone else fall on their sword and you come barreling to the rescue.

 

[Neubarth]

We're spending money left and right on the most useless programs, Cheney wants to bomb Iran into oblivion and we don't have $10 billion to give the auto makers to save 3 million jobs and stop this country from a depression so bad, we'll WISH we were living in the 1930s?

This is the absolute WORST government that the United States has ever had. I hope Cheney stocks up on bacon and french fries once he's out of office... that stuff will do wonders for his bad heart.

David, the Big Three can not build competitive cars for the American public, much less for world consumption.

The contracts that they have signed with Labor preclude cost effectiveness. The only way to get out from under those outrageous contracts is to file Chapter 11.

It is either that or we need to foster the set up on new companies that can negotiate less expensive contracts with Labor.

Cash handouts to the ole companies with their corrupt cost structure is just foolishness.

 

[RetiredGySgt]

I do not intend to have class towards Bush or Cheney. They are nothing more than thugs. Everyone thinks Bush is just a dummy, that he has no smarts and just lets everyone else make the decisions for him. Anyone ever see Season 4 of 24? Reminds me 100% of Bush... let everyone else fall on their sword and you come barreling to the rescue.

Where is Care to complain that you called Bush/Cheny Thugs? You know murderer , assassin? At least that is her definition, she had a fit someone pointed out Obama is nothing more than a Thug.

Enjoy the next 4 years while we call Obama names and remind yourself when ever you want to whine about it, we probably are not as vicious or insensative as you Liberal turds. Ohh wait I forgot, you claim your not a Liberal.

 

[RetiredGySgt]

David, the Big Three can not build competitive cars for the American public, much less for world consumption.

The contracts that they have signed with Labor preclude cost effectiveness. The only way to get out from under those outrageous contracts is to file Chapter 11.

It is either that or we need to foster the set up on new companies that can negotiate less expensive contracts with Labor.

Cash handouts to the ole companies with their corrupt cost structure is just foolishness.

Do not expect liberals to care that Unions destroyed the car makers.

 

[RetiredGySgt]

By the way it is NOT missing. We have not been told what it was used for, but that neither makes it missing nor misappropriated. As noted the President has the power to do as he is doing. Remind me next year when Obama uses the SAME powers to do similar shit how UPSET you will be?

 

[Andrew2382]

We're spending money left and right on the most useless programs, Cheney wants to bomb Iran into oblivion and we don't have $10 billion to give the auto makers to save 3 million jobs and stop this country from a depression so bad, we'll WISH we were living in the 1930s?

This is the absolute WORST government that the United States has ever had. I hope Cheney stocks up on bacon and french fries once he's out of office... that stuff will do wonders for his bad heart.

I always find it interesting how the government, esp the left is so desperate to save the auto industry when it was them who bankrupted the auto industry



Government: GLOBAL WARMING, you have to retool your factories

Big 3- We can't, it will bankrupt us

Government- DO IT ANYWAY

Big 3- OK!!! Ummm, ok we are now bankrupt


Government- Take this money! You can't go unde

 

[dilloduck]

I always find it interesting how the government, esp the left is so desperate to save the auto industry when it was them who bankrupted the auto industry



Government: GLOBAL WARMING, you have to retool your factories

Big 3- We can't, it will bankrupt us

Government- DO IT ANYWAY

Big 3- OK!!! Ummm, ok we are now bankrupt


Government- Take this money! You can't go unde

i'm sure it all makes sense from the Rothchild's point of view.

 

[Care4all]

I do not intend to have class towards Bush or Cheney. They are nothing more than thugs. Everyone thinks Bush is just a dummy, that he has no smarts and just lets everyone else make the decisions for him. Anyone ever see Season 4 of 24? Reminds me 100% of Bush... let everyone else fall on their sword and you come barreling to the rescue.

David, Ret gysgt is right, calling President Bush and Cheney Thugs is cqalling them assassins, murderers and they do not deserve being called thugs, murderers....under any means. I didn't like it when the republicans called Clinton a murderer, i didn't like it when Rush called Obama and emanuel thugs or murderers and i don't like it when you do it either....it is extremely disrespectful to the office of president.

Say president Bush and cheney put us in to an unwarranted war, say they monitarily benefitted from it or their families did, say they even deseved to be impeached for not protecting the constitution from within and alot of other things, but to call them thugs is just plain wrong, imo.

care

 

[dilloduck]

David, Ret gysgt is right, calling President Bush and Cheney Thugs is cqalling them assassins, murderers and they do not deserve being called thugs, murderers....under any means. I didn't like it when the republicans called Clinton a murderer, i didn't like it when Rush called Obama and emanuel thugs or murderers and i don't like it when you do it either....it is extremely disrespectful to the office of president.

Say president Bush and cheney put us in to an unwarranted war, say they monitarily benefitted from it or their families did, say they even deseved to be impeached for not protecting the constitution from within and alot of other things, but to call them thugs is just plain wrong, imo.

care

Insisting that there is only one definition of "thug" and then being offended when someone uses it is a bit goofy don't you think ?

 

[Silence]

I hope Cheney stocks up on bacon and french fries once he's out of office... that stuff will do wonders for his bad heart.

not cool at all David!

I never understand why people wish bodily harm on someone just because they disagree politically.

 

[CSM]

not cool at all David!

I never understand why people wish bodily harm on someone just because they disagree politically.

I guess then that your post wasn't literal:

"I personally hope Obama and the Democratic congress bend all Republicans over and fuck em raw"

 

[DavidS]

David, the Big Three can not build competitive cars for the American public, much less for world consumption.

The contracts that they have signed with Labor preclude cost effectiveness. The only way to get out from under those outrageous contracts is to file Chapter 11.

It is either that or we need to foster the set up on new companies that can negotiate less expensive contracts with Labor.

Cash handouts to the ole companies with their corrupt cost structure is just foolishness.

Then you have no problem with over 3 million people losing jobs? 2 million from GM, 1 million from Ford, 500-750,000 from Chrysler. You have no problem with double digit unemployment that would send shockwaves throughout our entire financial system? I agree longterm that Detroit cannot survive, but in the here and now having any one of the Big 3 collapse would be a near death-blow to our economy. Deconstruct the companies one-by-one, bit-by-bit, allow a new influx of unemployed workers to enter the system, find jobs, rinse and repeat. Allowing all three to collapse at once would destroy the American economy.