What did we get over the last year?
1. Taxpayer Bailout. Taxpayers have committed $4.7 trillion to the financial sector over the last year, only $700 billion of which was through TARP. Even banks like Goldman Sachs that returned their TARP funds earlier this year continue to benefit from other bailout programs, such as the $12.9 billion that Goldman received as an AIG counter-party that it will never have to pay back. Once all crisis-related programs are factored in, taxpayers could be on the hook for a grand total of up to $18 trillion for this economic rescue.
2. Trillions of Dollars in Lost Wealth for Ordinary Americans. The bank-induced economic crisis has cost Americans trillions of dollars already, on top of the trillions more we have committed through the bailouts.
à ‚¬ American families lost $11 trillion in wealth in 2008, nearly 18% of their net worth.
à ‚¬ Americans have lost $6.1 trillion in homeowner wealth since June 2006.
à ‚¬ Banks have generally refused to modify mortgages to help prevent foreclosures because it is more profitable for them to collect fees as a family loses its home than it is to save the home.
à ‚¬ Over 5.3 million Americans have lost their jobs since last September, and the national unemployment rate is at its highest in 26 years.
à ‚¬ Personal bankruptcies are soaring, and are expected to reach levels not seen since a 2005 law made it more difficult to file bankruptcy.
à ‚¬ Between October 2007 and December 2008, the top 1,000 US pension funds lost $1.75 trillion, or 23.3% of their value, the worst losses in 30 years.
à ‚¬ Declining property values and personal income have taken their tolls on state and local budgets, leading to cuts in essential services like public health programs, childhood education, and programs for the elderly and disabled.
3. Back to Greed & Business as Usual. While taxpayers are still suffering, the big banks are back to business as usual, paying out tens of billions in bonuses, making tens of billions in profits on the backs of American consumers, and returning to the same kinds of practices that caused the crisis in the first place.
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