SIGTARP: Excessive Pay at Bailed-Out GM

 A special inspector general report on compensation for executives at General Motors and Ally Financial blasts the Treasury Department for allowing excessive pay at the companies as taxpayers lost billions of dollars on the auto bailouts. The watchdog group issuing the report monitors the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), which was set up to save financial corporations deemed "too big to fail" due to systemic risk to America's financial system. The program was expanded to allow for the bailing out of the auto industry, despite the questionable use of funds specifically designated for financial institutions.

Read more at National Legal & Policy Center Read More......

Andrew Huszar: Confessions of a Quantitative Easer

I can only say: I'm sorry, America. As a former Federal Reserve official, I was responsible for executing the centerpiece program of the Fed's first plunge into the bond-buying experiment known as quantitative easing. The central bank continues to spin QE as a tool for helping Main Street. But I've come to recognize the program for what it really is: the greatest backdoor Wall Street bailout of all time. Read more at Wall Street Journal… Read More......

Illinois Governor proposes federal bailout for his state

Illinois is one of the public union states that will one day need a federal bailout because of their pension shortfalls. Governor Quinn has now made that official by pointing out in his budget proposal that, “significant long-term improvements” in that debt will come from “seeking a federal guarantee of the debt.” ✧ Wonder how the governors of other states that have taken fiscal responsibility for their spending or “right to work” states will enjoy subsidizing undisciplined public union states like Illinois and California? Read more at the Rockford Register Star...

Related:
Wall Street Journal: An Illinois Pension Bailout? - Governor Quinn wants you to guarantee his state's pensions.
State Budget Solutions: Block any pension bailout now to force reform By Frank Keegan Read More......

WND: U.S. Marine fires back over Shariah loans

WORLDNETDAILY, 6/8/2010 by Chelsea Shilling (Hat tip: Stella Guenther) - Christian combat vet suing Fed for promoting Islam with AIG bailout: A U.S. Marine who served in Iraq is suing the federal government for distributing billions of dollars in taxpayer funds to the Shariah-supporting American International Group. ∴ The lawsuit, Murray v. Geithner et al., was brought against the Fed and the Treasury by the Thomas More Law Center on behalf of Kevin Murray, a former Marine who served honorably in Iraq to defend the United States from Islamic terrorists. ∴ Murray argues that he is being forced as a taxpayer to contribute to the propagation of Islamic beliefs and practices predicated upon Shariah law, which he says is hostile to his Christian religion. Read more at WorldNetDaily.com... Read More......

Debt Package for Europe Took U.S. Nudge

NEW YORK TIMES/Deal Book Blogs, 5/12/2010 - President Obama had just flown into Hampton, Va., Sunday morning to deliver a commencement address. But before he donned his silky academic robes, he was on the phone with Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, offering urgent advice — and some not so subtle prodding — that Europe needed to try something big. ∴ Weeks of hesitant half-steps to address Greece’s debt problems had only worsened market worries about the euro, and were threatening the still-fragile economic recoveries in the United States and Asia, Steven Erlanger, Katrin Bennhold and David Sanger report in The New York Times. Now, Mr. Obama told Mrs. Merkel that the Europeans needed an overwhelming financial rescue to end speculation that the euro — and European unity — could crumble. Read more at the NYT...

Related
Breitbart TV: Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN) (video) "We didn't ask Europe to bail out New Jersey or California. American taxpayers should not be responsible for bailing out Europe." Read More......

YOU DECIDE: Take the poll at Studio B

FOX NEWS POLL, STUDIO B with Shepard Smith - "Would you be upset if GM used taxpayer money on its operations overseas?" Let Shep know how you feel. Take the poll. Read More......

Why There Was No Depression

WASHINGTON POST, 10/5/2009 by Robert J. Samuelson (Hat tip: John Detweiler) - How close did we come to the Great Depression 2.0? That question will spawn a cottage industry of books, studies and conferences. But Christina Romer, the head of President Obama's Council of Economic Advisers, already has an answer: pretty darn close. Her conclusion deserves attention because Romer, in her previous academic career, was a scholar of the Great Depression. Read more at the Washington Post...

