The 700 Billion Dollar Question : Why Did They Allow This 'Crisis' To Become A Crisis?

[AzDar]

Two weeks ago, no one (ostensibly) could see this coming; yet now, we're told, if we aren't stampeded into action, the economy will collapse.

This makes no sense to me...what am I missing?:shrug:

[avaistheone1]

1. "This not the time for pointing fingers"

:sarcasm:

[lifesbeautifulmagic]

2. yes, that is one of the questions that should be asked and

answered, and especially, since we now know Paulson was working on the bailout for 4 months.

[LynnTheDem]

3. And yet George W. bUsh had this "bailout" package sitting on his desk months ago.

Funny...reminds me of how his "patriot act" was written before 911.

[DJ13]

4. And why did they work on the initial proposal 5 months but wait

..until the last minute to present it to Congress instead of giving them time to deliberate on something so serious and costly?

Sounds more like an attempt at blackmail that failed than a real crisis.

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

10. Because nobody would contemplate a hectagabillionzillion bailout...

...unless things had gon totally shit? Just a thought.

[Fresh_Start]

5. it was a slow train wreck in progress

they tried numerous things but none of them were able to slow the train to a stop

its been underway for more than a year, its just accelerating
as more and more measure failed to stop the disaster in motion, they tried more different things

[CJCRANE]

6. The fundamentals of the economy are strong

one day and then weak the next.

Nothing you can do about it. That's just how it is.

[Lorien]

7. And yet DU saw it coming, so did Moyers, and Krugman, and who knows how

many others...

[dailykoff]

8. My guess is they knew a big drop was coming and simply tried to exploit it.

Frankly I don't think the "bailout" is or was ever intended to have any effect whatsoever on the "market." Just another heist.

[AzDar]

25. I'm no economist, but that is certainly what I think , too. I felt the same way about

the run-up to the IWR; the Patriot Act; and the Military Commissions Act....


These things DO NOT need to be dealt with in such a rush, and historically, when Gee-Dubya and his All-GOP Band are involved it turns out to be a tremendous scam.

[dailykoff]

29. For once we dodged the bullet.

My hunch is that tomorrow's manufactured crisis will make this one vanish. Win some, lose some, they tried while they still had a chance, and I just hope to heck we don't give them another one.

[Astrad]

9. Accountability is for sissies!

[killbotfactory]

11. The bailout plan is months old

Somebody saw this coming.

[aquart]

12. Nothing. You see perfectly clearly.

Why did they allow Osama to attack by ignoring the intelligence briefings? Why did they lie about Saddam?

What is the ONE thing you can absolutely count on with this administration: THEY LIE ABOUT EVERYTHING.

The first question to ask any Bush official is WHY ARE YOU LYING?

A number of people have compiled excellent posts about treasury machinations in the previous weeks. Paulson and his cronies will not be made poor by the bailout. There is no assurance whatsoever that any of the rest of us will fare as well. Nor even that ultimate collapse would be prevented. And some learned opinions that collapse would be assisted by the bailout.

I have to say, I am charmed by the conservative outrage that this is the first step toward socialism. If that were true, I would remove my personal objections. But it ain't.

[tjwash]

13. 700 billion to these greedy bastards would merely have forestalled what you see today...

...until the new President took the oval office.

Then it would have been 4 years of "blame the democrats" while they prep Jeb to take over in 2012 and complete the corporate/federal govt merger.

[ElboRuum]

14. This makes no sense to you?

Then you're not missing a goddamn thing. You've got it exactly right.

[BelgianMadCow]

15. Allow? Started, you mean.

I confess I'm a Shock Doctriner...

[screembloodymurder]

16. The Republicans played a game of chicken and lost.

They knew supporting the bill was political suicide. Their strategy was to have as few Republican "yea" votes as possible, but they wanted the bill passed. Pelosi gave them inflated numbers because she didn't want the bill to pass unless the Republicans were on board. The Pukes weaseled out and the bill failed.

[marions ghost]

30. yep

n/t

[unblock]

17. it was obvious a year ago, and ridiculously obvious when bear failed.

shrub and the gang were either in denial or wanted everything to blow up under the next president.

meanwhile, congress was more concerned about elections.

the fed did what it could, which was inject liquidity, but it misdiagnosed the problem and did too little, too late (in part due to pressure from the idiots complaining about inflation). in any event, they failed to see the need for fiscal action.

had we gotten things under way a year ago, we'd be in a very different situation today.

slow motion train wreck, indeed.

[Kip Humphrey]

21. Agree entirely ...and all one had to do was pay attention to the posts here on DU

We got out of the market at its high a year ago July.
We didn't take vacations.
We didn't buy new cars.
We didn't buy new anything.
We paid off our debt.
We invested in gemstones with a temporary play in European bonds to take advantage of the falling dollar.
We have doubled our investments since July 2007 with virtually no downside risk.
Thank you DU!

[unblock]

22. you're welcome! now please remit my fee

:)

:hi:

[Kip Humphrey]

23. Don't you know that DU is a philanthropic institution of insight and opinion?

:toast:

[paparush]

27. Exactly. By the time Bear-Stearns collapsed, the house of cards was already on fire.

[specialed]

18. THEY? If you're making seven figures a year + stock options are you going to

1. Ride it as long as you can then bail?
2. Ride it up to the end and say you'll save the company ?

That's the kind of decision these guys on wall street were making.

[SammyWinstonJack]

19. Option #1 is what they chose.

[ddeclue]

20. Because they never allow facts to get in the way of ideology until

it's too late.

Otherwise there would not have been a 9/11, Katrina, or wall street collapse.

They belief in their innate "rightness" because they believe FIRST, they are TRUE BELIEVERS who drink the Kool Aid from 55 gallon drums. The most important criteria for working in the Bush Administration is to be TB.

This is what makes Gov. Palin so damned scary - she's TB, she's the next Harriet Meiers.

Doug D.

[PVnRT]

24. Because they still believe in laissez-faire capitalism

Despite the sudden infection of "populism" amongst Republicans, that many here are buying into, their solution is the same: cut taxes, deregulate, cut social spending. They will obstruct anything that doesn't accomplish that.

[leftofthedial]

26. it's been planned for a long time

they just wanted one last shot at our money before the bush cabal gets a firing squad at the Hague.

a trillion bucks to wall street? pretty much privatizing social security without having to win the vote.

[redqueen]

28. Without the crisis, how could they pull the Shock Doctrine tactic?

They had to, to get their lootin on.