Mbuna

Added Debt Won't Rescue the Great American Ponzi Scheme

Amen brother amen! The pain cannot be escaped. You can pay it now or pay it later. Guess which one will hurt more. I feel we are headed for a train wreck but may Grace and wisdom intervene for a more benign scenario.
(I especially liked the graph of deposits in failed banks as a % of nominal GDP.)

The Real Cost of the Agency Guarantee

Excellent article Mr. Salmon! It appears to me that Dan Gross is advocating a point of view that I find all too rampant in the financial world currently. I would describe it as a sense of "entitlement" and more often than not "self entitlement". You see those GSE shareholders are "entitled" to their free insurance from the US government at the expense of the common taxpayers who are not "entitled" and who should be thankful for what (crumbs) they do get.
This is all pretty much taken for granted as how things are supposed to work. I do wonder however whether Mr. Gross is simply thick and unconscious about this or whether he is a slick devil consciously advocating his cause. Either way there are far more 'Socialism for the rich" advocates out there than you think.

U.S. Government Is Heading for a Slippery Slope

Let it go down in history and be said that for those who advocate socialism for the rich, this was "their finest hour!"

Why the U.S. Government Is Using Your Money to Help Fannie and Freddie

"And just like that, the house of cards which is the US financial system built purely on trust would come tumbling down." I must say I am shocked and at the same time relieved to see a moment of honesty here. A house of cards it is indeed and tumbling down it will come in any event. At this point it is simply a matter of time before the brewing financial storm blows it all away. Better to face the reality now and learn from it than create incredible complications by trying to avoid the inevitable. Who can start thinking outside the box we are in? Who has the strength of character to face the reality? Paulson and Bernanke are in over their heads and have a boatload of "socialism for the rich" constituents to adhere to so I don't expect any real help coming from that direction.

The Great GSE Meltdown: Market Adding Fuel to Fire?

"This will totally impair the ability for Citigroup (C), Merrill Lynch (MER), and Lehman Brothers (LEH) to raise capital." These 3 companies were clearly insolvent 6 months ago IMO as a result of the gathering of the perfect financial storm which has cut off any possible escape route. The only drama playing out now is how long they can artfully hide their insolvency. Everyone is in over their heads and Bernanke and Paulson can do little more than put bandaids on to try to protect the interests of their constituents. No one is thinking outside the box they are in. As for the GSE's, they were a convenient vehicle for propping up the housing market for a time but as we all can see that time has ended. I think it better to start thinking about the fact that the US government is well on its way to losing its AAA credit rating. At least you have seen that there is the possibility of there being no winners in this game. For most players that is unthinkable.