TARP Not Easing Lending

Kurt Lieber feels as if he's had the TARP pulled out from under him.

As the owner of Werther International, a Houston company that sells air compressors and automotive service equipment, Lieber for years maintained a $50,000 line of credit with American Express. He kept it mostly for emergencies, drawing on it occasionally to mitigate fluctuations in cash flow and meet monthly expenses.

He hadn't tapped the credit line since early 2006, but because of the souring economy, he thought he might need it toward the end of the year.

Read the whole story here.

Comments

[Samalabear]

So much for all those warm and fuzzy AE commercials that applaud small business. OPEN from American Express anyone? Change that to CLOSED from American Express.

Come to think of it, I haven't seen those commercials from BOA anymore, either -- "Bank of America -- Bank of Opportunity."

[CharlesJ]

Paulson does not need any more of that Bailout money. He has already failed on the first 350 billion he was given. It was mandated when this was initially set up that there would be no perks, golden parachutes, no high salaries...ect. It was also mandated that this money would be distributed out and down the financial pipeline, this has not happened. In fact what has happened is excessive salaries continued to be paid, banks bought up new assets, refused to let the money flow into the economy, continued their fancy resort trips, paid golden parachute funds. There has been no oversight, and those that received the initial bailout continue to seek and receive more funds all the while not being held accountable to the initial purpose/intent of those funds.
Paulson needs to be immediately fired, replaced by the Obama treasury, and remaining funds held back until Obama and his team takes office. My gut feeling is the Bush administration is using these funds to shore up their own business dealings, forgoing oversight in hopes to reap the benefits later down the road. Corruption, pure simple, unacceptable corruption on the part of our government. What irks me more that ever is that it appears the Senate and House do not have it in them to stand up and stop this complete waste of taxpayer monies.

[pollwatcher123]

The only way that banks can buy up most of America is to first devalue most of America. But when everything is bankrupt and selling at firesale prices, Banks need to be sure that nobody else has the money to buy.

Solution: Get Paulson in there. That way, he can loot the tax revenue and the treasury. Give the money to the Banks. The Banks can yank credit lines and loans. Uncle Ben won't regulate them otherwise. Uncle Paulson will give them the cash to hoard. That cash will be the money the Banks use to buy everything up later on. After they're done destroying what little is left.

And Bush still has 40+ days to go. He was granted his power. Now, he has to pay the piper. He has 40+ days left to deliver what he promised to his masters. And then he will no longer be necessary. The scorched earth policy has begun.

And the Illinois Governor is in Federal custody today, one day after announcing that Illinois will no longer do business with Bank of America.

Lets now teach our children the new Pledge of Allegiance:
"I pledge allegiance to the flag of The United Banks of America. One nation, under occupation, divisible, with servitude and destitution for all. "

--Government of the Banks, by the Banks, for the Banks. We, the Banks, now control this economy. --

[Samalabear]

It looks like the Governor of Illinois is one despicable character -- certainly sounds that way, too, from the videos and the charges. But still the timing is pretty amazing.

[brklynivn]

What I want to know is exactly where did that 250 billion go, I can't believe there is not a detailed audit of this money.

[Pdubya]

I think Paulson is doing a fine job. But remember, perspective is from where you stand. Create panic. check. Deflate real assets. check. Usher in New New Deal as "rescue". checking. Hyperinflation. checking. Debase currency. checking. Usher in new currency.....and it will have zero to do with our sovereignty or liberty.

[Social Construct]

This is looking like a methadone program at the local free clinic. The money junkies of Wall Street have conned their last victim and now need the government to provide their fixes.

[Marcospinelli]

What the bailout was supposed to do was to get money into Americans' hands so that we'd start buying again. That didn't happen for three reasons - 1) Banks decided we're bad risks, 2) Had we gotten the money, we'd have saved it for the hard times ahead or paid off our existing debt, 3) Most of the money went to pay back foreign investors (China + Saudi Arabia).

The bailout & the other "fixes" on the agenda won't do a thing to get the economy moving again. The only thing that'll get the economy moving is wiping out debt. That's what new bailouts must go towards. Forgiving Americans' debts, wiping out what we owe is what it's going to take to get the engine going again.

Undoing the Bankruptcy Reform Act that Democrats like Dianne Feinstein signed on to a couple of years ago (where credit companies could charge usury rates) is next.

As far as the big 3 auto companies go, they have to be nationalized & put to work creating green vehicles, mass transit systems (buses + trains). From the hearings in the last weeks, CEOs said that they'll keep making big gas guzzlers, hummers, because they believe it's what consumers want + will buy if they get the money or credit-worthiness to buy them. These CEOs have to go, too.

Reregulating business & accounting systems is next.

Once that's happened, never letting another Republican get anywhere close to "reforming" government has to be a top priority.

