Seven hundred billion dollars.
Holy crap.
That’s like over two thousand dollars each. When we sold our house this year, we actually had to take out a loan to fully pay off the mortgage… and now I’m paying thousands more for other people who weren’t paying their mortgages? Am I just a sucker or something to play by the rules? Are all of us who paid taxes suckers?
We shouldn’t even be giving the government this money in the first place, but they get bitchy if you don’t pay them. I mean, they send letters and then they start calling all the time. Eventually, they’ll even call the police on you. Yeah, the police will come to your door and be like, “The federal government called with a complaint about you.”
And you’re like, “I didn’t do anything illegal. The federal government is just being a bitch because it thinks I owe them money.”
You might even have to go to the station to sort things out. It’s a mess.
The government is irresponsible with it’s money it takes from us, but I guess when you can just take money whenever you feel like it that doesn’t really lead to responsibility. Anyway, just think of the much cooler things we could do than bailing out lenders and lendees if we, together as a society, decided to spend seven hundred billion dollars.
THINGS WE COULD DO WITH SEVEN HUNDRED BILLION DOLLARS
* Construct cyborg cops to police America.
* Create a new battlemech branch of the military.
* Put a base on one of the moons of Jupiter.
* Build a bridge from Key West to Nowhere in Alaska.
* Start construction of a Death Star.
* Build a cloaking device to keep America hidden from terrorists (and Mexicans).
* Construct a working Voltron.
* Build an array of space-based lasers to zap evil foreigners 24/7.
* Fund at least a year’s worth of the usual pork projects.
Write a check for 280,000 dollars for each service member currently serving.
Or even write checks for 70,000 bucks to all those serving now or who have served.
Or feed Micahel Moore for the rest of this year.
Or buy M80s and cherry bombs for every American male over the age of five, and tell them it’s a gift from John McCain.
I was with you til this one:
“Build a cloaking device to keep America hidden from terrorists (and Mexicans).”
I’m not mowing my own lawn — hell-to-the-no.
Dude,
You are slipping. Can’t believe you forgot the Dyson spheres.
Where are all the dumb-ass trolls now? Does David Axelrod have something more important to do today?
In reverse order, of course.
We could take over Cuba!
Give us $700 billion or, uh, um, really really bad things will happen!
Like what?
Banks will fail, Senators will lose elections, cats & dogs sleeping together!!!
But isn’t it pretty much your fault we’re in this mess at all?
Yes! Uh, I mean “NO!” Really it doesn’t help to assign blame at this point, just give us $700 billion, NOW!
No! That’s extortion! But I will consider it if every corporate officer of the effected business does hara-kiri and every Congressman on the Banking Committee swan dives into molten lava.
Nevermind. Keep your @#$%^ $700 billion.
Since I can remember giant corporations were always complaining about going broke. But their executives continued to draw million dollar salaries. Now there is a group of new whinners and they are the banking industry. And like always their executives are making millions—give me a break.
The bailout of the banking system is a complete disrespect to the middle class American taxpayer. Now the money needed for supporting the poor will no longer be available unless there is a large increase in taxes. It will soon happen when the bailout is finalized.
Banks bet the the housing boom would continue indefinitely. They were caught by surprise when the value of millions of homes collapsed. Banks lost over a trillion dollars in home values. This caused a credit crunch and banks no longer were able to finance loans.
Instead of the government handing out a trillion dollars to unlucky banks they should find a better use for it like helping keep the tax rates from rising. But powerful banking interests are getting their bad investments returned and the tax payer has to helplessly looks on.
The biggest lie is that if the big banks went broke loans would no longer be available. But there are thousands of small banks with lots of cash that would be happy to take their place. The beauty of Capitalism is that if one company cannot serve the public there will be another one that can. Let the big banks go broke and lets give others a chance to do a better job
melpol
A good read at the National Review on the bailout:
Wait One Minute, by Newt Gingrich
We could build enough nuclear power plants to be energy independent and bring back Reagan’s Star Wars missile defense plan.
