Evans Liberal Politics
July 22, 2010
SIGTARP REPORT: Taxpayer Support
Of Wall St. = $3.7 Trillion
SIGTARP REPORT: Taxpayer Support Of Wall St. = $3.7 Trillion, Daily Kos, July 21, 2010, by Bob Swern, used with permission, quoted verbatim:
The next time someone tries to sell you the Wall Street propaganda–you see it in diaries on the Rec List around here, from time to time, as well–that the banks are paying off their bailouts, and our deeply-captured (by the status quo) government is going to, somehow, miraculously make a profit on this ongoing historical fleecing of its citizens, show them this just-published chart from Special Inspector General Neil Barofsky’s office (from the SIGTARP report linked in the LA Times story, below): Incremental Financial System Support By Federal Agency Since 2007.
Click the Class War |
|---|
In fact, just 12 days ago, when it was noted by yours truly that another diary on the Rec List was reprinting a story that falsely claimed that taxpayers were going to make a profit from the Wall Street bailout, a lot of people here were quite dismayed by this inconvenient reality.
The truth is that, as of the end of June (according to the Special Inspector General’s Office), the bailout (ex-housing) has put taxpayers on the hook for over $2 trillion. If you include housing/mortgage industry supports, the number almost doubles to $3.7 trillion.And, if anyone thinks the support of the mortgage industry is providing massive benefits to homeowners, the reality is the primary beneficiaries of those related programs are the large mortgage underwriters, taking their vig these days, and then selling through their mortgages to…us–at last check, the government was the ultimate underwriter of 96.5% of all mortgages in this country. (In another diary posted the day prior to the one linked, above, I pointed out a Federal Reserve white paper that was published in 2004 which discussed the concept of the Fed providing mortgage underwriting services directly to consumers, bypassing the traditional middlemen/banks, entirely, and saving U.S. homebuyers a significant chunk of cash, as a result of that new effort.)
Also, about that other Wall Street meme that the FDIC is supported by the banks, I would imagine that by sometime around 2030 or 2040, the banks may get around to digging themselves out of their FDIC hole; but, until then, taxpayers are holding those notes, too. (But, that’s just my opinion, right?)
Here’s the truth…and, as we all know, no matter how much some might try, ultimately, you cannot hide from that…
Report: Housing aid boosts total U.S. financial-system support to $3.7 trillion
Tom Petruno
LA Times
July 21, 2010 11:41 am – Despite the winding-down of most of the government’s aid programs for the financial system this year, total federal support for the system now is 23% greater than it was a year ago, the Treasury’s watchdog for bailout plans said in a report to Congress on Wednesday.Neil Barofsky, the special inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, said the government was on the hook for $3.7 trillion in support as of June 30, up from $3 trillion a year earlier.
Even as banks have been repaying the money the Treasury invested in them under one of the main TARP programs approved in 2008, U.S. aid to the housing market has ballooned, Barofsky’s report said. The increase has mainly come in the form of more capital for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and loan guarantees for various federal mortgage programs such as those of the Federal Housing Administration.
Barofsky “Notwithstanding [the] scaling back of TARP, an examination of the broader context demonstrates that the overall governmental efforts to stabilize the economy have not diminished,” the report said.
Thanks to Bob Swern for permission to republish his articles on an ongoing basis. You can see his blogroll at Daily Kos here. Email Bob Swern here.
See Bernanke Unleashes the Bears: No Fed Plans to Give More Support, Bernanke Says, The New York Times, July 21, 2010, by Sewell Chan:
WASHINGTON — The chairman of the Federal Reserve, in saying that it had no immediate plans to provide additional support to the economy, dashed the hopes of some economists and executives who have been pushing for action to add momentum to the sluggish recovery.
See The Wall St. Bill Doesn’t Protect Us From Banker Abuse: 5 Essential Reforms Are Still Needed, AlterNet, July 21m 2010, by Zach Carter.
*****
To make a Word or .pdf document of an article, or share or email it, simply load the individual article by clicking the dark blue title at the very top, or use the icons beneath the article.
We’re Counting on You!
Tell Your Friends About Evans Liberal Politics!
