whisperonthewind

Should the Government Profit from the Bailout?

Since we, as taxpayers, funded the bailout, I think we, as taxpayers, should be the ones holding the stock in the form of shares, and we, as taxpayers, should be the ones making a profit.

Each and every one of us should have been given a percentage of shares based on our tax contribution - only those of us who paid taxes, of course. (Any who don't pay taxes would be out of luck, since they didn't take fund it. They would be social recipients of the benefits of success, whereas the rest of us would be financial recipients.)

By not returning all the profit to the taxpayers, the government is basically charging us a tax on money we GAVE.

U.S. Profits from Bailed-Out Banks

PainfullyAware, the government doesn't make money, it takes money. It doesn't earn money because it doesn't work.

Speculative Trading Indicates Rally Losing Steam

beachbum is not alone. Clearly, from the volume trading, that should be evident. And looking back on previous crunches, these companies and others had some pretty impressive comebacks. No one expects the road to be all uphill, and no one really expects to double their money in 6 months - except perhaps the millions of people buying those Mega Millions lottery tickets.

On the other hand, when one buys a lottery ticket and loses, all they have to show for it is a crumpled piece of paper. I've had a few stocks that did that, but less this time around. I depend on the day traders to be there to buy my loser stocks when I call it a day, but until then I'm going to watch for that increase on a longer term basis. I may not make money on Monday or Tuesday but at the end of the week, if I'm up from the week before, that's a gain. I don't need to cash out today, and I won't need to cash out all at once, so it's simply a matter of buying more than just FNM or FRE or C. I have some of the 'going nowhere fast' stocks which just plod along, and they are still going nowhere fast. They just don't hold the same excitement. In the meantime, I have two years of losses that will provide me with several years of tax credits on the gains I have made since. I'll need them.

Six Signs Economy Is Turning the Corner

With foreclosures increasing due to the unemployment numbers increasing (15.2% in Michigan now), and with unemployment extensions giving us 70+ weeks of unemployment checks to some extent (although I'm not sure what the values are or if it's worth it), I only wonder if the illustrious Obama is going to authorize a natural transition to welfare when unemployment checks end. The banks are not helping people to refinance, the manufacturing jobs have been blown away, we can't go to school AND receive unemployment because then we would not be able and available to work full time (supposedly, although people do both and survive in the real world).

So with my BBA, I'm out of work, I can't afford to move, and there are no jobs. Soon, I'll be looking for that transition to welfare, or maybe I'll just look for a refrigerator box. Thank you, Mr. President.

GM's Tough Treatment Should Be a Model for Other Bailouts

What would be interesting is to see how many of those automotive employees - both those laid off and those still employed - will vote for Obama next time. It's a sure bet that the vast majority of them voted for him the first time. He was their hope, their dream. The unions supported him, fought feverishly for him, and he turned around and slapped them in the face.

I don't think it's right, or fair, to say that "Buy American" is the only way to go, but for the American Auto companies to receive that kind of treatment was just wrong. Certainly, there were issues with the union pay. Certainly there were issues with jets. But those issues were here before and no one had any problem with them then. The cars and trucks were expensive before, they're expensive now. They were lacking in fuel efficiency before, they are now. But to basically claim they'll go bankrupt is only digging that hole deeper.

On the other hand, maybe those automotive workers and union reps won't vote for Ms. Pelosi again, too. THAT could be a plus.

Exclusive: Big Banks' Recent Profitability Due to AIG Scam?

Although I don't doubt there is some truth to each and every comment, I believe the real answer is somewhere straight down the middle with this whole thing. ALL of the problem was not just in the banking industry, a large chunk was in the creeps who decided to either use the faulty loan mechanisms and the dumbos who knew they couldn't pay the mortgages and decided to scam the system, never thinking that they would be the ones to pay in the end. Daily we hear about how bad the banks are, and no one goes after those other idiots. So since we're ignoring half the problem, we aren't getting the whole answer either.

That means, basically, that with only half the answer, and the solution being somewhere in the middle of that half, we still don't really know what will happen when this is all sorted out. If we allow the idiots to get away with what they did, and only go after the banks, then we are the ones paying for everything and the idiots get off scot free. And they are probably shorting all the bank stocks and running away with all those profits. Silly us, to be so hung up with name calling and finger pointing when we should be facing the other half of the problem instead.

Is Obama Trying to Wrest Control of Bonus Debate from Congress?

When the government - either political party - can arbitrarily change the terms of a contract previously set and agreed to, we are in serious trouble. When it even tries to do so, we should heed the warning and fight back. You may or may not agree with the bonuses, but the only way to look at this is to see it as your own bonus - which it may very well be, next time.

Sure, we change laws all the time, but those laws GO FORWARD. These bonuses were earned. Were yours?

The Government Actually Created the AIG Bonus Firestorm It Claims to Be Reacting to

1/10 of 1% of the AIG bailout, that's what this is all about. I bet the combined costs of all the media reports are worth more than that whole bonus issue. Salaries, expenses, proportionate business costs, internet costs, radio and television time... and people are still whining and crying. Boring.

The Other Side of Bonuses

If those employees did meet the criteria of the contractual obligations (whatever they were, how valid they were, whatever), they should get those bonuses. The big problem now is that the media isn't the recipient of those bonuses and we have allowed them to pander to their readers/listeners and now they are all saying the same thing: Hey! What about me?

If the media and the whiners are not meeting that same criteria or similar criteria with the same or similar bonus promises, they do not deserve that bonus, any more than the slackers at the companies under scrutiny. We do not all deserve the same things. We do not - in this country - have the right to all things. All we have is the right to pursue them. Before getting the reward, you have to meet the challenge and win. Most who are not receiving bonuses did not earn them anyway. The whiners are given too much media time.

Don't Blame Mark-to-Market for This Crisis

I actually started to think perhaps you had something, that maybe you were going to educate me further. After all, I've read many articles, both pro and con, regarding mark-to-market. I've seen some good points and some bad ones in each of those articles. However, when your article reached the point where you said, "With all due respect... are you f#$%ing retarded?!" I just stopped reading, and decided if you can't discuss it on an educated level, then perhaps I'm wasting my time reading your article.

Obama and Bush: Different Objectives, Same Results

The thing you forgot, tginomore, is that Obama's followers believed he WOULD fix it in a few weeks, and they said so over and over. And he hasn't, and they've lost more and more, just like everyone has. Some of us actually heard what Obama promised, and he has given us exactly what he promised. Change. That's all that is in our pockets now. Just change. And he'll go after that, too, wait and see.