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The House has passed the economic bailout bill 263 to 171

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Re: The House has passed the economic bailout bill 263 to 171

#31
post #16
post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Goldman Sachs and Warren Buffet most likely bought billions in toxic assets during this week to sell for up to double the price to the taxpayer.

You don't really know much about Warren Buffet. He is famous for paying unusually high taxes compared to his peers because he thinks it is the right thing for people in his position to do.

Why did he partner up with Goldman Suchs, then?

I know [who he is] and besides this he is almost a financial saint. Still, he backs this bailout and will make huge profit on it. Oh, and the bailout favors his other investments.

Being foreign, the bailout favors me as it helps my savings indirectly. But it is the largest scam in history.

Re: The House has passed the economic bailout bill 263 to 171

#32
post #24

And I thought the democrats were the good guys... Now I really don't know whom to vote for. Wall St will get rich, but the political system has gone bankrupt.

This is totally off topic so I'll probably get modded down. Please don't be too harsh...

Thinking the Democrats were the good guys is your first mistake. The sooner we all realize neither side is good, the better. They are both equally bad in only slightly different ways. The Democrats are mostly impotent. They do nothing. They talk a great game and have some good ideas, but they almost invariably fail to execute. The Republicans know how to get things done. The only problem is it's often in the interests of a very small, elite minority.

Thinking one side is the 'good guys' is a big part of the problem we have right now. Fifty one percent of the population thinks the Republicans are the 'good guys' and continue to vote party lines, despite 8 years of bad policies and low approval ratings, instead of voting based on qualifications and track records.

Re: The House has passed the economic bailout bill 263 to 171

#33

Maxine Waters: When we buy up this toxic paper, we're in charge. We can do the kind of loan modifications we've been urging [the industry coalition]... Here's a clip of Maxine: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KN6s1KVFBNg ...she is making a threat to nationalize the oil industry, but flubs the word. The reporters basically laugh at her, and compare her to Hugo Chavez. Guess what? The imbecile wasn't that far off... We…

You seem to imply two false points. Chavez was elected democratically, twice. And Venezuela's oil was not nationalized.

I don't like the paternalistic and interventionist style he has but he isn't Fidel Castro. In many ways, he is quite a capitalist.

Re: The House has passed the economic bailout bill 263 to 171

#34
post #17
post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The arrow thing is popular with pork pokers, but what it is doing is correcting an accidentally applied tax. In 2004 there was a small $0.39 excise tax levied on weapons. Unfortunately, $0.30 target arrows are considered weapons under the law so they got a 130% tax accidentally levied on them. Any politician or journalist that grouses about arrow makers getting special handouts is either uninformed or attempting to d…

i wish there were wikipedia style discuss pages for legislation. especially for things like this.

I registered politwiki.com for something like this. If someone wants to do something with the domain, let me know.

Re: The House has passed the economic bailout bill 263 to 171

#35

If I may paraphrase a Redditor... "So is this good or bad for the economy? Bubble: bigger Collapse: inevitable Distance to fall: farther Dollar: worthless"

This plan is a disaster that will be remembered as one of the worst error in History ever. The US shot its last bullet, and it aimed at its feets. Buckle up, folks, cause the future is even more incertain now for the world.

Re: The House has passed the economic bailout bill 263 to 171

#38
post #9

What's the main difference between this bill and the one that was rejected last week? Is it just the pork offerings including a tax credit for racetrack owners and makers of wooden toy arrows?

The quants are going to go to town on this one. This bill gives the SEC authority to suspend the practice of marking to market. Bad idea. That makes this bill just a big money giveaway in practice. Transfer of wealth basically.

Further, the FDIC is already running low on funds, we should be slow to make new promises when we are already uncertain with regard to meeting present obligations. Additionally, raising the limit on FDIC insurance will make it harder to determine when a bank is in trouble. Now I am not naive, I am sure that was the idea behind raising the limit in the first place. But the less educated among us actually believe this was done to protect their money.

Lastly, $150 billion in tax cuts? These people really need to get some cost accountants.

Re: The House has passed the economic bailout bill 263 to 171

#39

One of the meanest things a friend has ever said to me is "people get the government they deserve." Part of me still hates him for that.

a democratic people get the government they deserve.

those living under a monarchy or dictatorship get to say "Well I didn't vote for you~"

Re: The House has passed the economic bailout bill 263 to 171

#40
post #17
post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The arrow thing is popular with pork pokers, but what it is doing is correcting an accidentally applied tax. In 2004 there was a small $0.39 excise tax levied on weapons. Unfortunately, $0.30 target arrows are considered weapons under the law so they got a 130% tax accidentally levied on them. Any politician or journalist that grouses about arrow makers getting special handouts is either uninformed or attempting to d…

i wish there were wikipedia style discuss pages for legislation. especially for things like this.

In Brazil, there is a e-legislative solution based in Zope called SAPL (Sistema de Apoio ao Processo Legislativo or Legislative Process Support System). It's quite functional and it's installed in a lot of different legislatures across the country. I have met the team and briefly worked on some possible extensions for it.

And, BTW, it's open source, so, if you want to play with it, you can.

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