Wall Street Bailout Failed To Rescue Main Street

nytimes.com:

FOR the last three years we have been told repeatedly by government officials that funneling hundreds of billions of dollars to large and teetering banks during the credit crisis was necessary to save the financial system, and beneficial to Main Street.

Read the whole story: nytimes.com

Comments

[llwlknsn]

02:09 PM on 09/30/2011

They never intended to. What part of that does anyone fail to understand?

[TXfemmom]

09:16 AM on 08/30/2011

Capital gains taxes should be changed.  Individuals should get, say $25,000 per person in capital gains taxes per year at the 15% rate, so individuals who have saved for their retirement, their children, etc. get a fair shake.  A couple could earn $50,000 per year at the lower rate and that would be fair.  Then, adjust the next $25,000 per individual up to 25% and anything over that up to 35%.  That would mean that the overwhelming numbers of Americans in the middle class and small business owners, who drive the economy, would be taxed at the lower rates.

For corporations, they should have to pay an Alternative Minimum Tax.  There are so many loopholes and all manner of corporate welfare situations which permit many or even most large corporations and businesses to escape paying a fair share of taxes.  Many of them with the highest incomes have effective rates lower than ten percent and some pay virtually nothing at all, as in some oil companies.  In situations such as that, put in an alternative minimum tax situation and they can either pay the tax, or use the money which would have been paid in taxes to CREATE JOBS.  Yes, use what they would have paid in that Alternative Minimum Tax for legitimate, living wage job creation, businesses and corporations and avoid the taxes.  That would be a great incentive for them to hire individuals, improve customer service and even invest in technology to bring jobs back to America.  Businesses hate taxes, so avoid them by really, genuinely creating jobs and hiring people.

I saw a news article where one company brought back jobs to the U. S. from China because with technology and the better quality and performance of American workers, they were able to beat Chinese costs for their products, did not have the delay in being able to adjust and meet demand, and did not have to deal with poor quality output.  Target the tax incentives to just such a situation.  Reward the companies who deserve to be rewarded.  With the additional costs for shipping raw ingredients to China, production of it, fighting poor quality and time delays, and then transportation costs back to us, this company brought jobs back here and cut out all those costs to the environment and paid decent wages with benefits.  Target that kind of thing with incentives.

Then, these huge investors and investment companies should have to pay higher capital gains taxes.  A hedge fund manager involved with Goldman on many shady deals, then "made" $350 MILLION the next year and paid 15% on it...change that to 35%.

[romano70]

09:59 PM on 08/29/2011

It is amazing that Wall Street felt entitled to a bailout after screwing us and themselves so royally. For those who don't remember, initially Paulson proposed the money without any kind of attachments and had to change their tune. Then they tried to dilute Dodds' regulations...now they are fighting the same government who saved their asses.

[FaceReality2]

05:09 PM on 08/29/2011

The commercial banks would never have gotten in trouble had Glass-Steagall not been repealed at the behest of Phil Gramm and the Republicans and signed by Clinton at the urging of his Treasury Secretary (a former Goldman Sachs guy). Had the commercial banks not been in trouble, TARP would not have been necessary.

[givesflack]

06:32 PM on 08/29/2011

But the baggers come on here along with their independent enablers to tell us that this is not a partisan problem, as if the issue is equally shared by both parties so are thus equally to blame. This has been the fourth estate problem that in the guise of unbiased journalism which neutralizes issues by giving equal weight to both sides without acknowledging the intensive disparity in understanding which misreads actual occurrences in time, thus history. It works for only one party because they know that can act extremely, the republicans that is, and know the press will smooth over the issue or aslant the blame back on Democrats for mearly taking up space in the country. ItsafuckingGOPfuckingfreeforall-that'swhythiscountrystinks.

[FaceReality2]

12:12 AM on 08/30/2011

"This has been the fourth estate problem that in the guise of unbiased journalism which neutralize­s issues by giving equal weight to both sides"

That's why newspapers are going broke--they aren't worth reading anymore. They give little insight into the issues of the day.

[badwalrus]

03:21 PM on 08/29/2011

Obama has been a huge beneficiary of his administration's bias towards Wall St., which, ironically, is just another form of "trickle down" economics (debunked long ago as ineffective). Coincidence?

[DCinFrance]

02:55 PM on 08/29/2011

Wake Up, America.

[IntelligentDesign]

12:04 PM on 08/29/2011

Wall Street has unfettered reign to manipulate the free markets.

[IntelligentDesign]

12:00 PM on 08/29/2011

The real economy (MS) has been completely overshadowed by the fake economy (WS) -- Obama is not addressing this problem with enough firepower.

[DCinFrance]

02:47 PM on 08/29/2011

Not enough firepower. Indeed. He is as in on it as the rest of them. When will people wake up?

[Roger Sunderlin]

11:57 AM on 08/29/2011

wow where are the obama minions on this.he tells us he hates wall street but supplies them with trillions.i thought only bush and chaney were for wall street.that is all we heard for 8 years during their reign,now silence from the adoring crowd.what a bunch of cry babies.

[FaceReality2]

04:55 PM on 08/29/2011

"he tells us he hates wall street"

According to whom? Limbaugh and Beck?

[blueken]

11:47 AM on 08/29/2011

What do they call it when the financial sector opposes mortgage relief? Oh, yeah, moral peril. The Fed let the value of equity put up for these loans because they knew that the slim controling these banks would let the ship sink before they acknowledged the holes in the hull. They got their life boat, cash in pocket. They can just walk. The Fed didn't dare call the bankers bluff, because it wasn't a bluff. They would walk out of the building rich men as the ranks of the un-employed swelled and jobs vanished.

[thegreenhornet]

11:39 AM on 08/29/2011

That is because they gave the money to the wrong people. Wall Streeters are the epitome of greed. They took the money and made money with it, paying the public back frompart of the profitsthey made. Wall Street contributes absolutely nothing tour economy. They provide no product or service other than a place where corporate America can raise funds. The money should have been put into infrastructure projects instead. Look at the money that went to the auto companies. It saved an entire industry and thousands of jbs.

[omobob]

11:35 AM on 08/29/2011

Forget the banks and give the money to the home owners instaed.

[Ordinary Citizen]

11:27 AM on 08/29/2011

I believe there was no intention of saving main street from the beginning; If you remember...they all got huge bonuses right after they got the check.....we can all die for all they care...get real. It was all a scam and they should all be put in jail for it. Speaks bush and republican party all over it...

[Not That Far Left]

11:25 AM on 08/29/2011

If the Fed is going to be lending out my money to banks that routinely charge me double digit interest rates, then there will be a one time fee of 10% of the loan, not to exceed $10M, and an interest in the neighborhood of the average interest rate tied to credit cards- something around 20%.

Banks are corporations. Corporations are people. Banks do this exact same thing to people. Why should it be any different to them?

[dfranz]

11:23 AM on 08/29/2011

Trickle down economics, Too big to fail, Job creators, all lies. Now that the people are wanting answers and a shared responsibility, it's class warfare. Oh those poor old banks and rich people are being attacked by the people who actually DO pay taxes. It's enough to make someone cynical...excuse me while I wipe the tear from my eyes.