huskerbob

There's Nothing to Fear But Fearmongers Themselves

Ha ha. Are you one of the folks that thought the Iraq war could be won if it wasn't for all the negative reporting?
"But, other than housing prices which were arguably too high anyway, the real economy seemed to be doing pretty well."
Aside from the fact that the average American was spending more than he saves, there are some other factors you could look at.
The average homeowner lost $85,000 in value this year, with 74% of homes losing value. Would that make a rational person think about putting their "credit card under the mattress", as you put it?
Banks have written down $500 billion in mortgage losses, on their way to probably $2 trillion dollars. Could this cause a clampdown on credit? Seeing as how total credit is 340% of our GDP, could this have a negative effect on the economy?
In addition, how many people formerly employed selling homes, funding, building, remodeling, furnishing, and so on, are now out of a job?
Yes, the powers that be are absolutely taking advantage of the situation.
But people have myriad reasons to cut back on expenditures and start saving money! Don't expect the hoi polloi to renew their appetite for more junk to fill up their rented storage units anytime soon.

The Greatest Short Sale in History

I have discovered a potential source of liquidity for our poor beleaguered financials. Why not let all of the idiots who are praising this bailout join in any auction for these craptastic chunks of debt? Apparently there is a ready and willing market made up of individual morons who think the purchase of these non-performing assets is a wonderful idea. There are many comments pointing out how the government will make the money back, and perhaps even profit! So why not join in the purchasing of these extremely underrated debt vehicles! After all, it's absolutely necessary that we take them off the poor corporations' hands.
And it must be the only viable solution out there, as it is the only option being considered right now.
I would prefer my tax dollars and any new pretend monies go towards roads, education, maybe a new WPA. We may be needing it soon.

Can the US Government Afford Future Bailouts?

Thank you for sharing your understanding of "the nature of money". Unfortunately, you are correct in stating that "the government has infinite access to money, since the government can literally print its own money". What is amazing is your lack of alarm and concern at the idea of printing unlimited amounts of money to cover our debts and bail out any company considered too big to fail.
Running the presses may work fine for the government and its assorted cronies and sycophants, but what about the poor schlub who ends up paying $10 for a gallon of gas or a quart of milk?
You have to be a tool of the first magnitude to think that we can print unlimited amounts of dollars without serious consequence. For an example, look at the end of any fiat currency in history. Heck, look at the value of the dollar since the creation of the Federal Reserve! They managed to destroy 95% of the dollar's value so far. Why do you think the last 5% will fare any better?
If we are printing money to cover a shortfall when foreigners stop buying our debt, we are the Weimar Republic. Don't kid yourself that other nations will keep us afloat forever.