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OpEdNews Op Eds    H3'ed 2/17/09

Tighten Your Seat Belts - This Recession Is Turning Into Another Great Depression!

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"Called the "-Predators Tour' these actions were the start of NACA's "-accountability campaign,' an aggressive, confrontational protest aimed at several top executives of companies that refuse to allow NACA to renegotiate the terms of loans on behalf of members, according to NACA CEO Bruce Marks,"- reported the Stamford Times.

"Sporting bright yellow shirts that read, "-Stop Loan Sharks,' protesters demanded more accountability from the CEOs of the financial institutions responsible for the millions of unaffordable mortgages in the state and across America,"- reported NBC New York in an article titled, "Grab Your Torch and Pitchfork."- MORE

In an Op-Ed that was written by Paul Craig Roberts - there are four paragraphs that stand-out and describe our peril in words that anyone should be able to understand:

Astonishing Incongruities: Is It Time to Bail Out of the US?

by Paul Craig Roberts

Except for the superrich and those banksters and CEOs who stole wealth from investors and shareholders, Americans have suffered enormous losses in wealth and income"-. The stock market decline has destroyed about 45% of their IRAs, 401Ks, and other equity investments. On top of this comes the decline in home prices, lost jobs and health care, lost customers"-.

"-Americans "- have seen their retirement savings devastated by complicity of government regulators and lawmakers with financial gangsters"- The financial damage inflicted on Americans by their own government is as great as would be expected from foreign conquest"-

"-The banksters robbed us twice.
First it was our home and stock values. Then the government rewarded the banksters for their misdeeds by bailing out the banksters, not their victims, and putting the cost on the taxpayers' books"-The government has also robbed the taxpayers of $3 trillion dollars to fight its wars.

"-Washington is so accustomed to ripping off the taxpayers for the benefit of special interests that the practice is now in the DNA"- Much MORE

Unfortunately, President Obama's Stimulus Package is doomed to failure and will result in injecting even more money into the nation's failed banking and financial sector. The rapid rise in unemployment - which is now becoming a flash-flood of job losses, is creating the next round of billions of dollars of losses in the financial sector. When people lose their jobs, or accept employment at substantially reduced salaries than they were accustomed to, they become unable to pay on their credit cards and automobile loans - thus another round of "bailouts"- will be necessary to prop-up the financial sector. The credit crisis is becoming self-perpetuating; millions of Americans who once had good credit are witnessing their credit ratings plummet as they become unable to pay their bills, thereby disqualifying themselves to be eligible to receive credit from anyone. Banks and financial institutions do not lend money to people who are unemployed or who have bad credit - so "credit"- will only be available to those who have been fortunate enough to stay employed. It's a vicious cycle, it grows worse every day, and is creating a huge swath of second-class citizens that will not qualify for credit even when the markets begin to recover!

An economist, Dean Baker, who is the co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington, DC, wrote this revealing Op-Ed on February the 8th:

Dealing With BANKRUPT Banks: Nationalization or Welfare

The media continue to do more to misinform the public than to inform them when it comes to plans for fixing the financial system. Following the absolute worst in journalistic practices, a front page Washington Post article explains the Obama administration's policy by telling readers that the "approach reflects Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner's philosophy of how governments should respond to financial crises."-

The excursion into philosophy deflects readers from the real issue. Mr. Geithner wants to use taxpayer dollars to keep bankrupt banks in business. In effect, he wants to tax teachers, fire fighters, and Joe the Plumber to protect the wealth of the banks' shareholders and to pay high salaries to their top executives. No readers of this piece would understand that this is the process being described.

The Post editorial page carried on with this deception. An editorial on saving the banks dismissed nationalization because it would involve the government in running the banks. Then it discusses the idea of buying bad assets and warns, "but there is a huge risk that the government would badly overpay in the first place."-

It would be nice if the Post and the rest of the media would report honestly on the bank bailout and stop trying to conceal plans for a massive redistribution of wealth to the bank shareholders and their top executives.

""Dean Baker LINK

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My Bio is as varied as my life. In 2012, my twin sons murdered a Journalist in Pensacola, Fl., for 100K worth of "Magic The Gathering" playing cards and buried the body in my backyard. I was once a regular writer here, but PTSD from my son's (more...)
 

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