[Marcospinelli]

My point is, if the bailout went to wipe out American consumers' debt (and the Bankruptcy Reform Act as passed a couple of years ago which allowed credit companies couldn't charge usury rates was overturned) Americans would be purchasing again and keeping the economic wheels greased.

That's one big part of this problem.

WIPE OUT CONSUMER DEBT!

[Pdubya]

purchasing with what? federal reserve notes? the currency is being debased.....do you understand what that means?

how about tightening the gubment belt along with its citizens? start producing and exporting and get the fed out of the way. we've suffered enough these last 37 years with managed markets and an insane amount of regulation .....we don't allow a free market....to blame the free market is pure propoganda. free markets allow failure, mitigate moral hazard, put people in jail for anti trust and fraud. but noooooo, we reward them instead.

credit comes from savings. it does not come from more credit.

[fishgirl26]

Before anymore money gets distributed let's get some oversight going on. $350 billion has already been pilferred, let's stop that stuff....LIKE NOW!!!!!

[PacificGatePost]

Ignore Paulson, then TAKE BACK CONTROL OF MONEY

The American economy rests on the back of the American worker and consumer. Taxpayers own the government and currency is only a tool enabling commerce.

Take charge of it. Get it working for you, not against you.

http://pacificgatepost.blogspot.com/2008/12/revising-government-relationship-to.html

Once this is done, the other problems will at least begin to resolve naturally, including home owners making their mortgage payments.

[Mnemanth]

This is no mystery. It's never been about making money available to you and me. It's about raping the People for all they can before they're shown the door. The whole thing smells fishy- including the auto industry "crisis"- but, as long as the media regurgitates what they're told to tell us, instead of investigating, we'll never know.

[satyriasis]

Paulson and the bankers pulled one over. I gotta hand it to the Bush administration. When it comes to lying, stealing, and ripping off America no one does it better than them. If only they'd use their talents towards something good. Then again, I don't think a shred of decency exists in them.

[Rule Of Law]

Decency? Let me be entirely serious. There is not one country in the world that is free that has a central bank. And there is not one developing country that has taken loans from the IMF or World Bank that still controls its own destiny. If one were to add up all the wars and the problems they cause--starvation, social dislocation, genocide, massive deforestation and pollution, racism, torture, and abuse of women, at the base of all these conflicts you will find Banks. Banks creating untenable loan provisions that cause dictatorial leaders to rape their own countries to pay the banks back. Banks funding both sides in conflicts and earning money from the resulting deaths. Banks, as in our situation, driving over 10% of Americans from their homes as fallout from the economic chaos they created. See William Fisher's Blog today for the most concise explanation of our problem.

Decency. They are responsible for more wars and death than possibly any entity other than organized religion.

[Rule Of Law]

Here's that link to Fisher's Blog--

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/william-fisher/hope-for-homeowners-not-s_b_149238.html?show_comment_id=18625960#comment_18625960

[XME]

I only hope that Congress has enough sense to laugh him out of the building if Paulson comes begging for the rest of the money.

Sure would be nice if they'd rake the banks people over the coals the way they have the car industry...rather than just throwing money at them, no questions asked!

[Obama4change]

It was an effort on the part of some lawmakers to make loans available to people who otherwise would not have gotten the opportunity to own a home when they suggested this to the financial institutions. It was the Financial institutions, predator lenders, brokers, real estate agents, contractors and others who are the ones that can be blamed for this crisis. Who said that people who cannot pay loans should have been given loans? They knew this and did not care. They went ahead and convinced these people that they could own a home knowing that they would end up losing that home later on. Many working class families saved the down payment for their home and still own them. They do not talk about these people, they only highlight the ones that are now in foreclosure. In addition, when the middle class homeowners tried to do the right thing even when they qualified for a mortgage, they were given outrageous adjustable rates that it made paying their mortgage not possible when the rates climbed. Where are the stories on the people who still own their homes because they were smart enough not to fall for these crooked schemes. All the crooks have walked away with millions of dollars while the taxpayers have to foot the bill. This is insanity!!!!

[Icantbelieveher]

There are more people losing their homes simply because they lost their jobs. We have a good fixed rate mortgage, but who knows what would happen if one of us lost our jobs? It's gotten much bigger than the adjustable and subprime loans? And had the banks worked with these people instead of trying to gouge them out of money, we wouldn't be in this fix. I know people who lost their homes, and the banks could have cared less. But when the amount of people who lost their homes added up, the banks were the first ones with their hands out asking for help!

[Pdubya]

so what kind of lame excuse are you going to make for obama's support of the bailout?

[Emerald1943]

WHY CAN'T PAULSON TELL US WHERE THE FIRST $350BILLION WENT?????

He needs to be brought up on corruption charges!!!!!!!!

[firesideone]

And if we had a real president, the recent GSA report would be enough to do it.

[ErnestineBass]

Paulson is a thief.

Bernanke is a thief.

Booosh and Chinny are thieves.

COMMON. FN. THIEVES.