Evans Liberal Politics
March 19, 2010
Credit Where Due, Geithner
Be Sure to Watch the Video
We talked about the economy today, and whether Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner deserves more credit. What he should be getting credit for, it seems to me, is that Lehman Brothers report — well, not the report, but the cover-up.
To give you the thumbnail sketch, a court-appointed bank examiner spent a year researching the fall of Lehman — the trigger for the bailout crisis. As it turns out, surprise surprise, the accounting at Lehman was, to put it mildly, shifty… and our guests aren’t the only ones asking what did Geithner know and when did he know it?
Yves Smith at Naked Capitalism is noting, “The NY Fed, and thus Timothy Geithner, were at a minimum massively derelict…”
Mike Whitney over at CounterPunch is faking disbelief: “Is there really any doubt that Tim Geithner at the New York Fed, or Bernanke knew that Lehman was trading its junk assets to finance its on-going operations?”
If Geithner and Bernanke didn’t know what was going on at Lehman, that’s bad. If they knew, that’s worse. One way, you’ve got to wonder why they’re still in work. The alternative is that it was all part of some bigger, nastier scam, which transferred huge amounts of wealth from taxpayers back to the very banks that created the crisis.
They shouldn’t just be out of work, quite possibly, Geithner or Bernanke (or both) should be in the clink. We learned long ago that this President can cut bait when he thinks it’s called for. Candidate, then president Obama has broken with his preacher, his green jobs guru, his social secretary. The last, Desiree Rogers, apparently got the boot for letting gatecrashers into last fall’s first State Dinner.
If she can get the boot for letting strangers into a feast, surely Bernanke and Geithner should get at least that for covering up for the banks who ate up our whole economy? Or does Obama only get tough with homies?
The F Word is a regular commentary by Laura Flanders, the host of GRITtv which broadcasts weekdays on satellite TV (Dish Network Ch. 9415 Free Speech TV) on cable, and online at GRITtv.org and TheNation.com. Follow GRITtv or GRITlaura on Twitter.com.
MSNBC: Lehman Brothers
Cooked the Books, Jail Geithner, Jail Fuld
Evans Liberal Politics
March 14, 2010
Candidate John Kasich
Lehman Brothers Crisis Explained
Kasich is running for Ohio Governor
(heck I’d take Bob Taft in a minute over Kasich)
Sunday Noon Headlines
Obama’s Health Care Legacy Hangs on 216 House Votes, Truthout, March 14, 2010, by James Rosen of McClatchy Newpapers.
Obama Delays Asia Trip as Dems Wrangle Health Care Votes, ABC News Good Morning America, March 12, 2010, by Jake Tapper: a little old but right on target.
$657M Settlement Reached With Ground Zero Workers, ABC News blog, March 12, 2010, by Aaron Katersky
Talking Points Memo DC Saturday News Round-up, March 12, 2010, by Justin Elliot.
Axelrod: Israel Settlement Approval an ‘Affront’; ‘Insult’, ABC News Political Punch, March 14, 2010, by Jake Tapper, excerpt quoted verbatim:
The President’s top adviser David Axelrod told me that approval of new housing units by Israel in the Arab section of Jerusalem during Vice President Biden’s trip there last week was an “affront” and an “insult”. “What it did was it made more difficult a very difficult process,” Axelrod said in my “This Week” interview. Axelrod added that the move “seemed calculated to undermine” the so-called proximity talks going on between the Palestinians and the Israelis.
Axelrod said a clear message was delivered to Israel over the flap. “Israel is a strong and special ally. The bonds run deep. But for just that very reason, this was not the right way to behave. That was expressed by the secretary of state, as well as the vice president. I am not going to discuss what diplomatic talks we’ve had underneath that, but I think the Israelis understand clearly why we were upset and what, you know, what we want moving forward.”
The issue, Axelrod said, is a “flare point throughout the region” and puts U.S. interests at risk. “It is important for our own security that we move forward and resolve this very difficult issue,” Axelrod said.
Evans Liberal Politics
March 5, 2010
The U.S. Senate and Bunning’s Universe
HINT: to share, print or save as a .pdf, load each individual article from the topmost article titles in dark blue. ~Evans Liberal Politics owner Paul Evans.
So the Bunning blockade is over. For days, Senator Jim Bunning of Kentucky exploited Senate rules to block a one-month extension of unemployment benefits. In the end, he gave in, although not soon enough to prevent an interruption of payments to around 100,000 workers.
