Bailout Lacks Oversight Despite Billions Pledged

Washington Post:

In the six weeks since lawmakers approved the Treasury's massive bailout of financial firms, the government has poured money into the country's largest banks, recruited smaller banks into the program and repeatedly widened its scope to cover yet other types of businesses, from insurers to consumer lenders.

Along the way, the Bush administration has committed $290 billion of the $700 billion rescue package.

Read the whole story: Washington Post

Comments

[StephenBarry]

04:44 AM on 11/14/2008

Oversight is jus SO inconvenient.

[PT6]

03:08 AM on 11/14/2008

PAULSON TRIES TRICKLE DOWN BAILOUTS! - It is ALSO NOT WORKING!

He switched Bush’s TRICKLE DOWN ECONOMICS to PAULSON TRICKLE DOWN BAILOUTS (TDBO)!

His first TDBO Theory is GIVING $250 BILLION to BANKS would help BAILOUT Homeowners. Instead they used it FOR THEIR MERGERS to FORM SUPER BANKS!

Almost NO Homeowners were HELPED!

His NEW TDBO Theory is GIVING $250 BILLION MORE to BANKS to BAILOUT BAD CREDIT CARD DEBT will help PEOPLE FREE UP CREDIT CARD DEBTS! It will again be used to MAKE SUPER BANKS into MONSTER BANKS!

No help to People in 18% to 25% Credit Card DEBT!

In Short TRICKLE DOWN of any type WILL NOT WORK!

PAULSON has not met the intent of the Bailout and MUST BE REMOVED ALONG WITH HIS STAFF and a new team installed!

Congress needs to put "BOTH FEET" on the ACCELERATOR to catch up with this CRISIS!

Apply the last $400 Billion to Homeowner REFI's Using Fannie and Freddie for automated Loans, for AUTO Bailouts, and to Refi Credit Card Debits at lower rates! All this WILL FLOW DIRECTLY (NOT TRICKLE) UP to the benefits of the BANKS!

For a Auto Company to get help require:

1. Reduce all White Collar Salaries by 30%
2. Reduce Union Worker pay by 15%
3. Replace Management with those having Detailed Knowledge of Hybrid Technology!

[moosha]

09:10 PM on 11/13/2008

Didn't even read the article, the headline says it all. I want my taxes back!

[SoD1]

07:54 PM on 11/13/2008

Hmm.. well,HOW to do it better, how to make the Bail-out have the wanted effects, how to transform the economy, how to save these all from further collapsing? Suggestions for Solutions are needed People.

3, important facts for every solution attempts:
1. the economy is is inter-connected. One failure triggers another in a different sector
2. massive job creation and protection are of national security importance since U.S. economy depends on Consumerism more than anything else. Job-creation solely towards more Militarism will only lead to more economical decline and rejection.
3.the crisis is international and thus can effectively only be solved with international involvements.
Ideas any one??.

[vandegrasse]

07:46 PM on 11/13/2008

I've just declared myself a bank. You'll think they'll give me money like they're doing for American Express?

[super]

09:41 PM on 11/13/2008

Yes;-) and I'll settle for being your branch!

[SirReal1]

07:19 PM on 11/13/2008

WHY, in the entire piece in the Washington Post, WHY is there NO MENTION of the additional TRILLIONS (yes, with a T) of dollars in loans being handed out by the Bushie's?

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601070&sid=adS_SnA8CLKg&refer=home

By the time Obama takes office, they'll be selling all the furnishings just to pay off the interest on all the loans we've taken.

[DofG]

06:26 PM on 11/13/2008

We must remember that behind their "intelligence", and station, these people who worship at the alter of wealth are the smallest of all spirits. They don't see wealth as a platform to serve a higher calling, nor do they have any notion of the substance within Man that gives equal value to all people. No, they see people as cattle, with no more value than the transient utility they serve as collective output! It's the "Matrix", serving only itself disguised as value. Yes, this is our "free" market system, where we beat our chests about how "advanced" we are as a civilization, yet, we still operate by a "base" mode of progress, no different than any other animal on this planet of limited consciousness!

The only other thing that needs to be said is that some of us need to stop demonizing unions! Or is it that we want every workplace to regress to a Wal-Mart work environment, and ultimately back to sweat shops?! Think about it! Why would anyone would want to destroy UNI-ONS? And why would anyone would want to us to see ourselves as a collection of "red states", and "blue states"? Yes, so they can make us all poor states!

[bayviking]

06:24 PM on 11/13/2008

This crisis is a natural consequence of Wall Streeters running the world's largest ever "Ponzi Scheme". Since we can no longer fund our own operations we depend on foreign lenders, whom we've cheated. Its so big no one wants to prosecute, because doing so would reveal the dark side of Wall Street to the world and dry up all future lending. Bushco's plan is to keep real estate artificially high until the criminals in charge can move their money out, then dilute the value of the dollar and their associated loans by running the dollar printing presses 24/7 and stick taxpayers with all the direct and indirect costs. Highly leveraged gambling for and aginst gasoline, corn, real estate, GM........used to be illegal until the one and only Phil Gramm slipped a 261 page rider past a typically clueless Congress.

