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he said two words. Socialism and extortion. Glad I voted for him. Go get 'em Mr. Grayson.

in the old days at least fuckers like these would throw themselves out a window.

Not one of them responded to his questions. Not one of them. They just patronizingly lectured him (with information he and everybody else already knew) about what the government has done and how good it will be for them and how necessary. None of them addressed what he mentioned, the taxpayer anger that is rising. I'm sure none of them has even THOUGHT in their wildest dreams about any other way to save themselves with any other plan than taxpayer bailouts and more taxpayer bailouts.

Mr. Bartlett mentioned "systemic risk legislation". Here's one very informal and undetailed description of it.

These folks decide what the USA needs is "systemic risk insurance." You heard it here first, folks. These wise souls devise legislation that mandates systemic risk insurance premiums be paid by our nation's most successful companies while they are at their healthiest. The legislation contemplates the creation of a seven-person panel, comprising bankruptcy and insurance experts from across the land, whose job it is to appraise the balance sheets of the largest companies to assess the impact that their liquidation might have on the general economy. Based on this actuarial assessment ((cost of systemic failure*likelihood of failure over 50-year time horizon) + administrative costs of the program), these companies would be levied a tax that would insure the overall economy in the event of their failure. Being "big" doesn't automatically mean you have high payments. McDonald's, for example, would have a low risk of failure and low premiums. If you're levered 20 to 1 or insuring CDS beyond your capital base, your premiums might make you think twice about the way you run your business.

The responsibility to pay out on this "super cat(astrophic)" event could be handled by a well-capitalized private company (along the lines of a Berkshire Hathaway, not an AIG) or by a federal agency.

Right now, we're dealing with the costs of systemic risk at the time we can least afford it. You don't try to buy renters insurance after you burn your apartment complex down. You do so before it happens. I think a similar maxim should apply to systemic risk.

Systemic Risk Super Cat Insurance

They haven't a clue about what to do except demand that they be rescued, or else.

to boost the national moral, the people need to have fun.

I say...bring back the stocks and public flogging.

I think that some of the stimulus package should have gone to building public stocks on Wall Street and free fruit to the public.

care. In my state, the law says that money must be assigned to specific care incidents and specific patients meeting certain criteria.

In states where a law like this does not exist (New York) the hospitals take the money and it disappears. And they hound the poor for payment. As if they aren't getting paid already.

The same with this banking mess. Dollars should be assigned to people, based on their need. To pay down principle, which will reduce interest payments. The gov't pays on the peoples' behalf, just like they do w/ meds.

These assholes shouldn't get the money and be allowed to turn people out of their homes. Part of the reason being the people having to 'help' the banks are the people who had money and paid taxes, and are now being shown the door on their 'American Dream' pushed by the Bush Admin and consumed like crack cocaine by the idiot dunces who believe his bullshit.

And lets cut GWB Cheney and the rest of the of that band of thieves out of their pensions. Take all their wealth off of them. Apply it to the debt.

Kudos to Mr. Grayson for at least raising relevant questions. The banking bailout is the triumph of crony-capitalism. We are in the process of lavishly rewarding Wall Street elites for bankrupting the world's financial system due to their greedy, incompetent actions. Frankly, if this is the financial system that we are struggling to preserve I would rather let it fail and try to build a more equitable system in its wake.

this crisis is about 30 years in the making.
we're out of bubbles and the biggest one is bursting all over the world right now. the derivatives bubble.

what we're experiencing right now can't be fixed. this is the outcome of failing to act sooner. all that can be done is to use regulatory means to move the collapse along faster. the more we try to slow it down by injecting even more paper/debt into the system the harder we will fall and the more investors will distrust the market.

the market will be wary of ALL businesses if theres a whiff of corruption in the air, and trust me, rewarding fraud (predatory loaners etc) will keep any1 with two braincells to rub together from wanting to invest in ANY companies. to find out who can be trusted investors will be 'testing' each business to see if they can stand without govt assistance by NOT investing in them, so even solvent companies will be hurt (see: cisco circa 2000)

i hope (lol hope) ppl dont expect much from geitner and larry summers seeing as though they are two of the (many) architects of the collapse and are currently obama's sec of treasury and head of the NEC, respectively.

we're in a lot of trouble folks

Rather then just give the banks the money, give it to them under the condition it is paying off all those sub-prime mortgages which are supposedly the 'toxic assets' that are responsible for the entire mess. If that's supposedly the whole problem then once the mortgages are all paid off then the credit default swaps, etc, are all done, etc, etc. It's a bitter pill to swallow paying off people's mortgages but it's easier for me to swallow then just GIVING it to the banks so they can hoard it. Now if paying off all these sub-prime loans does not fix everything then it means there was never enough money around to ever cover these games the banks and wall street were playing in which case you have a criminal conspiracy from the get-go.

"...banking establishments are more dangerous than standing armies; and that the principle of spending money to be paid by posterity, under the name of funding, is but swindling futurity on a large scale."

-Thomas Jefferson

Great job by Grayson, again. To watch these neoliberals hem and haw about "this line of questioning" is like watching civil engineer try to answer questions about feelings. Grayson realizes this so he let's comedy ensue. Even if these free-market zombies has some answers do you think the ones who profit from rigging the system want to change the system? Of course not.

Flat-earth Friedman has another ridiculously off-based op-ed today claiming "Our country has congestive heart failure. Our heart, our banking system that pumps blood to our industrial muscles, is clogged and functioning far below capacity. Nothing else remotely compares in importance to the urgent need to heal our banks."

Umm, maybe 50-60 years ago Tommy-boy. Now the banks just come up with ponzi schemes to rig the system and when that comes crashing they want solvency through corporate welfare. We are a service-based economy now, while Corporate America outsources, the true elitists manage the hedge funds, abuse the housing market, and cry "free trade capitalism" is science.

We need government injected micro-lending practices like in 3rd world countries to happen here. That would truly stimulate the economy, create jobs, and change the culture of Wall Street. But what are the chances of that happening?

(banker-guy): talks about "...keeping THIS system stable..."

Do we want to keep THIS system stable, or tear it down and start fresh? "THIS system" obviously isn't working.

All of these banks/insurance companies hire teams of high-priced lawyers, not to adhere to current laws, but to find ways around them. They do it because what these institutions want to do is illegal, so they need to find routes around current laws. That is a big part of the problem.

(The lawyers are doing what they have been paid to do. It doesn't make them evil, per se.)

It involves tar, feathers, torches, pitchforks and rope.

Alan Grayson nails it! it is extortion.