Most Popular Choices
Share on Facebook 86 Printer Friendly Page More Sharing
OpEdNews Op Eds    H3'ed 8/18/16

About that QE "lending" that has been paid off (NOT)

Follow Me on Twitter     Message Jerry Lobdill
Become a Fan
  (24 fans)

Partners in crime
Partners in crime
(Image by ShareAlike 2.0)
  Details   DMCA

Last night during the Jill Stein Town Hall on CNN Chris Cuomo made errors in his discussion of QE. He said that the Wall Street banks had gotten their QE money as low-interest loans from the Federal Reserve, and that these loans had been paid back in full. He said this several times in his discussion with Jill Stein. (I wish I had the transcript.) I had read that assertion once in the MSM back during the time after Wall Street had used their QE money to pay executives outrageous salaries and bonuses for their performance during the crisis. (Sorry, I don't have that transcript either.) But this assertion is a lie on its face. I'm pretty sure that neither Jill Stein nor Cuomo knew it was a lie, because both of them behaved as if it was true and was a mitigating factor in the argument that the bonuses and high dollar salaries were inappropriate.

Here's why I know it is a lie. The money was created and granted to the banks to be used in the TARP program. How was that done? The Federal Reserve bought the toxic assets from the creditors at book value--not at the depressed current market value. This money was used to buttress the balance sheets of the creditors to avoid insolvency.

So where did the creditors get the money to pay back the QE "loans" they got from the Federal Reserve? Answer: They didn't have any way to get the money to pay the QE "loans" off; ergo, they DIDN'T pay off these "loans". And they will never be paid off. The Federal Reserve now owns a lot of empty houses that can't be sold because there is no market (or they have been sold to the US Treasury and paid for in full with bonds, adding the face value of the bonds to the national debt).

This lie was invented to obfuscate the wheeling and dealing that Obama allowed when Geithner and Bernanke met with him the day after the crash. Bernanke had told Obama in the meeting that if he refused to sign the bill there would likely be no economy on the day after. And Obama bought that argument.

It was interesting to hear Cuomo bring it up in the discussion with Jill Stein. She did not correct him either, so obviously the obfuscation has worked.

Must Read 2   News 2   Supported 1  
Rate It | View Ratings

Jerry Lobdill Social Media Pages: Facebook page url on login Profile not filled in       Twitter page url on login Profile not filled in       Linkedin page url on login Profile not filled in       Instagram page url on login Profile not filled in


I am a retired physicist and hold a B.S. in Ch. E. as well. I have been an environmental activist since the early 1970s. I was a founding member of the Save Barton Creek Association in Austin, TX. In 2006 I was a member of a select (more...)
 

Go To Commenting
The views expressed herein are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.
Follow Me on Twitter     Writers Guidelines

 
Contact AuthorContact Author Contact EditorContact Editor Author PageView Authors' Articles
Support OpEdNews

OpEdNews depends upon can't survive without your help.

If you value this article and the work of OpEdNews, please either Donate or Purchase a premium membership.

STAY IN THE KNOW
If you've enjoyed this, sign up for our daily or weekly newsletter to get lots of great progressive content.
Daily Weekly     OpEd News Newsletter
Name
Email
   (Opens new browser window)
 

Most Popular Articles by this Author:     (View All Most Popular Articles by this Author)

Making War on Climate Change

Globalization, Free Trade, and David Ricardo's Theory

When the next crash comes do you want Hillary in charge?

Currency in Fiat Monetary Systems in General and the US Federal Reserve System in Particular

Question Received Wisdom; Learn What We Don't Know, And Let the Chips Fall Where They May

The Trouble With Cash--a World Awash in $100 Federal Reserve Notes

To View Comments or Join the Conversation:

Tell A Friend