Care to comment? Read More......

TARP watchdog says Treasury lacking bank data

THE HILL.com, 7/19/2009 by Silla Brush - The top watchdog over the financial bailout package said the Treasury Department is rejecting "common sense" by not requiring banks receiving billions of dollars in government money to say how they are using the money. Read more at The Hill... Read More......

Bail Out California [?]

FORBES.COM, 5/29/2009 by Michael Maiello - Rescue the Golden State, but demand the governor's head. ∴ The State of California is considering handing out IOUs to blind people on state aid, students with education grants and taxpayers who are owed refunds. Last year, the federal government acted quickly to save Wall Street from itself. But now, when the basic social contract between California and its citizens is about to be broken, we merely yawn. California can be saved, though we the taxpayers should demand some concessions in exchange for the rescue. Read more at Forbes... Read More......

Varney: Obama Wants to Control the Banks

WSJ OPINION JOURNAL, 4/4/2009 by Stewart Varney - There's a reason he refuses to accept repayment of TARP money. ∴ I must be naive. I really thought the administration would welcome the return of bank bailout money. Some $340 million in TARP cash flowed back this week from four small banks in Louisiana, New York, Indiana and California. This isn't much when we routinely talk in trillions, but clearly that money has not been wasted or otherwise sunk down Wall Street's black hole. So why no cheering as the cash comes back?

My answer: The government wants to control the banks, just as it now controls GM and Chrysler, and will surely control the health industry in the not-too-distant future. Keeping them TARP-stuffed is the key to control. And for this intensely political president, mere influence is not enough. The White House wants to tell 'em what to do. Read more at Wall Street Journal... Read More......

Humor: Congressional Motors

"All new for 2012, the Pelosi GTxi SS/Rt Sport Edition is the mandatory American car so advanced it took $100 billion and an entire Congress to design it." (Includes ad display)

It's in the way you dress. The way you boogie down. The way you sign your unemployment check. You're a man who likes to do things your own way. And on those special odd-numbered Saturdays when driving is permitted, you want it in your car. It's that special feeling of a zero-emissions wind at your back and a road ahead meandering with possibilities. The kind of feeling you get behind the wheel of the Pelosi GTxi SS/Rt Sport Edition from Congressional Motors.

All new for 2012, the Pelosi GTxi SS/Rt Sport Edition is the mandatory American car so advanced it took $100 billion and an entire Congress to design it. We started with same reliable 7-way hybrid ethanol-biodeisel-electric-clean coal-wind-solar-pedal power plant behind the base model Pelosi, but packed it with extra oomph and the sassy styling pizazz that tells the world that 1974 Detroit is back again -- with a vengeance.

We've subsidized the features you want and taxed away the rest. With its advanced Al Gore-designed V-3 under the hood pumping out 22.5 thumping, carbon-neutral ponies of Detroit muscle, you'll never be late for the Disco or the Day Labor Shelter. Engage the pedal drive or strap on the optional jumbo mizzenmast, and the GTxi SS/Rt Sport Edition easily exceeds 2016 CAFE mileage standards. At an estimated 268 MPG, that's a savings of nearly $1800 per week in fuel cost over the 2011 Pelosi.

Even with increased performance we didn't skimp on safety. With 11-point passenger racing harnesses, 15-way airbags, and mandatory hockey helmet, you'll have the security knowing that you could survive a 45 MPH collision even if the GTxi SS/Rt were capable of that kind of illegal speed.

But the changes don't stop there. Sporty mag-style hubcaps and an all-new aggressive wedge shape designed by CM's Chief Stylist Ted Kennedy slices through the wind like an omnibus spending bill. It even features an airtight undercarriage to keep you and a passenger afloat up to 15 minutes -- even in the choppy waters of a Cape Cod inlet. Available a rainbow of color choices to match any wardrobe, from Harvest Avocado to French Mustard.

