The Current Economic Reality

I read Atrios, so I know most of what the corporate media is shoveling at us about the bailouts is 100% pure unadulterated crap. Here's the real deal, from three of Duncan Black's posts today:

(a) For over a year the one point that I and others have been trying make is that the polite fiction that masters of the universe of Wall Street and their defenders in the media and Congress have been trying maintain, that this is liquidity crisis not an insolvency crisis, is utter horseshit. They made bad leveraged bets and lost immense amounts of money, and now they, and their buddies Geithner and Summers, want taxpayers to bail them out so they can go on living their opulent life styles while some of my neighbors wonder if their next food stamp card is going to show up.

(b) The question all along has been who is still standing when the music stops, which sucker gets stuck holding the bag.

(c) Bailing out these institutions might be necessary, but bailing out executives and shareholders is not.

Since the people running Obama's economic team are Wall Streeters, it appears that we the taxpayers will be the bagholders.

John McCain: For Socialism Before He Was Against It

From ThinkProgress:

At an October 2000 town hall on MSNBC’s Hardball, an audience member asked Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) about why the rich pay higher taxes than the middle class. McCain defended progressive taxation, stating, “I think it’s to some degree because we feel, obviously, that wealthy people can afford more”:

[T]he very wealthy, because they can afford tax lawyers and all kinds of loopholes, really don’t pay nearly as much as you think they do when you just look at the percentages. […]

So, look, here’s what I really believe, that when you are — reach a certain level of comfort, there’s nothing wrong with paying somewhat more. … And frankly, I think the first people who deserve a tax cut are working Americans with children that need to educate their children, and they’re the ones that I would support tax cuts for first.

The problem with switching every position you've ever held in your life for an election -- in the YouTube age -- is that every prior position is on videotape.

And sadly, look how much younger John McCain is in this 2000 townhall meeting.

Sarah Palin starring in "The Grifters"

Sarah Palin took her kids along to public events to which they were not invited, and charged Alaska taxpayers for the kids' travel expenses. On August 6th, after Alaskan reporters questioned those expenses, she amended the forms to say "First Family attended" and "First Family invited", even to events the organizers say the kids were not invited to.

She's a real Republican, all right. A liar and a tax cheat.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Gov. Sarah Palin charged the state for her children to travel with her, including to events where they were not invited, and later amended expense reports to specify that they were on official business.

The charges included costs for hotel and commercial flights for three daughters to join Palin to watch their father in a snowmobile race, and a trip to New York, where the governor attended a five-hour conference and stayed with 17-year-old Bristol for five days and four nights in a luxury hotel.

In all, Palin has charged the state $21,012 for her three daughters' 64 one-way and 12 round-trip commercial flights since she took office in December 2006. In some other cases, she has charged the state for hotel rooms for the girls.

Why the Rich Love McCain's Tax Plan

In a nutshell, because under George Bush, 31% of the tax cuts were given to the wealthiest 1% of Americans. Under McCain's plan, 58% of tax cuts will go to the wealthiest 1%.

Tax Cheat/Tax Cheat '08: That's McCain/Palin All Right

McCain is cheating on his taxes by not reporting his gambling income, or losses. Doesn't matter which, by law he has to report it.

Palin is cheating on her taxes by not reporting her per diem income. When you charge your state's taxpayers to live in your own home, that's taxable income to you. Dope.

Somehow I don't think George W. Bush's IRS is going to go after them, but they should. Cheating is cheating, no matter how rich or powerful you are. They're cheating the rest of us who play by the rules and pay our taxes.

Jon Stewart on the Bailout

Clusterfuck to the Poor House.

The Best News Show on Television

Is on Comedy Central. Jon Stewart on the bailout:

Rep. Marcy Kaptur: "Let's Play Wall Street Bailout!"

Awesome anti-bailout rant on the floor of the House today by Marcy Kaptur, Democrat of Ohio:

More Like This, Please

From an email sent by an unnamed member of Congress:

[]

I'm not voting for a blank check for $700 billion for those mother fuckers.

[]

I don't want to trade a $700 billion dollar giveaway to the most unsympathetic human beings on the planet for a few fucking bridges. I want reforms of the industry, and I want it to be as punitive as possible.

OpenLeft: Yes, There Are Deeply Angry Democratic Members of Congress

All Your $700,000,000,000 Are Belong To Bush

my palz git yer $$$$$$$$$$$

The Bailout Plan will transfer $2,333 from every living American to Treasury Secretary Hank Paulsen (former CEO of Wall Street firm Goldman Sachs), who will then distribute the $700,000,000,000 to his old Wall Street cronies. No rules, no limits, no judicial review.

Mission Accomplished.

As many bloggers have noted, it's like the Iraq War all over again. Paulsen called Congress in on Thursday night and told them there was a mushroom cloud in their future. They began cringing and mewling on the floor, begging to go along with whatever he proposed. Today Hank-o says he needs billions for a Shock and Awe campaign to occupy Wall Street. No exit plan, either.

No one should trust the Bush Administration about anything. They are stealing us blind to reward bad actors. No wonder the stock market soared on Friday. They're getting away with it.

Read this:

Paul Krugman, NYTimes: No deal

Glenn Greenwald: The complete (though ever-changing) elite consensus over the financial collapse

Sebastian Mallaby, WaPo: A Bad Bank Rescue

The Financial Crisis Explained

By my favorite economist Duncan Black (sorry, Krugman, you're 2nd) at Eschaton:

The Bag Holders

The mystery all along throughout all of this is who would be missing the seat when the music stopped, who would be left holding the bag.

This is not a liquidity crisis. It's an insolvency crisis. People made bad loans, and other people made hugely leveraged bets on those loans, and still more people insured those bets.

And now the taxpayer gets the bill.

WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE