just farking nationalize them already, break them apart, and sell off the bits.

So... all the banks will end up nationalized, and the shareholders will be wiped out.

When do we citizens get back the past bonuses of all the bankers who earned such great "profits" for their banks over the last ten years?

I do hope the bankers haven't spent it all, or there might need to be an alternative punishment for them: we could gather together all the bankers in a big square and restrain them by the ankles - then let people throw rotten fruit and vegetables at them.

I'm going to call this the "stock market".

Once they start printing trillion-dollar bills, that number won't be so scary, now will it?

By the way, I wanted to note how frightening it is that Paul Volcker of all people is talking about the need to spent multiple trillions of dollars on this. Paul freaking Volcker.

Senescent Dawn: Once they start printing trillion-dollar bills, that number won't be so scary, now will it?

It's working just swell for Zimbabwe!

I think they should make Geithner hold his pinkie up next to his mouth while saying that amount.

You know a trillion here and a trillion there. Sooner or later it's going to add up to real money!

That's $1,000,000,000,000,000,000.00 OR 1X10¹⁸.

burndtdan: just farking nationalize them already, let them file for bankruptcy break them apart, and sell off the bits.

FTFY.

KIA: burndtdan: just farking nationalize them already, let them file for bankruptcy break them apart, and sell off the bits.

FTFY.

It would more than likely cost less to nationalize them than to have the FDIC cover all the deposits and investments they are on the hook for.

lajimi: You know a trillion here and a trillion there. Sooner or later it's going to add up to real money!

That's $1,000,000,000,000,000,000.00 OR 1X1018.

The Treasury has apparently decided to use the Max Power theory of economics.

adamgreeney: It would more than likely cost less to nationalize them than to have the FDIC cover all the deposits and investments they are on the hook for.

with the way their stock is dropping, i think we could nationalize them pretty cheaply actually.

and in the meantime, wouldn't instigate a worldwide financial meltdown.

adamgreeney: It would more than likely cost less to nationalize them than to have the FDIC cover all the deposits and investments they are on the hook for.

And this is what it comes down to. People who are anti-Keynesian usually overlook the inherent cost of reduced revenue, diminished productive capacity, and existing government obligations to businesses. Still, I'm pretty sure that all roads lead to Rome at this point.

lajimi: That's $1,000,000,000,000,000,000.00 OR 1X1018.

a quintillion?

/did i remember that right?

burndtdan: with the way their stock is dropping, i think we could nationalize them pretty cheaply actually.

and in the meantime, wouldn't instigate a worldwide financial meltdown.

It does seem to be the best solution at this point. Nationalize all the banks for a couple of years, save ones that can prove they are good, and I know there are some small to medium size ones that are, and since now it is all money owed to itself, it mostly becomes a null issue.

And they said that learning scientific notation would be worthless...

That equals about $1000 for every man, woman, and child in the country. Or about $5000 for every working person in the country. You know, $5000 could go a long way towards helping me out of the debt rut I'm currently in. The banks would get their money immediately since I'd just use it to pay off credit cards. Wouldn't that serve the same purpose, but help more people rather than businesses?

burndtdan: quintillion?

a quintillion. Is that what is after a trillion? I have no idea but I am pretty sure we will be learning about that in a few years.

NO!! Fark that! We bailed them out once already. They cannot have a bigger bailout 1 farking month later. Never again I say.

Apologize to the country, spend less money in your Department of Defense, stop pissing off other nations, stop siding with Israel.

Every American kid will receive better education, the idea of universal healthcare will be more tangible, and everyone can still get a tax break if they want.

Senescent Dawn: By the way, I wanted to note how frightening it is that Paul Volcker of all people is talking about the need to spent multiple trillions of dollars on this. Paul freaking Volcker.

yeah no shiat, THIS

Shaggy_C: That equals about $1000 for every man, woman, and child in the country. Or about $5000 for every working person in the country. You know, $5000 could go a long way towards helping me out of the debt rut I'm currently in. The banks would get their money immediately since I'd just use it to pay off credit cards. Wouldn't that serve the same purpose, but help more people rather than businesses?

