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Tuesday, September 30, 2008 12:00 AM

The simultaneous rejection of the bailout and a corrupt ruling class

Monday was the rarest event in American politics: Public opinion actually influenced what the government did.
Glenn Greenwald

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  • Tuesday, September 30, 2008 08:15 AM

    Loan - Not Bailout?

    Well, the first question is, if it's a loan why is the nomenclature given to it by the administration "Bailout"?

    If it is a loan, what is the collateral against which the loan is being provided? Are the companies themselves going to repay the loan, or is the payment supposed to come from the sell of the debts purchased? How is it a loan if there is no language about how the money will be repaid? The money is supposed to come from the sale of the debts collected? So, our government will sell those debts back to the same institutes that created them. Any assurances that our government will sell them for a price higher than when it was purchased? Any assurances that our government will not overpay for those debts when first purchasing them?

    I'm hardly an economist, but that just puts me in the majority.

    Here are my understanding of what a loan and a bailout are.

    1. A loan is when you let someone borrow money from you and they repay it along with interest.

    2. A bailout is when you give someone money for something which you may or may not be able to sell in the future.

    —umbrage Read umbrage's other letters

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