Where's Your $50,000?

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) says that our government has handed out $16 trillion to the banks.

Let me repeat that, in case you didn't hear me the first time. The GAO says that our Government HAS HANDED OUT $16 TRILLION TO THE BANKS.

That little gem appears on Page 131 of GAO Report No. GAO-11-696. A report issued two months ago. A report that somehow seems to have eluded the attention of virtually every network, every major newspaper, and every news show.

How much is $16 trillion? That is an amount equal to or more than $50,000 for every man, woman and child in America. That's more than every penny that every American earns in a year. That's an amount equal to almost a third of our national net worth -- the value of every home, car, personal belonging, business, bank account, stock, bond, piece of land, book, tree, chandelier, and everything else anyone owns in America. That's an amount greater than our entire national debt, accumulated over the course of two centuries.

A $16 trillion stack of dollar bills would reach all the way to the moon. And back. Twice.

That's enough to pay for Saturday mail delivery. For the next 5,000 years.

All of that money went from you and me to the banks. And we got nothing. Not even a toaster.

I have been patiently waiting to see whether this disclosure would provoke some kind of reaction. Answer: nope. Everyone seems much more interested in discussing whether or not they like the cut of Perry's jib.

Whatever a jib may be.

In the next few weeks, I'm going to be writing more about this. But right now, I wanted to keep this really simple. Just give folks something to talk about when they're standing next to the coffee maker.

The government gave $16 trillion to the banks. And nobody else is talking about it.

Think about it. Think about what that means.

 

Follow Alan Grayson on Twitter: www.twitter.com/alangrayson

Comments

[apathyman]

07:51 PM on 10/10/2011

It means that the corporate media has no interest in informing the masses of anything that might cause people to think

[Pippen]

01:32 PM on 10/10/2011

At some point Americans will realize the standard vote to change philosophy isn't working and is broken and begin to functionalize alternative options.

Viva La Liberte !! The French had it right the first time.

[Lindytindy]

08:51 AM on 10/10/2011

Well Alan put your money where your mouth is and run for President.

[MSROADKILL612]

07:24 AM on 10/10/2011

woo - $50k - bet my 50k would have trickled down way better

[MSROADKILL612]

07:20 AM on 10/10/2011

Ah yes - the good old days - a free toaster for switching accounts - even a tv - perhaps thats when the rot started

[Peter Combs]

03:36 PM on 10/09/2011

Ahh..Gee thanks Alan...the only part of this article worth reading was "Former U.S. Congressman from Florida's 8th District".

Can't wait to see more of his brainpower in action...I need a laugh.

[scooter1]

03:34 PM on 10/09/2011

I know what it means, Alan. It means they need to add a $5 charge to those bank patrons that can least afford it.

[nlkennedy]

03:15 PM on 10/09/2011

$50,000 would crush any and all stress and anxiety I've been experiencing in my adult life. And I'm not even really in the hole. I wouldnt leave my job and it wouldnt kill my motivation. All it would do is set me up straight so I can tackle things like paying off my car loan, and help me get fantastic credit.

Imagine how many lives and marriages this kind of public investment would save.

Imagine the instant demand it would create and the millions of jobs that would be created to meet that demand.

Too bad it would make us commie-socialist-marxist-thugs. We'd rather be swindled by already rich folks while they flash us picture of ronald reagan and white picket fences.

[Lindytindy]

08:52 AM on 10/10/2011

Yes as the commedian Tater Tot so wisely says, you can't fix stupid.

[JoeMomma]

01:27 PM on 10/09/2011

Every time something really news worthy comes up, the msm fails to cover it. Why is that. Wall Street is a problem. K Street is a problem. The MSM is THE problem.

[Grasse7]

01:02 PM on 10/09/2011

This may be the most important story I've read on HuffPo in months. Why HuffPo isn't trumpeting it boldly on their front page I can't understand.

[Peter Combs]

03:38 PM on 10/09/2011

because its not a story...read it again, it didn't say the money was a GIFT, these were all loans, that earn money....just like Tarp, which produced 40 Billion in profits last year alone..

Alan's silly attmept at making hay on this, is just what he does..and is why he was kicked out after one term...

[Grasse7]

09:30 AM on 10/10/2011

no, actually; he was kicked out because big bucks were behind getting him ousted.

btw, it's spelled "attempt"

[oilfield]

12:34 PM on 10/09/2011

this cant be true....we all know that all the money is under the mattresses of the wealth 1%.....so where does 16 trillion go? there isnt a finite pie of money where the top has it all, assets appreciate and get borrowed against, or sold and folks pay taxes on the capital gains.....

[reininop]

12:23 PM on 10/09/2011

There are a lot of bad things these banks and the Fed have done. Exaggerating claims about short term loans and making it seem like it was a handout that wasn't repaid is misleading. A lot of these were very short-term loans and all the money was given back the day after it was borrowed.
If we result to lies and statistical manipulation, any truths we mention later won't hold the same weight as they should. Let's stick to facts.

[Grasse7]

01:00 PM on 10/09/2011

So just how many trillion dollars have we *actually* been fleeced for? Please enlighten.

[AndrewDover]

03:39 PM on 10/09/2011

We don't know the total amount, but less than a quarter of a trillion at maximum.
AIG, Fannie, and Freddie and the auto companies are the big losses.

http://projects.propublica.org/bailout/main/summary

[greyhound2]

10:42 AM on 10/10/2011

Only about 20% of the money was in loans, which has mostly been paid back. The major portion went to the purchase of company stock. For example, the US government is the major shareholder of GM as it owns about 60% of its stock. If the company goes bankrupt and its stock becomes worthless, like Enron, the taxpayers could loose all their money overnight.

[Aeons]

11:21 AM on 10/09/2011

We are pursuing agendas of privatizing the debt of major corporations.

It is an insane precedent. In a horrible down turn, do you think that the media these banks own would allow for their profits to be redirected to bolster the people? Of course they wouldn't.

[MrUnlimited]

10:14 PM on 10/10/2011

I think you mean that we're SOCIALIZING the debt of major corporations. Most of us here would LOVE if these corporations were forced to face the consequences of their own stupidity.

[hornedcog]

08:47 AM on 10/09/2011

Print new money and have a different exchange rate based on tax records. Forgive institutionally held debt for those with a net worth under a certain amount.

[starr3333]

11:50 PM on 10/08/2011

All Congress is corrupt and must be voted out.

[muck-raker]

08:12 AM on 10/09/2011

exactly.....but moments after WE vote someone in power the Lobbyist from K street fills their pockets with MONEY from the corporations to vote on matters benefiting them. the people lose again...most American legislators are millionaires and are beholding to the Corporations and not the working people of this country.

[starr3333]

02:45 PM on 10/09/2011

So true...money is everything...there is no more doing the right thing because it is right.
At this moment Corporations now seem to own the world....but not for long.
Humans will take back their power of "right" and go forward into a new energy.