But while the blockade is over, its lessons remain. Some of those lessons involve the spectacular dysfunctionality of the Senate. What I want to focus on right now, however, is the incredible gap that has opened up between the parties. Today, Democrats and Republicans live in different universes, both intellectually and morally.
Take the question of helping the unemployed in the middle of a deep slump. What Democrats believe is what textbook economics says: that when the economy is deeply depressed, extending unemployment benefits not only helps those in need, it also reduces unemployment. That’s because the economy’s problem right now is lack of sufficient demand, and cash-strapped unemployed workers are likely to spend their benefits. In fact, the Congressional Budget Office says that aid to the unemployed is one of the most effective forms of economic stimulus, as measured by jobs created per dollar of outlay.
But that’s not how Republicans see it. Here’s what Senator Jon Kyl of Arizona, the second-ranking Republican in the Senate, had to say when defending Mr. Bunning’s position (although not joining his blockade): unemployment relief “doesn’t create new jobs. In fact, if anything, continuing to pay people unemployment compensation is a disincentive for them to seek new work.”
In Mr. Kyl’s view, then, what we really need to worry about right now — with more than five unemployed workers for every job opening, and long-term unemployment at its highest level since the Great Depression — is whether we’re reducing the incentive of the unemployed to find jobs. To me, that’s a bizarre point of view — but then, I don’t live in Mr. Kyl’s universe.
And the difference between the two universes isn’t just intellectual, it’s also moral.
Bill Clinton famously told a suffering constituent, “I feel your pain.” But the thing is, he did and does — while many other politicians clearly don’t. Or perhaps it would be fairer to say that the parties feel the pain of different people.
During the debate over unemployment benefits, Senator Jeff Merkley, a Democrat of Oregon, made a plea for action on behalf of those in need. In response, Mr. Bunning blurted out an expletive. That was undignified — but not that different, in substance, from the position of leading Republicans.
Consider, in particular, the position that Mr. Kyl has taken on a proposed bill that would extend unemployment benefits and health insurance subsidies for the jobless for the rest of the year. Republicans will block that bill, said Mr. Kyl, unless they get a “path forward fairly soon” on the estate tax.
Now, the House has already passed a bill that, by exempting the assets of couples up to $7 million, would leave 99.75 percent of estates tax-free. But that doesn’t seem to be enough for Mr. Kyl; he’s willing to hold up desperately needed aid to the unemployed on behalf of the remaining 0.25 percent. That’s a very clear statement of priorities.
So, as I said, the parties now live in different universes, both intellectually and morally.
Read the full article, here. Paul Evans: I know this article makes terrible, strong accusations. I just wanna know: how does the Republican Congress leadership sleep at night??? Does suffering mean nothing to them?
Four Years After Katrina Obama Visit Highlights Inequality in New Orleans
Author: Paul EvansEvans Politics, October 16, 2009
President Barack Obama: ‘We will build it stronger than before’, NOLA.com, October 15, 2009, by Bill Barrow of The Times Picayune, excerpt quoted verbatim:
|
|---|
“President Barack Obama, making his first visit Thursday to Louisiana since becoming the nation’s 44th chief executive, told a spirited crowd at the University of New Orleans that he will help build a stronger Gulf Coast than the one Hurricane Katrina and broken levees wrecked four years ago.
“‘I promise you this — whether it’s me coming down here or my cabinet or other members of my administration — we will not forget about New Orleans,’ Obama said. ‘We are going to keep on working. Together, we will rebuild this region, and we will build it stronger than before.’
“Obama also used the four-hour visit, which also included a stop at the Martin Luther King Jr. Charter School in the Lower 9th Ward, to praise the city’s spirit and its example for rest of the nation.
“‘I remember four years ago, right after the storm, a lot of people felt forgotten,’ he told hundreds of youngsters at the school. But now, he said, the campus represents progress in a neighborhood that became a symbol of the destruction.
“At UNO, Obama said, ‘It is always an inspiration to spend time with the men and women who have reminded the rest of us what it means to persevere in the face of tragedy and rebuild in the face of ruin. That’s the story of this recovery, your unbending resilience. That doesn’t start in Washington, that starts right here.’
