Congressional leadership was so interested in seeing the bill pass quickly that they threw in a few extra gifts for BushCo:
The bill would require the administration to bring to Congress for review — but not approval — any agreement it reaches with Iraq on the future of U.S. forces there.
… To make [Bush’s signature] more likely, they rewrote or deleted provisions that had triggered veto threats, including … a ban on using private contractors as interrogators in U.S. military detention facilities…
No timeline, no requirement that SOFA get congressional approval, no accountability – but they did manage to include step one of Rahm’s Iraqi Skin in the Game:
…the bill would bar the use of Pentagon funds for large-scale infrastructure projects in Iraq, with certain exceptions. And it would call on the federal government to begin negotiating a cost-sharing agreement for joint U.S.-Iraqi military operations and act to ensure that Iraq pays for the costs of its own security forces.
Great timing as the destruction of Iraqi infrastructure – electricity supply, water supply, medical care – leads to a new cholera outbreak.
I seem to remember a time when we noticed – and even fussed – about blank checks for the illegal occupation of Iraq … makes me a bit “misty eyed” too.
Video from LinkTV’s Mosaic – A Syrian report on cholera and the request of the UN for a total of $37 Million to improve the living conditions of Iraqi children – a contribution that could easily be made from the billions being tossed around DC this week. Perhaps we should ask our congressional representatives to reconsider their priorities?
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- FDL Book Salon Welcomes Barry Ritholtz – Bailout Nation: How Greed and Easy Money Corrupted Wall Street and Shook the World Economy
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wow
Aloha, Siun!
Any more of this “long, effective teamwork” the children of our planet cannot stand.
The bail-out is an inside Wall Street job, in which the Treasury is acting as a kind of Committee of the Whole for the big Wall Street firms. I have no doubt that the system is on the brink of meltdown, but it is no coincidence Comrades, as we used to say, that there have been no economists involved in the plan. Economists have a lot to answer for, but guys like DeLong, Krugman, Roubini, Stiglitz, Calomaris, Rogoff and a host of others understand this stuff and can think fast on their feet.
Instead, they are taking advice from the operators who got us into this mess. Now the operators understand it, too, but their perspective is not a public interest perspective. That’s the rub.
I had a long discussion with Charlie Calomiris on this yesterday in Palo Alto, where we were both attending a conference. It’s unthinkable that we don’t have our best minds working on this problem. I wouldn’t want Reid and Pelosi designing a bridge my car is going to have to drive over, and I don’t like them designing this financial bridge, which may well fail.
During the frenzi over the weekend, much flew under the radar. Little noticed was a 25 billion dollar gift to auto manufacturers and the beat goes on.
I had the chance to catch Bill Moyers this evening with his guest Professor Andrew Bacevich form Boston U. He wrote a book I haven’t yet had the opportunity to read called ” The Limits Of Power”. However, the discussion was excellent and it would seem we have a very long way to go before we can even imagine undoing the imperial presidency. I believe you can catch in on the net.
I saw credible reports saying the price tag was higher… $648 Billion…!
So, roughly 700 billion in pre bailout, 600 billion in MIC spending and another 700 billion in more bailouts this week.
That’s two trillion we will never get back.
my bold.
Hagiography on Odierno on 60 minutes tonight. For sure he’s up to the job (they asked him), even though it’s much more complicated than just the military, and, yessirreee Bob, he’s learned from his mistakes.
Bridge to nowhere for sale?
(As a NYCer, so glad the pressure is removed from the Brooklyn Bridge.)
GS, I’d actually used that Moyers interview to lead my post… The $648 Billion Defense Appropriations Bill. ;-)
thanks for the warning. i’ll leave my tv off.
they ARE ALL DAMNED …and we are too,because of them
NOT IN MY NAME
Eight senate no votes on the final passage of the defense act of 2009:
NAYs —8
Allard (R-CO)
Byrd (D-WV)
Coburn (R-OK)
DeMint (R-SC)
Feingold (D-WI)
Graham (R-SC)
its a perfect diet enhancer for BULEMICS…………..makes me want to permantly regurge
and the liberal media looks the other way,while enacting their illusions
There is one over-riding caveat to the whole SOFA debacle, Maliki is adamant on the timeline and it will be submitted to the Iraqi parliament for approval… As Roads to Iraq points out, this is the 12th time they’ve said they’re close to a deal…
Campaigning pols wave the term around like some sort of talisman but bipartisanship is only desirable when used constructively. Gridlock would be preferable to what has been accomplished this week.
Interesting group, I’m guessing the Republicans didn’t think it was enough…
If this bailout is bad, and I think it is, why is Buffet FOR it? I have great respect for his knowledge in this area and he says if we don’t do the bailout that we will have the largest meltdown in American history. What does he know that I don’t see?
I guess the U.S. is now doing everything the USSR Evil Empire did during the Cold War. Maybe not so intensively, but same old stuff.
“To earn President Bush’s signature rather than a veto, House and Senate negotiators dropped several provisions he opposed. They include a ban on private interrogators in U.S. military detention facilities and what would have amounted to congressional veto power over a security pact with Iraq.”
They’re still afraid of little georgie and his veto crayon, the worst and least popular president in U.S history.
I’m at a loss for words, other than to point out that the second part of the italicized section above is unconstitutional. Treaties *must* be ratified by Congress.
There truly is no one in Washington who gives a flying fuck any more.
Supporting evidence: Sections 128 (allowing Fed to pay interest on reserves, and to set a zero-reserve requirement) and 132 (allowing suspension of mark-to-market rules at the discretion of the SEC commissioner) of the bailout bill proposal. Worse than the permissive goodwill accounting rules (mid-article), which did so much to enable the S&L heist, and which last week was quietly reinstated.
