$700 Billion Bailout Signed Into Law

Many readers reminded us of what no-one can have failed to hear: that the Congress passed and the President signed a $700B bailout bill in an attempt to avert the meltdown of the US economy. The bill allocates $700 billion to the Treasury Department for the purchase of so-called "toxic assets" that have been weighing down Wall Street balance sheets. This isn't particularly a tech story, though tech will be affected as will virtually all parts of the economy, and not just in the US. Among the $110B in so-called pork added to the bill to sway reluctant legislators are extensions of popular tax benefits for business R&D and alternative energy, relief for the growing pool of people subject to the alternative minimum tax, and a provision raising the FDIC's ceiling of guaranteed deposits to $250,000. Some limits were also imposed on executive compensation, though it's unclear whether they will be effective.

Comments

Re:Biggest Con Ever

[illumin8]

Henry Paulson, the CEO of Goldman Sachs until 2006 and current U.S. Treasury Secretary succeeded in scaring the public and Congress into giving him a $700B blank check to bail out his friends. If you think that money will "trickle down" to you or small business owners, or anyone other than the people it's directly going to, you are mistaken.

Not only that, this article (sorry, NYTimes reg required) details how Henry Paulson, back in 2004, asked the SEC to deregulate Goldman Sachs and other banks to allow them to take on this toxic mortgage debt in the first place.

We have just been ripped off by the most elaborate con in the history of the world. We let a banker tell us "let us break the rules so we can make more money", then when he did and the bottom fell out, we gave him even more money to keep him from going out of business.

My only hope is that the voters check for who is voting for this and get rid of them next election.

Re:Biggest Con Ever

[binarylarry]

Yep, I've heard those and one other rumour.

(Disclaimer: I work for a highly secret govt. agency with unlimited resources).

Basically, a race of aliens threatened to build a new hyperspace-expressway through our solar system unless we provided the capital to bail out the luxury planet building markets. Apparently, the galactic economy recently collapsed and most of the universe is in a pretty bad recession.

Personally, I'm not sure how much of this is true but I agree, it's probably a combination of all three.

Re:Seriously it is quite an achievement

[OriginalArlen]

Close, but no cigar. FORTY-TWO DAYS.. No, you couldn't make it up, could you.