Inside, a luxurious all-velour interior designed by Barney Frank features thoughtful appointments like in-dash condom dispenser and detachable vibrating shift knob. A special high capacity hatchback holds up to 300 aluminum cans, meaning fewer trips to the redemption center. And the standard 3 speaker Fairness ActoPhonic FM low-band sound system means you'll never miss a segment of NPR again.

Best of all, the Pelosi GTxi SS/Rt is made right here in the U.S.A. by fully card-checked unionized workers and Detroit's famous visionary jet-set managers. Even if you don't own one, you can enjoy the patriotic satisfaction that you're supporting the high wages, good benefits, and generous political donations that are once again making the American car industry the envy of the world.

But why not buy one anyway? With an MSRP starting at only $629,999.99, it's affordable too. Don't forget to ask about dealer incentives, rebates, tax credits, and wealth redistribution plans for customers from dozens of qualifying special interest groups. Plus easy-pay financing programs from Fannie Mae.

So take the bus to your local CM dealer today and find out why the Pelosi GTxi SS/Rt Sport Edition is the only car endorsed by President Barack Obama. One test drive will convince you that you'd choose it over the import brands. Even if they were still legal.

(Hat tip: John Detweiler and Iowahawk)
Here's another bit of automotive inventiveness. Read More......

Auto bailout approved by Bush administration

The Patriot Post, Friday Digest, Vol. 08 No. 51 - President George W. Bush announced Friday morning that the White House will include General Motors and Chrysler in the Treasury Department's fiscal bailout plan. The automakers will receive $13,4 billion in emergency loans now, plus another $4 billion in February contingent on the companies undertaking reorganization dictated by the federal government. Among the conditions is Tennessee Republican Sen. Bob Corker's proposal that the automakers negotiate wage and benefit cuts with the United Auto Workers to better align them with competition from foreign companies making autos here in the United States, but that requirement is non-binding. GM and Chrysler must also limit executive pay and eliminate their corporate jets. On 30 March, GM and Chrysler will be made to give account of their condition.

"These are not ordinary circumstances, in the midst of a financial crisis and a recession allowing the US auto industry to collapse is not a responsible action," the president said, adding, "Chapter 11 is unlikely to work for the American automakers at this time." Fair-weather capitalism is also unlikely to work at any time. Read More......

Federal spending soars 25% before bailout

The government's spending commitments exploded by 25 percent in 2008, putting taxpayers more than $1 trillion in the hole even before the astronomical costs of the economic bailout were taken into account, according to an annual report released Monday by the White House. A joint report by the White House budget office and Treasury Department said that much of the increase in obligations came from an unexpected jump in veterans benefits liabilities, while revenues remained mostly flat because of the recession that began a year ago. Jim Nussle, director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, called the report "sobering." The report showed that U.S. debts and liabilities are close to passing the value of the U.S. population's net worth, said Peter G. Peterson Foundation, a nonprofit organization devoted to promoting fiscal responsibility. "The value of this report is that it shows the long-term cost of expensive commitments we are making today," said Brian Riedl, a budget analyst for the Heritage Foundation. Read more at the Washington Times...

Read More......

Wage Demands Sink Auto Bailout In Senate

WASHINGTON (CBS News) ― A $14 billion emergency bailout for U.S. automakers collapsed in the Senate Thursday night after the United Auto Workers refused to accede to Republican demands for swift wage cuts. The proposal failed in a 52-35 procedural vote, reports CBS News Capitol Hill producer John Nolen. It needed 60 votes to move forward. The collapse came after bipartisan talks on the auto rescue broke down over GOP demands that the United Auto Workers union agree to steep wage cuts by 2009 to bring their pay into line with Japanese carmakers. Read more at CBS4Denver... Read More......

McCain explains his YES vote on Bailout

"It's insanity and it's obscenity. Until we stop it, until we get a president who says I'm going to veto these bills, I'm going to make the people famous who put them on there... It's terrible, and it really is corrupting... The corruption in Washington is not the lobbyists, it's the system that allows the lobbyists to take advantage of these back-room deals."

See the video at Breitbart from MSNBC's Morning Joe Show HERE

Best wishes to Gov. Palin in the VP debate tonight! Read More......