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Brain -> Trillions for Wall Street - Zilch for You Know Who (7/31/2010 3:02:29 AM)
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What is it with these fucking banks and Wall Street fucking everybody else up? How do they have the power to do this?
“Bernanke knows what to do, but he refuses to do it. He'd rather line the pockets of bondholders.”
What does he mean, “Bernanke knows what to do?” What should Bernanke be doing???
FTA:
The bottom line? When Wall Street is hurting, money's never a problem.
Zilch for You Know Who
Trillions for Wall Street
Increasing the money supply does nothing when interest rates are already at zero and consumers are slashing spending. Bernanke has added over $1.25 trillion to bank reserves but consumer borrowing, spending and confidence are still flat on the canvass. The problem is demand, not the volume of money. Bernanke knows what to do, but he refuses to do it. He'd rather line the pockets of bondholders, bankers and rentiers. This is from Calculated Risk:
"This report from the National League of Cities (NLC), National Association of Counties (NACo), and the U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) reveals that local government job losses in the current and next fiscal years will approach 500,000, with public safety, public works, public health, social services and parks and recreation hardest hit by the cutbacks.
The surveyed local governments report cutting 8.6 per cent of total full-time equivalent (FTE) positions over the previous fiscal year to the next fiscal year (roughly 2009-2011). If applied to total local government employment nationwide, an 8.6 percent cut in the workforce would mean that 481,000 local government workers were, or will be, laid off over the two-year period."
The cutbacks will ravage local governments, state revenues and public services. Emergency facilities by the Fed provided $11.4 trillion for underwater banks and non banks, but nothing for the states. The GOP is helping the Fed strangle the states by opposing additional aid for Medicare payments and unemployment benefits. Many cities and counties will be forced into bankruptcy while Goldman Sachs rakes in record profits on liquidity provided by Bernanke. It's a disaster.
The bottom line? When Wall Street is hurting, money's never a problem. But when the states are on the brink of default and 14 million workers are scrimping to feed their families, it's time for belt-tightening. Explain that to your kids.
http://www.counterpunch.org/whitney07292010.html
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