U.S. Gave Billions To Bail Out Europe
By Wyatt Earp | December 2, 2010
Can someone please tell me why the U.S. gave hundreds of billions of dollars to bail out European banks, GE, and Harley-Davidson? And furthermore, can someone explain to me why this is the first we’re hearing about it?
The financial crisis stretched even farther across the economy than many had realized, as new disclosures show the Federal Reserve rushed trillions of dollars in emergency aid not just to Wall Street but also to motorcycle makers, telecom firms and foreign-owned banks in 2008 and 2009.
The Fed’s efforts to prop up the financial sector reached across a broad spectrum of the economy, benefiting stalwarts of American industry including General Electric and Caterpillar and household-name companies such as Verizon, Harley-Davidson and Toyota. The central bank’s aid programs also supported U.S. subsidiaries of banks based in East Asia, Europe and Canada while rescuing money-market mutual funds held by millions of Americans.
The biggest users of the Fed lending programs were some of the world’s largest banks, including Citigroup, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, Swiss-based UBS and Britain’s Barclays, according to more than 21,000 loan records released Wednesday under new financial regulatory legislation.
Why the frak are we bailing out Europe and Harley Freakin’ Davidson? Let them clean up their own mess! And notice that the Fed bailed out GE, yet I don’t remember hearing that little info nugget on any of their (NBC) news outlets. Isn’t that interesting?
Topics: Duct Tape Advisory | 15 Comments »
December 2nd, 2010 at 1:33 pm
Howdy Wyatt! I know that the credit freeze was real and that the Fed and some folks for whom I have a great deal of respect, acknowledged that TARP was necessary, but this news goes WAY beyond TARP.
And I suspect very strongly that the majority of the bailout to companies not the intended beneficaries of TARP and in amounts difficult to comprehend, happened on Obama’s watch – and probably at the direction of the Troika of Evil: Obama, Pelosi and Reid.
December 2nd, 2010 at 2:05 pm
Real – My question is this: Why would this administration rally against the eeeeevil Wall Street types, then turn around and bail a bunch of them out?
December 2nd, 2010 at 2:40 pm
I’m still waiting for my bailout…
I really, really DO need it… I’m financially in dispair…
Do they think I’m not too big to fail?
December 2nd, 2010 at 3:15 pm
Some of the banks were not in trouble and did not want the money. They were told that it was their duty as a patriot to take the money. In other words do it or else. You don’t want to know what else is! This all happened on Bush’s watch. I would like to see Bush and Obama in the same cell. But I doubt anyone will ever be held accountable.
December 2nd, 2010 at 3:38 pm
I can’t wait until they tell us about the strippers and the lunches at Hooters.
December 2nd, 2010 at 3:58 pm
Follow the campaign donations. Extortion 101.
December 2nd, 2010 at 4:16 pm
They ALL lie: Democrat, Republican, Tea Partier. It’s all “Do as i say, not as I do”
December 2nd, 2010 at 6:03 pm
Because the midterm elections are over and done with?
Way to defend the Hopenchange there, Randall! ‘Oh yea!? Well THEY do it too!’
Why don’t you stick to frothy indignation over Bristol Palin’s Dancing With the Stars appearence?
December 2nd, 2010 at 6:58 pm
Twoeggsup – I doubt it. You’re not a bank.
Harp1034 – Never happen, but you’re right: equal blame to go around on this one. Bush started it, Obama continued it.
DL474 – Ooh, that reminds me! Where did I put my $1 bills?
Bob – Another reason why McCain-Feingold was a disaster.
Randal – Exactly. “Honest politician” is an oxymoron.
Fenway – In this case, he’s right. This started in the fall of 2008 and continues through this past summer. Bush, Obama, and Congress are to blame for this.
December 2nd, 2010 at 10:54 pm
Maybe Dear Leader thinks Europe is one of the 57 states.
December 2nd, 2010 at 10:59 pm
Hey Fenway, I’ve always said that, dummy. I’m not a lemming like unnamed others who follow blindly everything that their party does. (e.g. – the Tea Partiers who are so anti-earmark except for the $1 Billion of earmarks they took in 2010). I’ve voted against my party for Congress in the past 2 elections.
p.s. – Go Yankees (and I hate the Yankees)
December 2nd, 2010 at 11:49 pm
Hey Wyatt – I think Obama keeps bailing out the Wall Street types for two reasons: One is that in point of fact, the Wall Streeters and Banks DO understand the economy, unlike Tim Giethner and Ben Bernake (btw, have you ever noticed that every damn time Bernake opens his mouth about anything up on the Hill, the Dow Jones takes a dive?) and the other is if Obama doesn’t bail them out, how are they going to contribute to his and his fellow Democrats election or re-election campaigns (recall, if you will, how he lambasted Goldman Sachs and GS turned out to be his biggest single contributor in 2008 of record, anyway)?
December 3rd, 2010 at 1:25 am
In Harley’s case, once again Obama was riding to the rescue of the UAW, just as he did with the GM/Chrysler bailout package (which bailed out the union much more than it actually did either automaker).
As for GE, well, their CEO Jeffrey Immelt is in big with Obama, and actually sits on his council of economic advisors. One hand washes the other, and all that.
And as for GE’s media subsidiaries, like NBC and MSNBC…well, you’ve heard journalists called “presstitutes,” before, right?
Well, now we know that Chris Matthews was getting paid for that infamous leg tingle, don’t we? He, Olbermann, Maddow and O’Donnell weren’t just being sluts…they were being professionals.
December 3rd, 2010 at 2:36 am
I like the part with us bailing out Deutsche Bank!
Poor, destitute things, the Germans
December 3rd, 2010 at 11:03 am
y’all got it all wrong. We have to bail out Europe because poverty spreads Communism. We’re still following the Truman Doctrine right?