Taxpayer money; our money handed out by the dump truck load
Omnibus, on top of stimulus, on top of TARP1 and TARP2. $1.7 million for pig odor elimination. Pork barrel projects are abundant. Taxpayer money is up for grabs.
When I started writing about the original bailout this past Fall, it was all about taxpayer money. Today, when we consider the multiple bailouts, it remains all about taxpayer money.
“We are going to ban all earmarks,” is what the president said during the campaign. Yet, today, taxpayer money continues to go towards paying numerous bailout schemes and plentiful earmarks. When it comes to taxpayer money, people get testy, and rightfully so.
Throwing good money after bad
Don’t get me wrong, this is not meant to be political commentary; it’s always been about taxpayer money and there doesn’t seem to be any end in sight. Two recipients of bailout money (taxpayer money) may still go under. AIG and GM have balance sheets that still don’t look that good even after getting bailed out.
The government went ahead and took an ownership position in Citibank, and the future of Citibank is questionable. I sold my Citibank stock recently at a loss. Had I waited another week, it would have been at a severe loss.
The government ownership of the bank diluted the existing stock value. In this case, taxpayers appear to be losers, but stockholders are losers also. Citibank has a lot of depositors all over the world, so the purpose of a bailout is really meant for those folks.
As reported on this blog previously, one of the problems created by the mortgage crisis has been the devaluing of mortgage derivatives. These security instruments are ‘derived’ from mortgages. Because they are financial instruments that are an offshoot of another type of instrument, they can present a whole host of problems. For instance, if you are in the business to change the terms of a mortgage to prevent foreclosure and the mortgage ended up as a derivative, who gives a green light to a change in mortgage terms?
With record high foreclosures, these modern day financial instruments have proven to be a dicey proposition for financial service firms left holding the bag.
July 15th, 2010 at 6:34 pm
Buy:Advair.Cozaar.Nymphomax.Zocor.Aricept.Wellbutrin SR.Amoxicillin.Female Pink Viagra.Ventolin.Benicar.Prozac.Lipitor.Seroquel.Acomplia.Buspar.Lipothin.Lasix.SleepWell.Zetia.Female Cialis….