New Debt Ceiling: $11.3 Trillion.... $$$11.3 TRILLION$$$ (Nearly double its 2001 level)

[Roland99]

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-09/21/content_10085388.htm

The plan, part of the government's largest financial bailout since the Great Depression, would give the administration broad power to buy the bad debt of any U.S. financial institutions for the next two years, according to Saturday's news reports.

It would also raise the statutory limit on the national debt from 10.6 trillion dollars to 11.3 trillion dollars in order to make room for the massive rescue.

The Bush administration has added approximately $5 trillion to the debt ceiling over 8 years. That's 625,000,000,000 per year! $625 BILLION PER YEAR!

Now, the *PLAN* is that as the housing market recovers ( :rofl: ) the government can sell its holdings and recoup its money (no matter that future dollars will be worth less so we'll be getting paid back, in essence, less than was paid out for this)

Anyone honestly (or even haphazardly) believe that the housing market will recover in the next few years and, even if it did through some miracle that it would recover enough for the government to recoup its "investment"?

Isn't that an ODD concept?? Recoup its investment? That's what's happening! Our government wants to buy debt it KNOWS is all but completely worthless (the investment) in order to hold onto it and hopefully sell it to make its money back later (the recouping process)

How does even remotely sound like a sane approach to bailing out the criminal oligarchs that got themselves into this mess through their massive hubris?

IT DOESN'T!!

At least out of the Great Depression came many saving social programs that helped maintained the fabric of society.

What's going to happen NOW, though?!

A MASSIVE CUT IN SOCIAL SERVICES, I can about guaran-fucking-tee it.

The world financial markets cannot be saved but our government can certainly save some key players and keep them stupidly fat and wealthy while the rest of America literally falls aparts.

Welcome to the greatest nation on earth.

[ThomWV]

1. To put that into perspective that is roughtly 5x our annual tax receipts

Think of it as 5 years of income for the Federal Government - 5 years in which every single dime that the Federal Government takes in devoted to one bailout and no other programs - none what so ever - can be funded. Not health care, not defense, not agricultural programs, not education assistance, not road building or repair, not SEC regulation, not the Coast Guard, not a god damned thing.

[dsc]

3. you are mixing up two different things

the debt ceiling is all the debt period and that is 5 years income. The bailout is a mere 700 billion and about a third of a years income.

[ThomWV]

6. You are correct - please excuse me

You are absolutly correct, so let me restate it. We would have to shut down every Government function (including Social Security payouts) except tax collection from now until the middle of next summer and devote every dime to paying for this bailout. Of course if we were to do it that way the real advantage we would gain from it is that our debt would only increase by its interest due during that period (plus IRS operating costs of course) and that would save us a ton of money.

[lostnotforgotten]

2. Debt - 596 Trillion Derivatives - 58 Trillion Credit Default Swaps - 2.5 Trillion Credit Card

I wonder How much it will grow with Paulson at the helm?

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

4. Remember those Ross Perot Independents?

I think we need to have a chat with them. The Republicans' tax and regulation policy just DOUBLED what was an already staggering national debt. Are they willing to double-down on a McCain Administration? $22 trillion in debt by 2016?


We need to repeat the following points:

Republicans tanked the economy.
Republicans aided and abetted corporate thievery.
Republicans doubled the national debt.

[tanyev]

5. Heckuva job, Dubya.