Bailout Update

The madness continues unabated.

I seriously wonder what kind of brain damage our leaders have.  It seems that bailout fever is short-circuiting otherwise intelligent brains and causing a complete loss of higher functions like logic.  Those of us who opposed (and still oppose) all of these bailouts suggested that these bailouts would lack transparency and oversight, and wouldn't work to fix the real problems, anyway.  Now look where we are - hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars have been thrown down the toilet, there has been no noticeable effect on the economy, and there has been no transparency or oversight.  Case in point:

The bankers who got bailout money now won't say where the money went:

It's something any bank would demand to know before handing out a loan: Where's the money going?

But after receiving billions in aid from U.S. taxpayers, the nation's largest banks say they can't track exactly how they're spending the money or they simply refuse to discuss it.

"We've lent some of it. We've not lent some of it. We've not given any accounting of, 'Here's how we're doing it,'" said Thomas Kelly, a spokesman for JPMorgan Chase, which received $25 billion in emergency bailout money. "We have not disclosed that to the public. We're declining to."

The Associated Press contacted 21 banks that received at least $1 billion in government money and asked four questions: How much has been spent? What was it spent on? How much is being held in savings, and what's the plan for the rest?

None of the banks provided specific answers.

The brain damage, of course, comes into play when Congress is suddenly shocked that these banks aren't just doing what they're supposed to do with all of that money.  Clearly, they thought a wave of their magic wand would fix everything, and when nothing changed, they looked around at each other in helplessness and confusion.  When an easily predictable logical conclusion is reached, and when the people who were in charge of things are suddenly surprised, what's the explanation?

Brain damage.  That's all I can think of.

Another thing we conservatives were saying about the bailout is that once a single bailout went through, we started down a slippery slope in which bailout after bailout would be right behind it, and there was no rational stopping point to any of them.  Well, guess what?  In addition to all the other industries wanting a bailout over the past few weeks, telephone and cable companies want one now.  So do real estate developers.  Heck, so does Russia!  Don't bet on the list getting any shorter.

Fortunately, someone is taking some action.  A pretty convincing case can be made that the auto bailout is actually illegal, and the Fox Business Network is suing Paulson and the Treasury Department to cough up some real information:

The Naked Emperor Hank Paulson and his Treasury Department refuse to respond to Freedom of Information Act requests from Fox Business Network concerning the use of bailout funds.

So much for the transparency Paulson pledged to deliver before Congress handed him his crap sandwich.

Good for FBN:

FOX Business Network (FBN) has filed a lawsuit against the United States Treasury Department over failure to provide information on the bailout funds or respond to FBN's expedited requests filed under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

The initial request, filed on November 25, sought actual data on the use of the bailout funds for American International Group and the Bank of New York Mellon, and an additional request, filed on December 1, sought similar data on the bailout funds for Citigroup, Inc. FBN is asking for the Treasury Department to identify, among other issues, the troubled assets purchased, any collateral extended, and any restrictions placed on these financial institutions for their participation in this program.

Kevin Magee, Executive Vice President, FOX News commented, "The Treasury has repeatedly ignored our requests for information on how the government is allocating money to these troubled institutions. In a critical time like this amidst mounting corruptions and an economic crisis, we as a news organization feel it's more important than ever to hold the government accountable."

Steven Mintz, Esq. of Mintz & Gold LLP, and legal counsel for the network added, "Despite the several requests for expedited information filed by FBN, it has become apparent that the Treasury will not cooperate without mounting legal pressure. Therefore, we have filed a complaint in the Federal Court in New York and ask the Court to make the Treasury provide the information sought by the journalists at FBN."

The FOIA complaint was filed by FOX News Network, LLC, as owner of FBN.

I don't know that this will go anywhere, but at least someone is turning up the heat a bit.

This is one of the problems we face because of Congress' stupidity:

Banks that are getting taxpayer bailouts awarded their top executives nearly $1.6 billion in salaries, bonuses, and other benefits last year, an Associated Press analysis reveals.

The rewards came even at banks where poor results last year foretold the economic crisis that sent them to Washington for a government rescue. Some trimmed their executive compensation due to lagging bank performance, but still forked over multimillion-dollar executive pay packages.

Benefits included cash bonuses, stock options, personal use of company jets and chauffeurs, home security, country club memberships and professional money management, the AP review of federal securities documents found.

The total amount given to nearly 600 executives would cover bailout costs for many of the 116 banks that have so far accepted tax dollars to boost their bottom lines.

WHAT?!  Okay, I'm all for paying executives huge salaries for making companies bigger, better, and more profitable.  But, when those same executives drive their companies into the ground, they should be booted out with NOTHING.  Hearing that taxpayer dollars -- your money and my money -- are being given to these people who have destroyed these companies and sent this country into an economic tailspin makes me very, very angry.

Bottom line: socialist politicians (in other words, most of them) cannot be trusted, and should not be given one more dime of taxpayer money to be spent on bailouts for anyone.  And, executives from failed companies should suffer the same fate as us peons for poor performance: getting the axe, with no parachute at all.

If the American people do not get angry and forceful about this with their elected representatives -- and FAST -- we're in very serious trouble.

There's my two cents.