BernieHund: The Political Watchdog

It would have been “worse” for all the financial markets if Bear Stearns failed.  That’s the reasoning behind the big bank bail out today.  The government and JP Morgan bailed out the Bear today.  The rest of us will be getting letters in the mail telling us to stay tuned.. the check’s in the mail… that little $600 check… for some of us. 

Once again, we see the government bailing out Wall Street while Main Street continues to get promises.  No such wait for investment banks!  Commercial banks are struggling, but with FDIC, we are told that “we” are safe up to $100,000. 

The investment banks made bad decisions, based on greed… GREED!  The rich get richer and the rest of us are trying to get to work… of course, the government trade deals have exported many of the jobs, so less of us go to work these days.

What occurred today among the investment banks is the telling sign of the times.  If I make a bad investment, well, I can file bankruptcy and suffer the consequences, move out of my house, and do the best I can.  The Bear, with all its investment brains sitting at desks and making big decision, made not one bad choice, but apparently many of its recent decisions have been bad… and all in the name of greed.

The government is afraid to see the bank go under because of the trickle down effect.  For those 85,000 who lost their jobs this year or the 2% who have their homes in foreclosure or are a month away from foreclosure, there is no trickle.  It’s a damned flood and we are unable to continue to tread water.

And, talking about credit getting tighter if the bank failed?  Well, I don’t want to burst anyone’s bubble here, but for all those thousands and thousands of people who are facing foreclosure, they don’t have to worry about getting a loan anyway.  Those people without jobs won’t be getting credit any time soon.  People who have fallen behind on those 29% credit card interest rates won’t be getting any more credit any time soon.

There are Americans living in the streets, sleeping under bridges, families living in cars and I’m supposed to concern myself with some CEO who may only net $100,000,000 this year.  Our military service men and women are sacrificing their lives, their families on foodstamps, inadequate health care for returning veterans.  Credit card interest rates are at 29% or higher.  Mortgage companies are dumping our personal information in dumpsters behind grocery stores.  And, I’m supposed to care if the Wall Street moguls can’t afford more gold fixtures for their apartments?

We have watched Enron steal from its employess.  We have watched Halliburton steal from the taxpayers through no-bid contracts and overcharging for services they didn’t provide.  We have watched CEO’s screw up the entire structures of corporations and get paid hundreds of millions of dollars to quit… to leave the company. 

I suggest that Bear Stearns take responsibility for their bad judgment and greed.  When they file bankruptcy and go under, we can turn that huge building on Wall Street into housing for the poor.  And, maybe we will let the CEO stay there long enough to see how the rest of us live.

For all the talk about the brilliance of Bernanke or Paulsen, they didn’t see it coming.  They don’t have a plan to stop the bleeding.  They don’t even recognize how America lives.  And, if that doesn’t scare you, the President said today that the economy is slow and we may be heading toward recession.  Excuse me?

We can’t send that idiot back to his Crawford village soon enough.