Exactly fool. What the bloody hell were you thinking when you voted for Bush TWICE???? You have really screwed the U.S. now loser neocon. Stocks are down and oil and going through the ceiling. Man oh man. You idiots really think you are going to get a Republican in the White House again after this. After the people you jerkoffs voted for have just about destroyed the economy? Republicans promise always to make the government smaller and here they are making it bigger than anybody ever has. You people are liars. You people are coward scum. You think are patriotic? You are just a bunch of liberals who want to build nations and spread “freedom” but you are so incredibly naive you are losing sight of our own country. That’s not patriotism. So don’t vote for Bush twice and then complain because you were warned this would happen with this kind of guy in charge. It’s people like you stupid neocon blogger that make America worse.
Also want to add Did you think there would no fallout from the billions and billions poured into Iraq and the money Bush borrowed from China to pay for YOUR NEOCON HELL WAR??? Did ya? Were you that stupid you dumb neocon blogger?? I think you were. I think you are. You are stupid in the past, present and future. You was will be stupid.
[“Neocon Hell War” would be an awesome name for a rock band. -Ed.]
Actually, this one is possible:
Build a huge arsenal of ‘stink bombs’ and plaster our enemies with them.
The Israelis are already using them.
Tehran could be made to smell like bacon – permanently.
We could buy Charles a clue.
Apparently, Charlie missed the part where the democrats have been in charge of the government for the past couple of years. Yep, that Bush is something else! I know that the executive isn’t supposed to be able to pass spending bills, but that was before BUSH!!!!!!
I did the math on this and you are so wrong on how much each. I figure that we have at a maximum 141 million people working and ACTUALLY paying taxes. At 640 billion which is where the tally was on Saturday, the total per person is $4539.01 for each of us. Come on Frank, you are better at math than that.
The math HERE.
We can use the 700 Billion to send all those who supported the Homes for Homies programs, that got all these worthless, credit risk, government teat sucking asses that defaulted on their mortgages, straight into the unsheltered and harsh vacuum of space. It would send a clear message, relieve some of the tax burden caused by these idiots drawing their government salaries, and we’d have the pretty lights of a ton of rocket launches. Added benefit of pissing off the global warming muckadoos with all the rocket emissions as well.
With that kind of money we could have shoulder mounted lasers and cloaking devices like the guys on Predator. I really want shoulder mounted lasers and cloaking devices.
We could buy Ron Paul some prescription shoes so he’s not as short as Kucinich.
We could give everybody in the country a bagel. People like bagels.
We could super-glue pennies to all the sidewalks in the country and then laugh at everybody who tried to pick them up.
We could have the biggest, happiest, loudest, bestest kegger ever.
First, surround the continental USA with a man-made moat that is teeming with hungry, angry alligators who are programmed to snap off the heads of every and all types of insurgents. Now build a drawbridge every 200 miles that is guarded by Special Forces Aquamen clones outfitted with laser seek and destroy mitts.
Alaska doesn’t need any protection as they are invincible with Sarah Palin Power. Hawaii is sinking anyway.
First build a man made moat around the country. Now fill it with angry alligators. Finally put a drawbridge every 200 miles guarded by Aquaman’s Secret Army outfitted with laser search and destroy mitts. Alaska does not need protection as it is invincible with Sarah Palin Power.
OK, just my 2 cents? I want cptmoroni elected dictator in chief asap, you’re my kind of leader mr! Since he was short sighted and didn’t bother to run this time, I say this is just another reason to vote for Palin and that guy she’s running with. I heard she makes her state government PAY their tax payers!! Sign me up. OMW Alaska!!!
With $700 billion we could deport all the Hollyweirdos along with all illegals. They can sit next to each other on the bus and eat bologna sammies made by Rachael Ray. (Yes, I still VOLUNTEER to drive. No charge. Really.)
With $700 billion we could plaster each libtard website, tv news and entertainment show with pop-ups of Sarah P’s photo, creating riotous havoc among the ‘tards. (Point-and-laugh op’s = Priceless.)
For $700 billion we could implement troll suveillance with consequential attacks by Official Rainbow Brite stun guns.
Oh, maybe not. Trolls and ‘tards and Dumocretins are already in the state of stun. (Witness ol’ Charlie.) My bad.
Hey that was fun! I have 500 billion left. I think I’ll make the biggest party in every state of the union and then de-brainwash/de-program the dimocrats so that they can think again.
