Toxic Legislation for Toxic Debt

Reader Comments
Back to blog

headline News just showed a coulpe of blogs that showed people suggesting that, instead of bailing out companies, that amount of money is enough to give every taxpayer between $750K and $1M apiece. THats actually enough for everyone to pay off their mortgages and posssibly other debt. Too bad noone in our government would ever consider it. They would much rather loan taxpayer's money to banks and lending institutions who will then add interest to it and loan it back to us taxpayer, thereby making a nice profit for themselves.

MET9 of CT 6:40PM September 28, 2008

Somehow, this toxic debt must detoxed by lowering the risk and auctioning it off to the highest bidder. It is only toxic because the orginal purchaser was mislead by bullstuff. The risk can be lowered by refis, payment adjustment or other means and an auction allows for price readjustment by market forces. What is really worrisome about this entire mess is that while talk has been about the bailout, the original cause continues to exist. These markets must be reregulated before bailout!!!

Ray Fisher of NM 1:21PM September 28, 2008

This sounds more like a slush fund for banks so when they go bad again, the public does not have to know about it. They just call the government and ask for more money.

of IN 1:30PM September 27, 2008

No matter how you look at it, the American public comes out on the short end. Every way any bailout is presented equals this simple truth: American taxpayers are being asked to loan our money to banks and lending institutions so that they can loan it back to us with interest attached to earn profits for themselves. I know, I know, silly me for not liking to to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I'm being screwed. JPMorgan/Chase just gained nearly $500B in assets by purchasing WAMU for less than $2B. Thats the same thing that has been the American way of life for all of my 40+ years. Ask any homeowner who lost their home due to foreclosure how much bailout from any branch of our government they recieved. Responsible companies should be allowed to buy up these irresponsible companies and I don't care about their executives losing their severance packages. Legally, once their company goes out of business they are no longer entitled to them. Big business has been using that legal argument for years every time they needed to justify cutting back (or eliminating) employee health packages and retirement benefits. It was always fulfilling the responsibilities to shareholders. Its time congress fulfills it responsibilities to the American taxpayers. Bush is only concerned with his own agenda, namely the family oil business that he will return to next year. I would not be the least bit upset to learn that his failed policies have put him in the poor house with soo many honest (not bush, HE has never been anything close to honest) and hard working Americans that he has ruined. I'd say that he should be impeached, but why waste the time when he will be gone anyway after November.

MET9 of CT 11:31AM September 27, 2008

Don't forget the mortgagees losing their houses. Help them rather than the Banks. Refinance the sub prime with a government authority. If $700 Billion is used to refinance mortgages, then home owners stay put, banks get their loans back, dud securities become valuable again, and those banks don't need a bail out. Buying dud securities with taxpayers' money will not keep people in their homes, but it will keep unethical financiers in their mansions and out of jail.
Looks like a giant shell game to me. The catch was there was no pea under the shell. Pursue and prosecute those who commit fraud. Mind the pennies and the dollars will look after themselves. All the best.

Ian McKirdy 6:40PM September 26, 2008

Junk debt is more like it. "Mortgage backed securities" are what? Are we helping people going into or in foreclosure? No, investment bankers and hedge funds will sell the government these securities that were over valued first due to speculation and are now worthless, and will be worthless in the foreseeable future because home prices will never rise to what they were before the bubble broke. Let them keep them.

of AZ 4:53PM September 26, 2008