$8.8 Trillion

Can you even comprehend $8.8 Trillion? No, it’s not the national debt (that’s way more now). It’s the total bailout tab. Not the $800 billion TARP. Not even that plus the “stimulus” bill. It’s 5.5 times larger than TARP and the stimulus bill combined. That’s what the government is on the hook for. 

 
From the NY [...]

Today’s Must Read

Yves Smith (of Naked Capitalism) has a fantastic article on the latest AIG handout at the new TBP Cafe. Take 10 minutes and go read the article. If you’re not furious at the end…well, I really don’t know. I can’t see how this “new deal” is anything but bad, but I’d be glad to hear [...]

If I Were Ben Bernanke…

I’d probably be thrown out of office quickly for punching members of Congress.
I’ve listened to the past few hearings he has attended in front of various committees and subcommittees. They always ask the same questions and they’re all politically loaded. They always start with “In your opinion, would it be a good idea if…” and [...]

Lieberman Suggests A Rational Idea…

Which means it won’t go anywhere.
Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-CT., said Tuesday that Congress should consider a special tax to pay for the nation’s war against terrorism. The Republicans and the Bush administration have tried to hide the costs of the war since the very beginning burying it in off-budget requests and refusing to include any [...]

Roundup of Tax Bill

Reuters has the best easy-to-read summary of the tax bill that the House passed in the middle of a Friday night before taking off yet again for a monthlong recess. The bill would make the US borrow another $310 billion in the next 10 years (assuming the estimates are correct) and will cost several times [...]

U.S. Debt Limit Raised, Again

The US Senate passed the necessary, but politically senstive, bill to raise the debt of the United States to $8,985,000,000,000. The reckless spending of the US Congress has to come to an end soon as the debt is now nearly 3/4 of our annual GDP (according to the CIA Factbook) and has increased by 50% [...]