Bush has A) been complaining about these banks getting too big since 2001, and B) has had his 3 page plan returned as a 45 page plan by the democrats.
Pelosi/Reid: there is no such thing as a spending plan that can’t be expanded.
BTW, did the math real quick (I won’t get into details, but this is something I can speak on with some authority) –
* Cost to build a 300- to 400-person town on Mars, including R&D, etc.
For 700 billion dollars, we could track down The Limey, put him in a zoo or something with an internet connection, and then we’d have all the hilarity we could ever want. The best the trolls have to offer lately is “Palin bad – uuurgh” and that just doesn’t have the humor appeal of Rage Against The Machine lyrics and soccer from Cardiff.
First off, the deal is for the government to buy $700B of assets that are currently in default, just like the RTC did during the Savings and Loan fiasco under Reagan. The RTC gradually sold off those assets over time and ended up making a small profit on the deal. In that case, the money spent on bailing out those corporations was paid back with a little interest. That’s a generalization, but you get the idea.
Second, there wasn’t much of a choice here. I heard a great explanation of this at Blogworld on Saturday in a panel discussion with a bunch of financial bloggers. We’re not bailing out the banks because they’re too big, but because they’re too metastasized. That is, if GM failed, you could isolate it from the rest of the economy and limit the amount of collateral damage. These banks have their tentacles into all kinds of things and would drag down businesses two or three links removed from them as people called in debts to pay off other debts. That’s the nature of banks.
Lastly, this is not a political issue, but a cultural one. Many Americans don’t want to earn what they get and they don’t want to wait for it while they save up their money, either. Give it to me and give it to me NOW! Everyone is pointing their fingers in all different directions, but in the end, the problem looks back at you from the mirror each day. Our savings rate is miniscule and our debts are huge. You can play politics with that all you want, but like any other math problem, it’s an unemotional, inexorable force that will have its way.
Bush wants to own America. He sucks. Time for McCain or Obama and the situation is urgent. Hurry please. Someone win and then we will have parties.
And, ya know what?
I still haven’t gotten my “stimulus package check” yet.
“Yeah, the checks in the mail… Er…send us another 2K, sucka…”
With $700 billion we could invade and annex Mexico. That would put an end to the illegal immigration problem.
So, in other words, we had $700 billion dollars lying around to pay for this…and democrats are debating whether or not Bush’s tax cuts can continue?
That’s assuming the government has the money, because if they don’t what would be the difference between the losers defaulting on their mortgages and the government promising money it doesn’t have? I mean, in that case does some other, bigger government then buy up our government to bail it out?
Exactly fool. What the bloody hell were you thinking when you voted for Bush TWICE???? You have really screwed the U.S. now loser neocon.
I guess I’ll have to switch my support to all the Democrats who oppose this program.
Wait . . . where are they?
(The $700 billion will be used to buy and sell stuff, so while we could lose money, we will be selling the stocks at some point and getting money back for them; we won’t just be tossing this away.)
No, we’ll be borrowing the 700 billion from some where becuase the Treasury doesn’t have it. You could argue we’re doing the very type of thing that is prohibited by law: “borrowing the down payment.” Amazing what these Federal bureaucrats can justify.
You thing You have problems?
I found out on Saturday that my wife owes $1107 on a credit card with a $800 limit!
(a card she hadn’t told me she’d applied for.)
I had to mail them a check for $310 just to stop the overdraft fees.
Now I know how Ricky Riccardo felt when he’d cuss out Lucy in Spanish!
$700,000,000,000.00 is just a big number.
$310.00 of My money is a Tragedy!
Oh well. We went out to breakfast on Sunday and she volunteered to pick up the check, so I guess we’re even!
Step 1: Take over Cuba (TM #7)
Step 2: Deport all Liberals and RINOs to Cuba
Step 3: Build electric fence and hungry gator-filled moat around continental US
Step 4: Eliminate taxes of all kinds
Step 5: Arm every citizen to shoot troublemakers on sight
Step 6: Work hard, play hard, and keep 100% of fruits of own labor
Without doing any math, I’m thinking:
1. build a big ass fence to the south and the north
2. a total rehaul of the educational system
That’s it, that’s all I need!