[Beninn]

06:08 PM on 11/13/2008

Bush and Paulson pushed a 2 page document that said "Give Paulson $700 billion, no strings attached."

Pelosi, Reid, Frank, said "We'll give you $840 billion with strings." They neglected to tie the release of the money to oversight.

Paulson has spent 1/3rd of the money as he intended, with no oversight, and with no oversight in sight.

This is now the Dems blunder, and they're about to make it worse with more bailouts, and still no oversight. Oversight requires an appointment by Bush and a confirmation by the Senate. That was to be done 6 weeks ago, but it never happened.

Paulson's gone rogue. He can't shovel the money out of the Treasury fast enough to the Republicans' cronies. Lay-offs today mean more foreclosures tomorrow. The economy is circling the drain, hovering over Great Depression territory. Bush has, for all intents and purposes, checked out of office, but Obama can't get into it before 1/20/09. Looking at who he's bringing to his administration (the same middle-aged white men and women who are part of the Washington insiders' clique), it's not likely look like the 'Change' that Americans thought they were voting for.

[super]

09:35 PM on 11/13/2008

"We'll give you $840 billion with strings." Actually the only strings are that the dollar bills used for CEO bonuses, dividends and spa treatments will have different serial numbers than those pried out of taxpayers' wallets, i.e. simple money laundering.

[TXfemmom]

05:49 PM on 11/13/2008

Congress has to FREEZE THE REST OF THE BAILOUT MONEY, and get their butts in gear and use GAO investigators, auditors, etc. to get in there and find out the truth. Stop the bickering about which Committees cover this and APPOINT PEOPLE WHO CAN GET THE JOB DONE.

If Pelosi and Reid cannot get this done, then REPLACE THEM.

[vandegrasse]

07:40 PM on 11/13/2008

Amen!

[duze]

05:16 PM on 11/13/2008

These questions and frustrtions are very simple solutions to fix.

1. Why would our a supposedly intelligent voted in congress allow this man to fast talk , and take
tax payers money?
2. Did he follow the terms of agreement designed to turn this crisis around?

3. Who and where are so so-called oversight personnel and what have they reported so far?>

4. Has Paulson reported anything back or do they conduct their own investigation.

5. To date how much of the 840 Billion has been spent, on what, for who?

6. How much of each dollar spent goes back to the tax payers.

7. What consequences have been initiated against anyone who, does not follow the rules of
the bailout?

8. What were the conditions of chief bailout planners compensation. Was there a time frame, and
will they have to relinguish that compensation if the bailout fails?

9. Why weren't other individuals hired to work on the bailout process, other than the persons who
were involved when the problems existed?

10. Will the golden parachutes be relinguished and to what degree? Will the CEO's have to relinquish
any of their salaries or monitary gains?

11. Who has the authority to fire :Paulson, and why hasn't it been done? He was part of the problem,
who realistically thinks, he will be part of the solution.

The problem is no one has to ever face consequences at the higher level of government. They will all be voted out.

[DMcMillan]

05:24 PM on 11/13/2008

#1. This may sound a bit silly to some, but it is my firm belief that this is a coup and has been for a long time. Look at what they have done to the Constitution. Why is the N o r t h e r n C o m m a n d in the streets? It time to connect the dots. I really hope I'm wrong.

[vandegrasse]

07:43 PM on 11/13/2008

Sounds plausible to me. Anything is possible with these jackasses we have in power. They'll give anything to anybody as long as they're rich! What do they care about the law? They law is what they make it. They stole the election in 2000. They'll stoop to anything to screw the American people. Where is an FDR when we need him. All we get is Stooges.

[anthead]

05:04 PM on 11/13/2008

wake up silly Americans, you are being robbed right under your noses.
The Bush admins final mega ripoff before leaving office, and you D U M B A S S E S stand around and let it happen.

[DMcMillan]

05:13 PM on 11/13/2008

Are you an American? If so, what do you suggest we are to do about this? If not, get your d u m b a s s over and help us. Please. Thanks.

[vandegrasse]

07:45 PM on 11/13/2008

I suggest we impeach the whole goddamn bunch of them and hold a new Constitutional Convention and then a whole of trials and executions!

[holeybuybull]

04:57 PM on 11/13/2008

All of those with Goldman Sachs affiliation (disaster capitalists) must be purged from our government.

[cariintexas]

04:57 PM on 11/13/2008

the Republicans can blame this mess on Democrats until hell freezes over, but WE KNOW who was the captain of this ship. Now they { Repubs} are wanting another chance to finishes us off.

[cariintexas]

04:53 PM on 11/13/2008

this is beyond belief. Take $700 billion dollars of our {tax payers] dollars and we don't have the right to know how it's being spent, whose getting their grubby hands on it. We Progressives, Dems and Independents need to {AGAIN} remind congress 2010 is right around the corner.

[holeybuybull]

05:04 PM on 11/13/2008

carintexas, how can you absolve the Democratic Congressional leadership from blame? Remove your partisan blinders, and realize that it's not liberal vs. conservative, it is the "Haves" vs. the "Havenots". It really is that simple!

[DMcMillan]

05:26 PM on 11/13/2008

Does anyone know if that new $2 Trillion includes the previous $700 billion?