“Yet considering that the White House billed the trip as the president’s opportunity to hear about and see for himself the city’s progress, and for all the subsequent criticism locally that his time on the ground was insufficient, the public forum was dominated by issues other than the hurricane recovery and protection.
“When the president called on raised hands among the 1,500 or so attendees who won tickets in an online lottery, he got one question about delayed FEMA reimbursements. The president used a question about the environment and global warming to mention coastal restoration, and he tied a question on education back to the King charter school and New Orleans’ overhaul of public education since the storm.” ….
Read the full article, here.
Recommended: In New Orleans, Obama fires back at critics, Reuters, October 16, 2009, by Matt Spetalnick.
See Obama: New Orleans will be better than ever, MSNBC, October 15, 2009, by The Associated Press.
See the website of the City of New Orleans.
Visit the more controversial NOLA.com.
See the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers IPET Risk and Vulernability Report.
*****
New Orleans: a Promise Unfulfilled
Commentary by Paul Evans
The 9th Ward in New Orleans is symptomatic of those who have been excluded in Federal aid programs for the city, overall. In Dear Mr. President: Locals have wish list for Obama’s visit, NOLA.com, October 14, 2009, by Gordon Russell, some of the inequality in the rebuilding of New Orleans is presented. It is all very well to highlight progress of a charter school in the 9th Ward, but most of that area has not in any sense of the imagination seen any kind of full recovery.
It seems to me that I remember, four years ago, a decision was made that this area was too vulnerable and would not ever receive much funding to be rebuilt. But the people came back to the only world they ever knew, and did what they could to pick up the pieces and did TRY to rebuild. There had been talk of using authoritarian powers and preventing folks from rebuilding there. Instead, we see half-rebuilt houses and people living in terrible circumstances. These people are living in some kind of limbo because the government will not forcibly resettle them, yet will not, basically, help with rebuilding. Somebody needs to step up to the plate for these people. High flown speeches and a token charter school aren’t doing the job.
It does seem like, unlike the Bush administration’s response in the aftermath of Katrina, the inequality we now see in Federal and other programs for rebuilding poorer areas of the city (which are primarily in low-lying areas), have less to do with “haves and have nots,” and more to do with decisions that have been made as to areas which are too vulnerable to receive aid. These areas are being left to “wither on the vine.” In a second Katrina – which was a 500 year storm, while the New Orleans levees as currently constituted can only handle a 100 year storm – areas like the 9th Ward would again be submerged. A decision has been made to not much aid rebuilding here. But the area’s people suffer….
What is needed is a more creative, compassionate response for these people and others like them.
A different sort of example in New Orleans is “the site of of the old ‘Big Four’ housing complexes, which were torn down after the storm and still mostly awaiting renewal.” This is NOT a question of storm vulnerability. Here money is simply not being provided for low-income housing in an area which cries out for it. We see the same thing all over this nation. Low income housing is terribly neglected. There are billions for a smart energy grid, yet poor people suffer: it isn’t right, Mr. President.
As a nation, we need a more compassionate response to the suffering of low-income people. The only future they seem to have now, under Obama as before, is one of hunger, suffering and inadequate response. Is this the response of a Christian nation towards its less fortunate sons and daughters??…. We need a response “closer to the heart.”
Here is a video, full of promise, from BarackObama.com on August 27, 2007. Keep in mind, this was two years ago. The promise which candidate Obama made to New Orleans’ people remains mainly unfulfilled. (That’s not to say he’s not doing a better job than W. did – it’s a question of priorities, in my opinion, misplaced priorities.) Why is this happening? Because to the nation’s elite, to that upper one percent of movers and shakers, in reality, it just doesn’t matter that much. As a nation, we can and we must do better.
See Critics question whether new New Orleans public housing will meet needs, NOLA.com, December 8, 2008, by Katy Reckdahl.
See How much affordable housing does New Orleans have, and how much does it need?, NOLA.com, October 10, 2009, by Katy Reckdahl.
See Affordable housing hits a wall in time of rising need, Christian Science Monitor, February 6, 2009, by Jeremy Kutner.
Obama: Rebuilding New Orleans, Two Years Later
Where Is the Light of Hope for New Orleans’ Poor?
America, Where is Your Christian Charity?
