BAILOUT PLAN, Too much, too late? Options

[Hellfighter]

I'm not worthy to even get into the details of what's churning beneath this economic catastrophe looming ahead compared to the gurus we already have here discussing it.

But is it just me in thinking why are Repubs and some Dems in congess/ negotiations holding the US and world economy hostage just to save their political backsides.

As I understand it a massive meltdown like we've never seen in nearly a hundred years is only a step or 2 away, but we have Dems in Congress saying "no-no we can get this bailout plan launched ourselves but we want Repubs taking the plunge with us" and the we have Repubs acting like pussies because several hundred constituents are phoning opposing the plan - are the phone calls multiple calls from a few people, or do the hundreds of calls represent thousands saying 'no' to the plan.

Point is, in the face of a catastrophe shouldn't there be a realization to stave off the crisis at hand and later iron out the wrinkles.
I'm asking the gurus here -is this Global economy Russian Roulette of the worst kind?

So far today the market is showing meltdown fear over this bailout uncertainty.

[Robert]

Hamma
Since you think the cause was predatory lending. Then you may be interested in reading this article which says Fannie & Freddie fought tooth an nail to block state laws trying to stop or limit predatory lending.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/151722/page/1

[HammaTime]

Great article.

I have to admit, I think Blitz has it about right.

I was reading today how the accounting firm Arthur Andersen was found to be responsible for the major accounting scandal at Freddie Mac. They cooked the books to hide $5 billion in profits.

Anyone remember Arthur Andersen? Gee, they were the firm that helped Enron executives cook their books. They also played a major role in the Worldcom scandal, among others. Gee, and they even managed to get the Supreme Court to let them off the hook on a technicality.

I'm starting to see one HUGE organized effort here to take as much money from Main Street as possible.

I was heavily involved in Wall Street back in the 80's. Back then, there were very few "average" Americans who were investing in stocks. Obviously, that all turned around in the 90's. I'm convinced that the explosive growth of Dotcoms really pissed off the Masters of the Universe, the Street's old guard, the ones who really control the levers of our society. Folks like AT&T absolutely hated that upstarts were now determining the market.

What happened next? We all felt the pain of the collapse of that bubble. Lots and lots of powerful and connected folks enriched themselves as they were systematically relieving the unwashed masses of their hard-earned investments. This was no average bank job, this was thievery at a grand scale.

Next up, the Enron-induced power failures in California. All the alternative energy companies were the very first to go belly up. Wiped out by Enron trickery. Once again, a bubble, an artificial increase in perceptive value proved to be the doom for many companies and investors.

This time, Enron got caught red handed and the evil-doers couldn't jump off the burning ship fast enough. Arthur Andersen was one of the key players. They cooked the books so American's retirement nest eggs could be fleeced.

So, after the dotcom crash and the Enron disaster, what happened to the money? The wise men figured out that bubbles have a terrific payday for those who are high enough in the food chain. Meanwhile, Main Street was enticed to move their money into real estate, encouraged by the very people who had learned the fine art of creating bubbles. The rest, as they say, is history.