Barry always finds the best stuff to share with us, day after day. Tom Toles is my fav cartoonist. He’s like the George Carlin of the written cartoonist world: irreverent, controversial, but almost always right. Thank you, Barry, for sharing this one with us.
Barry always finds the best stuff to share with us, day after day. Tom Toles is my fav cartoonist. He’s like the George Carlin of the written cartoonist world: irreverent, controversial, but almost always right. Thank you, Barry, for sharing this one with us.
According to draft legislation being debated on Capitol Hill, the Congress would grant sweeping authority to the Secretary of the Treasury to purchase obligations and securities of FNMA, Freddie Mac, as well as those of the Federal Home Loan System. It imposes no restrictions on the Secretary of the Treasury and says that he will determine the terms and conditions of the transactions as well as the amounts. The draft language contains an analytical section (brief) which specifically states that the authorizations of the section extend to purchases of equity.The draft authorizes sales of Treasury debt to fund the purchases. It goes one step farther and excludes those sales from the debt ceiling.
The legislative grant of authority would expire on December 31 2009.
There is a certain pattern to all this. Those who deny a bubble is developing invariably hail from the industry that is profiting most from the bubble, aided and abetted by economists whose mental models assume away the very irrationality they claim they cannot see in the data before them. When anyone suggests that maybe government should cool things down, these bubble-deniers unleash a furious lobbying effort warning of all manner of economic calamity if anything is done to tamper with free markets.
And yet when the bubble bursts and prices begin to plummet, invariably they are first to complain that markets are acting irrationally and demand that government step in to calm the waters.
Steven Pearlstein of the Washington Post
Then he goes on to say things aren’t that bad. What is it with these people? Does someone have to hit them with a two by four for them to yell conspiracy?
What do you think the 2 would go for on the auction block without the Fed window opened to shore them up during this shakey time period?
$5Tril booked assets for $100Bil each?
This dissolvement is the what the other 17 banks need for their cash flow problems. Unless China outbids them to get our land and homes.
I dont know whats going on, except its to costly to be an American in the homeland these days. Gotta downsize. Help NetNeutrality and say goodbye to TBP (maybe occassional fix from the library). Use overair tv again. Landline off, cell only. Reverse morgage the place. Ebay away the treasures. That should do it. I’m not whining, these are solutions.
Well, even the staid Economist is feeling the blues today….the first words of speculation that good old Uncle Sam may have to default on our massive debt…
sp – who’s
So when do the 1.3 billion Chinese holding Fannie & Freddie’s paper arrive? Having all signage in Cantonese will turn this place on it’s head.
Add to the list of grammar errors the use of “looks” where “look” is appropriate.
So apparently all this supposed finance wisdom came at the expense of good grammar. ;)
Barry always finds the best stuff to share with us, day after day. Tom Toles is my fav cartoonist. He’s like the George Carlin of the written cartoonist world: irreverent, controversial, but almost always right. Thank you, Barry, for sharing this one with us.
Barry always finds the best stuff to share with us, day after day. Tom Toles is my fav cartoonist. He’s like the George Carlin of the written cartoonist world: irreverent, controversial, but almost always right. Thank you, Barry, for sharing this one with us.
Dead on cartoon. All too interesting times we are living in.
From AcrossTheCurve.com:
GSE Bailout Bill
July 17th, 2008 2:08 pm
According to draft legislation being debated on Capitol Hill, the Congress would grant sweeping authority to the Secretary of the Treasury to purchase obligations and securities of FNMA, Freddie Mac, as well as those of the Federal Home Loan System. It imposes no restrictions on the Secretary of the Treasury and says that he will determine the terms and conditions of the transactions as well as the amounts. The draft language contains an analytical section (brief) which specifically states that the authorizations of the section extend to purchases of equity.The draft authorizes sales of Treasury debt to fund the purchases. It goes one step farther and excludes those sales from the debt ceiling.
The legislative grant of authority would expire on December 31 2009.
American taxpayer 1776-2009 RIP
might as well move in for bailout from us all
they helped pump up the the US economy
via MEW … and is better than IEW (insurance equity withdrawl)
Thanks Barry, I finally laughed about the situation.My hat is off to the cartoonist…
brion,
Does the legislation allow the Treasury to sell puts on the securities they’re planning to buy?
There is a certain pattern to all this. Those who deny a bubble is developing invariably hail from the industry that is profiting most from the bubble, aided and abetted by economists whose mental models assume away the very irrationality they claim they cannot see in the data before them. When anyone suggests that maybe government should cool things down, these bubble-deniers unleash a furious lobbying effort warning of all manner of economic calamity if anything is done to tamper with free markets.
And yet when the bubble bursts and prices begin to plummet, invariably they are first to complain that markets are acting irrationally and demand that government step in to calm the waters.
Steven Pearlstein of the Washington Post
Then he goes on to say things aren’t that bad. What is it with these people? Does someone have to hit them with a two by four for them to yell conspiracy?
What do you think the 2 would go for on the auction block without the Fed window opened to shore them up during this shakey time period?
$5Tril booked assets for $100Bil each?
This dissolvement is the what the other 17 banks need for their cash flow problems. Unless China outbids them to get our land and homes.
I dont know whats going on, except its to costly to be an American in the homeland these days. Gotta downsize. Help NetNeutrality and say goodbye to TBP (maybe occassional fix from the library). Use overair tv again. Landline off, cell only. Reverse morgage the place. Ebay away the treasures. That should do it. I’m not whining, these are solutions.
Well, even the staid Economist is feeling the blues today….the first words of speculation that good old Uncle Sam may have to default on our massive debt…
http://www.economist.com/finance/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11751139
This is from the End of Illusions article…
You’d think Europeans could take a joke…
That’s what this is, isn’t it??
Bruce in Tennessee