Chairman Bernanke, We Don't Believe It Is Over

There is a reason that the American people are losing ObamaHope. The Chairman of the Federal Reserve told the world that “the worst recession since the 1930’s is probably over,” and blamed the continued problems on the rise of unemployment. Certainly he is right about the escalation of those that are jobless, but the reality cuts much deeper than that into the everyday lives of normal people.

For the Average Joe/Josephina the situation is pretty bleak. He/She sees that the TARP money bailed out the big Wall Street guys, but no one is bailing him/her out. The Wall Street executives took their bonuses and ran. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner is still there cajoling his buddies for the President. Others from the Administration have been proverbially thrown under the bus, but not Geithner.

The health care insurance reform debate is confusing. There is a threat of a pandemic. All those Congress people are acting out in public. Why can’t they just get along? It’s almost impossible to get the facts on the news other maybe that Rachel person, but you’ve got to search for her on cable. All those other television reporters are just making him/her more nervous because they scream too!

The banks are not lending to small businesses and/or consumers. And if they are lending their interest rates are ratcheted toward 30 percent. It is not business as usual for anyone. Refinancing your home is becoming increasing more difficult, and trading up impossible if you are not an investor. The really bad news according to an economist pal is that the second shoe may drop in the real estate markets. All those adjustable rate mortgages (ARMS) are getting ready for a leap into the stratosphere, and home equity lines of credit are being called. Arianna Huffington is so right when she contends that, “Obama's rhetoric has not been matched by reality.”

Complicating this is the return of TARP monies from many smaller banks leaving their balance sheets meager and unable to lend to consumers and small businesses according to New York Times columnist, Gretchen Morgenson as interviewed today. While the big four banks hold over 39 percent of all FDIC deposits: Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo having grown 7 percent since the beginning of the financial crisis.

And one wonders why the polls are plummeting for the President.

 

 

 

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Comments

[DI-1957]

OBOMA, FIRE your Wall Street Banksters.
Then,
Campaign finance reform.
Debt forgiveness
End the Wars
Constitutional Convention

[old timer 37]

Up to now I've admired Bernanke for what he's done and what he's said. Now I'm ready to give him the "George (its a slam dunk) Tenant" award for political expediency.

The dollar is plunging, home prices are plunging, the banks have yet to clean up their balance sheets from their toxic assets, more layoffs each week, the commercial real estate crises is barely underway, the low interest home loans are building in the next wave of toxic assets when inflation and interest rates skyrocket, etc. and a trade war is on the horizon.

If Ben Bernanke actually believes what he said, then he needs to change his meds.

[blueken]

When is the business world going to realize that they need us little people healthy with money in our pockets? Who else will buy thier products. At one time you had to provide a valuable product to become wealthy. Now Wall Street and the banks shuffle paper and get rich. Insurance companies pay as few bills as they can, and get rich. They are not creating value, they are just skimming. How did our economy get this way? How do we get on a more sustainable footing? When do we start rolling up our sleeves and makeing things, bigger, faster, cheaper? When will our government stop going to oil companies to get advice on energy policy? When will our government stop turning to insurance companies to set policy on national health care? This isn't capitalism, it's a Ponzi scheme. Like all Ponzi schemes only the top makes our at the expense of the middle and the bottom.

[ElementalPraxis]

Of course people realize that Hope is unrealistic. They still smell the donuts.

Imagine this:

A baker issues to the public 1000 receipts for a donut, selling them each at the full price of a donut.

The baker never has more than 100 donuts in his shop, but he keeps on selling receipts for a thousand.

If more than 100 of the receipt holders ever try and get their donut at any one time, the government ( that the bakers' organization owns ) closes all the banks and then bails them out with the taxes of those who hold the donut receipts.

So, you have a cartel of crooked bakers who invent receipts for donuts that don't exist and then sell them to the public plus interest. They own the government and the media to enforce their donut monopoly and lie about the honesty of the bakers.

Except that we're not talking about bakers. We're talking about bankers.

[Sundialsvc4]

Why do you attach the blame, then, to the President? And use words like "Obama-hope" instead of "hope?"

The President, granted, is in the office of "the buck stops here," and it is part of the job for him or her (someday...) to use the power of persuasion to move the Congress if they can. Which is what both he and Joe Biden are doing.

But the Constitution of the United States is, "it's all about the Congress. The Congress. The Congress." As of course it should be.

We choose to ignore selected parts of that document, though. Like Article 2, Section 4, which applies to "any civil officer" and which explicitly prohibits two "high crimes" by name: (1) treason, and (2) ...

... bribery.

[Helzapoppin]

neither Congress NOR Obama should be excused.

[mickthebiologist]

When you make an agreement with the fat cats that allows you to be favored for president, you play ball with them because they know what's best, right?''

Out of the millions of wily, seasoned, non-beltway types who could have helped the prez make the really tough choices, like cutting off the casino/ban­ker/milita­ry/spook cartel at the knees, we got a bunch of suits again.

All these clowns march to different drummers, there is no fierce loyalty to the prez from most.

So Ben, old buddy old pal, glad to hear you feel so good about our chances. Guess you looked in the mirror and didn't see a single hair out of place again, so naturally you thought 'all's right with the world.'

This entire country is insane. No one here gets out alive. Or, better yet, you can check out any time you like, but you can never leave. That goes for the prez too. He wanted to run with the big dogs, and now all the little mutts are nipping at him too.

Say Ben, by the way, did you read today where one out of six humans in the world is hungry right now? Probably not. Too busy combing your beautiful beard. Maybe some crumbs will fall out and feed a few of us. Don't you just admire all the largesse these days? I know, you're glad you could help.

[mbaty]

No we do not.

[iridium53]

very nice.