The $700 billion of taxpayers' money, in the plan suggested by Paulson, will buy enough of the toxic obligations to allow the companies to avoid bankruptcy. Not coincidentally, a major beneficiary of the scheme will be the investment bank Goldman Sachs. Paulson resigned as CEO of Goldman Sachs to become the Treasury secretary in 2006, having amassed a personal net worth of $700 million during his 32-year tenure at the bank (on average, $21.9 million per year).

There are hundreds if not thousands of Main Street banks and thrift institutions which played no part in the real estate securitization/derivatives game. Certainly the $700 billion could be made available to them instead, at low but positive interest.

http://www.alternet.org/workplace/99707/the_$700_billion_bailout:_one_more_weapon_of_mass_deception

and I especially liked this from resident idiot Hensarling (and your translation): until "the panel officially adopts a serious agenda that truly brings transparency and accountability to the process." Translated into partisan English, what he means is, "As a powerless member of the Party that steered the country into this catastrophe, I have no control over what these liberal maniacs say, so I'm just going to stick my fingers in my ears and go nyah, nyah, nyah.")

Lord.

As Robert Reich pointed out in his blog (http://robertreich.blogspot.com/): Nearly 36 percent of homeowners holding mortgages whose terms were adjusted to give them more leeway defaulted on payments within three months, and almost 53 percent were behind on payments by six months.

To answer Warren's question, Is the Strategy Helping to Reduce Foreclosures?

No, of course not. Was it designed to do so? No, of course not.

I said from the beginning that no good legislation is written in a week. I said from the beginning that that $700 billion was being given away with no oversight, no plan and did nothing to address the underlying problems in our economy. So far I've been proven right. While the big investment banks get bailed out of their imaginary world of derivatives and pushing numbers around a balance sheet over here in the real world things continue to go down hill.

My company is looking at a third round of layoffs in an 18 month period. A great way to kick off the new year. What little savings I have are still dwindling. Banks STILL are not lending money (big surprise after all the rate cuts).

And even worse, because of the complete f*^%-up that has been the bank bailout, genuine efforts to help the economy are being stiffled. Republicans have political cover in the complete mismanagment of the TARP to filibuster any other 'bailouts' even ones in the form of loans.

We are at the cusp the next 3-4 months will decide if this is either a long deep recession lasting 4-5 years or a decade plus long depression.

Between Bush fiddling while Rome burns and obstruction from Republicans I'm betting on the depression. Unfortunately the guy I'm betting with won't have any money to pay me with.

Paulson's successful coup has given him the first installment (the $700 billion slush fund 90% of US citizens had very loud said NO to) of what is an open-ended river of money to do with what he wants with virtually no accountability. Remember that being one of the more telling and intriguing parts of the "bail-out legislation" that caused such a stir.

We are here to ask the questions that we believe all Americans have a right to ask: who got the money, what have they done with it, how has it helped the country, and how has it helped ordinary people?

That is such a sweet little quote that I feel I ought to go check my blood sugar. A Warren Report for the 21 C indeed -- you just have to love the fact that they even bothered to convene such a body as the "TARP Congressional Oversight Panel." Maybe it's a baseball thing, tag 'em all, go through the motions, no matter how much of a sham you know it's going to be. There's something charming and American in that. A useless gesture as the corruption train roars on by. Maybe waving a flag or at least while wearing a flag lapel pin.

(A year later, TARP Congressional Oversight Panel report: "FUCK! THEY STOLE OUR MONEY AND GAVE IT TO THEIR FRIENDS!")

Congress should immediately reopen the TARP legislation to include a fraud and abuse clause that covers actions by the people who received the money and those who gave the money, whether past or present. If Paulson gives away nearly one billion dollars without anything to show for it other than fun holiday parties with his ecstatic, thieving cronies, he needs to be jailed. Along with his cronies.

$700 million is too much to effectively control, and not nearly enough to fix the problem.

It is (or was) hoped that the geniuses that led us into this mess would get us out. So far we've received nothing, no reports, no data, no plan and no progress.

Am I wrong in thinking that we're on the Titanic and we're trying to launch the lifeboats?

Someone Needs to Go to Jail

America does not have enough prisons.

It's just another one of the thousands of incidents which increasingly convince me that America is too corrupt to survive. The corruption is top to bottom and deeply infects American society in general. Half the country is in business to cheat the other half.

I'm waiting for something, anything, to restore my confidence in American honesty.

I'm not holding my breath.

Bankruptcy won't finish off America. It has already succumbed under the weight of its own inequities.

It is (or was) hoped that the geniuses that led us into this mess would get us out. So far we've received nothing, no reports, no data, no plan and no progress.

You can expect that the money was simply stolen.

I don't want to believe that America is too corrupt to survive, but I'm not being given a choice.

Paulson will ask for the second $350 billion the day after congress leaves town for the holidays, and the 15-day limit for congress to object will expire before they return.