But you would just waste it on paying off your debt. It needs to go to something important, like sailboats and yachts.

GoodasGold: a quintillion. Is that what is after a trillion? I have no idea but I am pretty sure we will be learning about that in a few years.

Billion. Trillion. Quadrillion. Quintillion.

GoodasGold: burndtdan: quintillion?

a quintillion. Is that what is after a trillion? I have no idea but I am pretty sure we will be learning about that in a few years.

I thought quadrillion was after trillion?

adamgreeney: It would more than likely cost less to nationalize them than to have the FDIC cover all the deposits and investments they are on the hook for.

How exactly do you figure that? If the banks are as massively insolvent as they appear, and their liabilities are far larger than the federal government's entire outstanding debt already, then that would make the federal government insolvent. If the liabilities are limited only to FDIC insurance, the problem is smaller, not larger.

In an entirely different question, at what point does the average citizen refuse to watch their future shackled by more public debt?

TheWizard: But you would just waste it on paying off your debt. It needs to go to something important, like sailboats and yachts.

The banks could offer something like that. Pay off your debt, and we'll give you a free yacht.

Shaggy_C: That equals about $1000 for every man, woman, and child in the country.

You're off by a factor of 10. :)

It equals $10,000 for every man, woman and child in the country.

It's sad, really...

All that objectivist, "Greed Is Good", deregulation propaganda the right-wing pushed on us for the past twenty-eight years was supposedly designed to save us from the horrors of "socialism".

Now, as a result, certain corporations and financial institutions have grown so ridiculously huge that if they fail, they'll drag the country down with them, so we're forced to bail them out with federal money, quite possibly the worst of all socialist activities.

Careful what you wish for, Joe Six-Pack, you might just "Git Er Done!"

It's been stated many many times this is going to get more and more expensive.

Quit acting surprised.

And remember this the next time you want to go on a neo-liberal bender for 30 years.

The historical out come was written in 1980 -- when turning down Jimmy Carter's thermostat was traded for tax cuts free money and rationalized selfishness.

KIA: In an entirely different question, at what point does the average citizen refuse to watch their future shackled by more public debt?

Getting them to understand what it means would be a good start. You tell the average guy that the debt is going up by trillions, he says "wow...that's a lot of farkin' money!" and continues on to work.

I've got an idea that will boost consumer confidence and help us out quite a bit.

Take everyone middle management and above from these companies and simply execute them in public. We all know they were profiting big time during the housing boom and loved every second of it.

Now they're in trouble and expect average joe to bail them out.

I say kill every one of them and set an example. "do this again, and it's your ass".

The American people would probably go for it. Risky loans and mortgages would be a thing of the past.

Senescent Dawn: Billion. Trillion. Quadrillion. Quintillion.

good, i did remember it right. that number was 1 quintillion dollars.

Senescent Dawn: GoodasGold: a quintillion. Is that what is after a trillion? I have no idea but I am pretty sure we will be learning about that in a few years.

Billion. Trillion. Quadrillion. Quintillion.

Thanks

GAT_00: burndtdan: with the way their stock is dropping, i think we could nationalize them pretty cheaply actually.

and in the meantime, wouldn't instigate a worldwide financial meltdown.

It does seem to be the best solution at this point. Nationalize all the banks for a couple of years, save ones that can prove they are good, and I know there are some small to medium size ones that are, and since now it is all money owed to itself, it mostly becomes a null issue.
The trend will be to move the bad assets into a "bad" bank, and keep the "good" assets in the normal bank. The idea is to quarantine the toxic assets. Too bad the general population is already infected, and it could bring the world crashing down around it.

I liked Kerry's assessment that they have to many "zombie" banks. Some of these institutions need to fail, lest they feast on our brains economy's corpse.

Cascading failures FTL.

