Sarah Palin, Republican Vice Presidential Candidate

[Blarg]

Using 700 billion to build a time machine is all that makes sense.

[Beckwin]

yeah archibald, I also agree that it's the people who got those mortgages who got the shaft. I refuse to accept the argument of "omg they should've known better!!!!!!!!" because expecting everyone to be so knowledgeable about a complex series of contracts they have to sign for what is an extremely common occurance in America (buying a home) is kinda ridiculous, especially when they have some very eager salesmen who actually do know a bit better than they do telling them it's a good idea. What people don't seem to understand is it's more of the lender making an investment than the home buyer, and this whole thing seems to be the result of some very bad investments coupled with shady business practices.

You'll also see people blaming liberal policies aimed at lower-income home ownership... in my view, that's a good idea that was allowed to be abused by deregulation. Those were intended for a small portion of the home buying market and on naturally smaller investments for the buyer/lender; instead they spread to the middle classes convinced they were getting a sweet deal.

But yeah, sadly we can't just give homeowners money to fix this, and it is vital to keep these financial institutions standing. I really want the government to take control of these institutions we're bailing out though... put some heads on the chopping block, pass some new regulations, and either get the institutions back on their feet for public service (a market check/low-income opportunity business with limited profit goals) or able to sell again to recoup the costs.

[pohibaba]

I really want the government to take control of these institutions we're bailing out though... put some heads on the chopping block, pass some new regulations, and either get the institutions back on their feet for public service (a market check/low-income opportunity business with limited profit goals) or able to sell again to recoup the costs.

I actually agree with this. The companies have proven that they can't sustain themselves and in a free-market world that would mean the company should fail, but we obviously can't let that happen. The people who allowed this to happen should be punished, and the taxpayers should get as much back for their money as possible. This seems like the best option I've heard of so far.

[Quicklet]

Why shouldn't they fail? Their business plan failed, and bankruptcy is simply nature's way of saying there's a better way to use those resources.

[Beckwin]

because it would have rippling effects throughout the rest of the economy, in addition to a TON of people who would be in the hole from their mortgage company going bankrupt.

[Quicklet]

This bailout will end up turning out worse than if you had just let bad assets liquidate as necessarily to stabilize the economy. Gov't will also be forced to spend more than $700b because once they've committed to propping up bad assets, they can't just go "oh, sorry, looks like you're gonna have to go bankrupt after all!"

[Beckwin]

yes, because letting our major financial institutions go bankrupt would stabilize the economy. we're not in your libertarian fantasy land where (somehow) corporations and financial institutions don't get so large and individually influential.

[Kuya]

I, paradoxically, agree with Quicklet; the government does not know what it's getting into yet.

[pohibaba]

This bailout will end up turning out worse than if you had just let bad assets liquidate as necessarily to stabilize the economy. Gov't will also be forced to spend more than $700b because once they've committed to propping up bad assets, they can't just go "oh, sorry, looks like you're gonna have to go bankrupt after all!"

Normally I would agree with you, but this situation has the chance to cripple our economy for the next couple of decades unless we stop that now. If we bail them out + take over their corporations we can still punish them for their gross incompetence, and will help to stabilize the economy of the world.

[Correction]

Normally I would agree with you, but this situation has the chance to cripple our economy for the next couple of decades unless we stop that now. If we bail them out + take over their corporations we can still punish them for their gross incompetence, and will help to stabilize the economy of the world.

The bailout is arguably exactly the opposite of punishing them for their criminal contempt for the U.S. economy.

[Quicklet]

Normally I would agree with you, but this situation has the chance to cripple our economy for the next couple of decades unless we stop that now. If we bail them out + take over their corporations we can still punish them for their gross incompetence, and will help to stabilize the economy of the world.

That's a bit of an overstatement. What has the chance to cripple our economy is a massive debt that starts to overwhelm the Congressional budget if it doesn't start getting paid down. The money isn't going to come from nowhere. It's not going to get any easier either, as entitlements are going to continue to rise. The government really is limited in how much they can actually help this situation, and if they try to do too much it will just prolong the uncertainty and pain of the revaluation process. There is still a strong confidence in the U.S. government's financial solvency, but we are going down a dangerous path here that could have major repercussions down the road.

[pohibaba]

The bailout is arguably exactly the opposite of punishing them for their criminal contempt for the U.S. economy.

The bailout wasn't what I was talking about when I mentioned punishment.

[Kuya]

It doesn't seem like the Republicans or the Democrats are very interested in punishing Wall Street.

[Correction]

The bailout wasn't what I was talking about when I mentioned punishment.

What I'm trying to say is that if you give the banking industry exactly what it wants (free money so they can continue to profit despite their mistakes) then you're precluded any possibility of properly 'punishing' the very ones responsible for this dire mess we're in.

[ZarakiKujata]

That's a bit of an overstatement. What has the chance to cripple our economy is a massive debt that starts to overwhelm the Congressional budget if it doesn't start getting paid down.

Isn't the debt even with the bailouts not as bad as it was during parts of the Reagan years?

[Correction]

'not as bad' as in 65% of our national GDP to paying down the debt is not as bad as 70% of our GDP.

Still pretty fucking bad, about to be made much much worse by this expansion of the debt ceiling.

[Elvis]

Palin Warns Against 'Second Holocaust' by Ahmadinejad


http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalra...warns-aga.html

"John McCain and I are committed to drawing attention to the danger posed by Iran's nuclear program and we will not waver in our commitment," Palin told a crowd of 9,000 supporters in Blaine, MN. "I will continue to call for sustained action to prevent Iranian President Ahmadinejad from getting these weapons that he wants for a second holocaust.

Send in the clowns.

[Rockstaru]

Does that count as Godwin'd?

[Elvis]

Yep. Palin is the biggest troll in American politics right now.

[Beckwin]

Ahmindajjejeej is on his way out and the Shah (the dude actually running shit) is more moderate than him. neocon scaremongering ftl.