Things to do with $700 billion:
1. Buy ussjimmycarter an inflatable bimbo of a gender of his choice.
2. Buy Paleomedic a giant jug of Scotch. At least a gallon.
3. Buy Frank a dictionary.
4. Hire God to escort seanmahair to heaven any time she’s ready to give up Kansas.
5. Give PammyV all she needs in #37.
6. Buy DesertElephant an oasis.
7. Hire hwy93 as SecDef and give him a laser and cloaking device budget.
8. Give Harvey whatever he needs to come back to us.
Frank,
You forgot the MexiCannons and the Huge Wall of Fire on the Mexican border! Both of which are now easily within reach financially! We can buy anything…muhahahahah!
If we just keep borrowing a bit more for a bit longer, it won’t be my money…it will be that GenX’er, slacker guy’s…you know when you are going to work your ass off downtown and then this punk ass bitch comes free wheeling by you on his skate board with his goofy baseball hat on sideways because his hero rap punk star wears it like that…yea…that guy will now owe the money! Muhahahahah!!!!
I don’t know. I think I’d like to buy the world a Coke.
And maybe a wee scoop of vanilla ice cream to go in it.
That’d be real nice, wouldn’t it?
I remember when I was a younin’ growing up in Iowa. When we studied math numbers like a Trillion were only seen as something that humongous and so overly massive and super duper big-o that they would never be used except in physics and stuff like that that only dill-weeds would ever care about. Now my idiot government throws these numbers around like they are thousands of dollars while at the same time they are redesigning the penny!!!
We could buy Soros and Obama and a steel shipping container with a webcam inside. Lock both of them in it and see what happens in a year.
You know, I read this about illegals but it seems if you replace “illegals” with “democrat scumbags” it works just as well.
I bought a bird feeder. I hung
it on my back porch and filled
it with seed. What a beauty of
a bird feeder it is, as I filled it
lovingly with seed. Within a
week we had hundreds of birds
taking advantage of the
continuous flow of free and
easily accessible food.
But then the birds started
building nests in the boards
of the patio, above the table,
and next to the barbecue.
Then came the poop. It was
everywhere: on the patio tile,
the chairs, the table …
everywhere!
Then some of the birds
turned mean. They would
dive bomb me and try to
peck me even though I had
fed them out of my own
pocket.
And others birds were
boisterous and loud. They
sat on the feeder and
squawked and screamed at
all hours of the day and night
and demanded that I fill it
when it got low on food.
After a while, I couldn’t even
sit on my own back porch
anymore. So I took down the
bird feeder and in three days
the birds were gone. I cleaned
up their mess and took down
the many nests they had built
all over the patio.
Soon, the back yard was like
it used to be…. quiet, serene
and no one demanding their
rights to a free meal.
Now let’s see.
Our government gives out
free food, subsidized housing,
free medical care, and free
education and allows anyone
born here to be an automatic
citizen.
Then the illegals came by the
tens of thousands. Suddenly
our taxes went up to pay for
free services; small apartments
are housing 5 families; you
have to wait 6 hours to be seen
by an emergency room doctor;
your child’s 2nd grade class is
behind other schools because
over half the class doesn’t speak
English.
Corn Flakes now come in a
b ilingual box; I have to
‘press one’ to hear my bank
talk to me in English, and
people waving flags other
than ‘Old Glory’ are
squawking and screaming
in the streets, demanding
more rights and free liberties.
Just my opinion, but maybe
it’s time for the government
to take down the bird feeder.
If you agree, pass it on; if not,
continue cleaning up the poop!
With 700 billion we could give the Demon-cratic party a collective brain transplant and throw in a morals implant just for kicks and giggles.
They’d never go for it. They wish for everyone to be “miserable like unto themselves.” Just like their leader, he has no body but he makes up for that in sheer unadulterated demonic energy.
Yes Frank, you’re a sucker for trusting the Republican Party to uphold its supposed core ideals. What, you thought the politicians we elected would stick to their guns instead of sell us up the river when it was politically expedient?
And what, Flyboy Johnny wants us to believe he’s not more of the same? Yeah right. Fool me once…