Shaggy_C: That equals about $1000 for every man, woman, and child in the country. Or about $5000 for every working person in the country. You know, $5000 could go a long way towards helping me out of the debt rut I'm currently in. The banks would get their money immediately since I'd just use it to pay off credit cards. Wouldn't that serve the same purpose, but help more people rather than businesses?

We're going to inflate our way out of this. Cross your fingers.

When do we get to shoot investment bankers for sport?

burndtdan: just farking nationalize them already, break them apart, and sell off the bits.

I agree. And screw the shareholders they deserve it. Even going into this situation, the American banking system made a net loss over the past 150 years -- according to Alan Greenspan.

Senescent Dawn: GoodasGold: a quintillion. Is that what is after a trillion? I have no idea but I am pretty sure we will be learning about that in a few years.

Billion. Trillion. Quadrillion. Quintillion.

Sextillion.

/fap

What is the Hookers-And-Blow exchange rate on the $3-4 trillion?

meat0918: I liked Kerry's assessment that they have to many "zombie" banks. Some of these institutions need to fail, lest they feast on our brains economy's corpse.

nationalizing them then selling off their assets takes care of the zombie bank factor.

This is what happens with imaginary money.

helix400: Shaggy_C: That equals about $1000 for every man, woman, and child in the country.

You're off by a factor of 10. :)

It equals $10,000 for every man, woman and child in the country.

Fark me. I'm telling you, why don't we just eliminate the debt record a la Fight Club. It accomplishes the same end but the normal man on the street actually gets some benefit from it too.

DarnoKonrad: It's been stated many many times this is going to get more and more expensive.

Quit acting surprised.

And remember this the next time you want to go on a neo-liberal bender for 30 years.

The historical out come was written in 1980 -- when turning down Jimmy Carter's thermostat was traded for tax cuts free money and rationalized selfishness.

Actually, I think history was set in motion when the nation decided to put control of the nation's money supply into the hands of a committee run by bankers in the absence of any government oversight.

I mean, c'mon, zero oversight + bankers + control of money supply/value = No Farking Surprise.

opiumpoopy: I do hope the bankers haven't spent it all

The bailout money has probably been converted to gold bars and suitcases full of cash. We just need to find those suitcases.

Shaggy_C: Fark me. I'm telling you, why don't we just eliminate the debt record a la Fight Club. It accomplishes the same end but the normal man on the street actually gets some benefit from it too.

We'll show you who run Bartertown, biatches...

We fully went off the gold standard in 1975. We are 34 years into it. The average fiat currency has about a 70 year lifespan so we are only at the half way point. We will get out of this mess after some painful inflation and see the currency continue to die over the next three decades.

Truly bailing out the banks from their own self-created hole of credit default swaps and multiple payback guarantees was always going to cost in the trillions of dollars, at least that's what the banks mentioned back in the fall. However, no one truly knows how much value is tied up in these worthless bits of paper; the banks don't know, the regulators don't know, the government doesn't know, NO ONE KNOWS. This "3-5 trillion dollar" estimate is just that, an estimate from the bankers themselves!

Congress should tell the banks that if it would cost that much to "fix" their own mismanagement and bad decisions, then they're no longer controlled by their shareholders, they are now going to be run by the government and all that paper is useful only in the bathroom.

LibertyFirst: We fully went off the gold standard in 1975. We are 34 years into it. The average fiat currency has about a 70 year lifespan so we are only at the half way point. We will get out of this mess after some painful inflation and see the currency continue to die over the next three decades.

Thank you, RON PAUL!

When the tax revolts start, i'm buying a black ford falcon with a massive supercharger. And guns. Just FYI

iancole: When the tax revolts start, i'm buying a black ford falcon with a massive supercharger. And guns. Just FYI

Don't forget the dog. You'll need a dog.

Shaggy_C: Fark me. I'm telling you, why don't we just eliminate the debt record a la Fight Club.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again.

It needs to be done Running Man style. Schwarzenegger could even replay his role.