It is an open heist at this stage.
The back and forth with Maliki is one thing – he’ll fuss as much as he needs to save his skin and his Iranian allies ….
but for Congress to give away the right to approve or not on SOFA is awful!
Honored treasurer, have you seen this?
We are going to experience an inflation of massive proportions as a result of the combined spending decisions this week in Congress. The Fed is soon going to be between the proverbial rock and a hard place. It is impossible to sell the bonds needed to finance the current fiasco at current interest rates. Foreigners are going to want a premium, if only to protect themselves against a US devaluation. The high interest rates will have their predictable effect on asset values and the cost of credit to firms and individuals. This means a serious slowdown. At that point, the Fed is going to have to decide whether to let the slowdown play out, or monetize the debt.
If it monetizes the debt, all bets are off, since foreigners will take this as a sign that the economy is going to inflate, and will pull their funds out of the US, triggering either devaluation of the currency, or a new rise in interest rates.
There is really no way to square this circle except by imposing a high surtax on incomes over $250,000, with progressions to 90 percent on incomes above $2 million.
We can’t print our way out of this one. Sombody has to pay. The people who have made the most out of the last dozen years of ponzi schemes are the one’s who ought to have some of their gains taxed back to mitigate the cost of the fall-out.
This is where leadership is essential. If and when Obama becomes president, he is going to have to do a series of fireside talks explaining all this to the American people.
*sigh* Let me reiterate… Maliki is adamant on the time line and it will be submitted to the Iraqi parliament! Even if our critters are incompetent and worthless there’s still the other half of the equation to contend with…!
that is what i called it…no bailout….HEIST
Wow, that’s a rogue’s gallery. Talk about strange bedfellows!
The “inflation” will be in the price of some asset, not in the price of goods or services. The latter are set by supply & demand, and demand is dropping.
So loose monetary policy goes into asset price bubbles. Was tech stocks in the 90s, houses in the 00s. Don’t know what’s next, but we’ll soon find out.
And after the asset price bubble comes the crash.
I concur 100% with ya, Siun! I’m merely pointing out the extreme precariousness on the Iraqi half of the equation…!
Hi Siun and thank you.
Well, yeah, but what won’t they give away these days? I’ve been convinced that all manner of deals with the devil have been on for quite some time in this country, but the scorched earth “finish” of the Bushes and the cynicism of their Congressional enablers nevertheless have me outraged.
again
Here’s another Rogue’s Gallery. Perhaps the list should be added to these? Barney Frank’s mug shot would fit right in.
http://exiledonline.com/cat/russia-babylon/
You betcha. One of the few predictables with 100% probability.
I remember reading in school about how the ancient Roman Senate made itself irrelevant. I thought at the time that was very odd, and wondered how it could possibly happen that a group of elected officials would abdicate their responsibility. It amazed me that they could be so without shame, or pride, or something.
Seeing it before my eyes, right now, in my own country, is like a nightmare.
Have they no shame, or pride, or something? None?
Looks like several kabuki votes to me.
Maliki is our creature. If need be, he can be replaced. He has no constituency in Irak.
Another factoid about the SOFA is that it’s not a ‘treaty’, but, merely a MOU… Memorandum of Understanding… That is the ‘legal’ basis for not submitting it to congress… If/when Obama assumes the helm legally he’s not bound by it…!
Fair enough. We’ll see. I still think (and Ken Arrow agreed) that a big tax increase is needed to stanch the bleeding.
Dear Pollyanna,
HELP!!
CTuttle – the MOU is the fallback option if they cannot maneuver a Status of Forces Agreement through the Iraqi Parliament I believe.
Congress chose to give up the right to approve … heckuva job
I wouldn’t be too sure of the Maliki ‘is our creature’ meme, Teddy! Iran holds considerably more sway than Shrub ever thought he did…! Particularly, with McSame’s nosedive in the polls…!
Looks like the ultimate degradation. Living on the dregs of empire. And the Sens & Reps don’t even have the high standard of living (like slaves) that the Romans had. U.S. is a sorry example of an empire-all the problems, none of the benefits.
Oh yeah, a tax increase in the midst of a recession. Just what the Dr. ordered. Did Arrow take any economics courses, or did he just irrevelantly apply math to the subject?
60 minutes ran a segment tonight.. all pro Odierno and how wonderful Iraq is doing now.. people can actualy walk the streets.. yea Americans!
See my 9.
So, is linking to a timely diary kosher, equitette-wise? (We even chose the same vid Siun!)
Hey, we have at least one more bubble to live through. Enjoy!
but of course Laura!
Etiquette. My hand is dyslexic since the surgery!
MONEY NEUTERED THEM…the love of money
Reidar, Ladybird, Badger, Juan, amongst others are saying that Maliki is walking on eggshells over the SOFA issue, and, he has no choice, but, submitting it to parliament with many of the ’sovereignty’ issues included… Such as clear deal breakers as no immunity for private contractors and soldiers outside of missions, besides the mandatory time line… Honestly, many agree that it will be punted into the next administration and their provincial elections which are tentatively scheduled for 31 Jan… and the UN mandate will be merely extended until such time…!
*sigh* Let me reiterate… Maliki is adamant on the time line and it will be submitted to the Iraqi parliament! Even if our critters are incompetent and worthless there’s still the other half of the equation to contend with…!
What does that have to do with the constitutionality of SOFA here?
Calling it a Security Agreement doesn’t mean a damned thing. