Gory details of The Greatest Robbery of All Time

From: “Don Nordin” <•••@••.•••>

Date: September 22, 2008 12:24:14 AM GMT+01:00

To: “Don Nordin” <•••@••.•••>

Subject: BUSH DICTATES GUTTING OF TAXPAYERS TO ‘SOLVE’ FINANCIAL CRISIS

From what I understand, this unprecedented bailout of the financial sector

is not a solution.  It merely postpones the inevitable failure of the U.S.

financial system and simultaneously increases the debt of the U.S. taxpayer,

a debt which it will never be able to repay.  It guarantees that common and

private assets of the U.S. itself will further be ‘auctioned off’, in other

words given away to the Money Masters in return for its ‘favour’ of bailing

out that financial sector with its fiat money created out of nothing and

backed by nothing.  In order to pay off this bailout made by the private

Federal Reserve, social services will be cut, pensions robbed, etc., which

will further push the U.S. taxpayer into slavish serfdom.

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http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a1hr1v2FUeAg

Treasury Seeks Authority to Buy $700 Billion Assets (Update1)

By Alison Fitzgerald and John Brinsley

 Sept. 20 (Bloomberg) — The Bush administration asked Congress for

unchecked power to buy $700 billion in bad mortgage investments from U.S.

financial companies in what would be an unprecedented government intrusion

into the markets.

The plan, designed by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, is aimed at averting

a credit freeze that would bring the financial system and economic growth to

a standstill. The bill would bar courts from reviewing actions taken under

its authority.

“It sounds like Paulson is asking to be a financial dictator, for a limited

period of time,” said historian John Steele Gordon, author of “Hamilton’s

Blessing,” a chronicle of the national debt. “This is a much-needed

declaration of power for the Treasury secretary. We can’t wait until the

next administration in January.”

As congressional aides and officials scrutinized the proposal, the Treasury

late today clarified the types of assets it would purchase. Paulson would

have authority to buy home loans, mortgage-backed securities, commercial

mortgage-related assets and, after consultation with the Federal Reserve

chairman, “other assets, as deemed necessary to effectively stabilize

financial markets,” the Treasury said in a statement.

The Treasury would also have discretion, after discussions with the Fed, to

make non-U.S. financial institutions eligible under the program.

Bigger Than Pentagon

The plan would raise the ceiling on the national debt and spend as much as

the combined annual budgets of the Departments of Defense, Education and

Health and Human Services. Paulson is asking for the power to hire asset

managers and award contracts to private companies. Most provisions of the

proposal expire after two years from the date of enactment.

A failure by the government to support the U.S. financial system could lead

to “a depression,” Senator Charles Schumer told reporters in New York.

“To do nothing is to risk the kind of economic downturn this country hasn’t

seen in 60 years.”

The Treasury is seeking authority to step in as buyer of last resort for

mortgage-linked assets that few other financial institutions in the world

want to buy, following government takeovers of mortgage giants Fannie Mae

and Freddie Mac and insurer American International Group Inc.

“Democrats will work with the administration to ensure that our response to

events in the financial markets is swift,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said

in a statement.

Fast Track

The majority party will seek to reduce mortgage foreclosures and create

“fast-track authority” for an overhaul of financial regulation, Pelosi

said. Democrats will ensure “the government is accountable to the taxpayers

in any future actions under this broad grant of authority, implementing

strong oversight mechanisms.”

The proposal will include curbs on executive pay for the companies whose

assets the government will be buying, Steve Adamske, a spokesman for

Representative Barney Frank, said today in an interview.

Democrats also will include a plan to stem foreclosures, which may involve

tapping the loan-modification abilities of the Federal Housing

Administration, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., and Freddie Mac and

Fannie Mae, Adamske said. Frank, a Democrat from Massachusetts, is chairman

of the House Financial Services Committee.

“The consequences of inaction could be catastrophic,” Senate Majority

Leader Harry Reid said in a statement.

`Serious Issues’

“While the Bush proposal raises some serious issues, we need to resolve

them quickly,” he said. “I am confident that, working together, we will.”

House minority leader John Boehner, an Ohio Republican, said today he is

reviewing the proposal but didn’t say whether he was inclined to support it.

“The American people are furious that we’re in this situation, and so am

I,” Boehner said in a statement. “We need to do everything possible to

protect the taxpayers from the consequences of a broken Washington.”

Congress, which may pass legislation as soon as Friday, needs to “make sure

there are protections built in for taxpayers,” said Schumer, a New York

Democrat on the banking committee. Lawmakers should ensure “taxpayers who

gave the money will be put ahead of the stockholders, bondholders and

others.”

Paulson is seeking an expansion of federal influence over markets that

hasn’t been seen since the Great Depression, said Charles Geisst, author of

“100 Years of Wall Street” and a finance professor at Manhattan College in

New York.

Hoover Era

Geisst likened the plan to the Reconstruction Finance Corp., which was

chartered by Herbert Hoover in 1932 with the goal of boosting economic

activity by lending money after credit markets seized up.

President George W. Bush said he called leaders in both houses of Congress

and “found a common understanding of how severe the problem is and how

necessary it is to get something done quickly.”

“This is going to be a big package because it’s a big problem,” Bush said

following a meeting with Colombian President Alvaro Uribe at the White

House. “We need to get this done quickly, and the cleaner the better.”

Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama said in a radio address that he

“fully supports” Paulson and Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke’s efforts to

stabilize the financial system. The plan, however, should benefit both main

street and Wall Street, he said.

Republican Presidential nominee John McCain “looks forward” to reviewing

the proposal while focusing at least in part on “minimizing the burden on

the taxpayer,” said Jill Hazelbaker, communications director for the McCain

campaign.

Ban Legal Challenges

The ban on legal challenges of actions by Treasury is “distasteful, it’s

unfortunate and it’s bad precedent, but this is an emergency and you have to

act,” said Jerry Markham, a law professor at Florida State University and

author of “A Financial History of the United States.”

“What you don’t want happen is to have lawsuits that will slow things down

and cause problems,” he said.

The proposal would raise the nation’s debt ceiling to $11.315 trillion from

$10.615 trillion and require the Treasury secretary to report back to

Congress three months after Treasury first uses its new powers, and then

semiannually after that.

Paulson would gain discretion to act as he “deems necessary” to hire

people, enter into contracts and issue regulations related to a revival of

U.S. mortgage finance, according to a three-page proposal. The Treasury

would “take into consideration” protecting taxpayers and promoting market

stability.

Hiring Authority

The Treasury plans to hire managers to purchase the assets through so-called

reverse auctions, seeking the lowest prices, a person briefed on the

proposal said yesterday. The document specifies that Treasury may buy only

assets from U.S.-based financial institutions issued or originated on or

before Sept. 17.

The House will pass legislation to implement the plan by the end of next

week, and the Senate will act soon after, Frank said yesterday in an

interview on Bloomberg Television’s “Political Capital with Al Hunt.”

Bush today said he’s unconcerned that the price tag on the package may seem

high.

“I’m sure there are some of my friends out there that are saying, I thought

this guy was a market guy, what happened to him,” the president said. “My

first instinct was to let the market work, until I realized, while being

briefed by the experts, how significant this problem became.”

The Bush administration seeks “dictatorial power unreviewable by the third

branch of government, the courts, to try to resolve the crisis,” said Frank

Razzano, a former assistant chief trial attorney at the Securities and

Exchange Commission now at Pepper Hamilton LLP in Washington. “We are

taking a huge leap of faith.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Alison Fitzgerald in Washingtont ;

John Brinsley in Washington at •••@••.•••

Last Updated: September 20, 2008 21:14 EDT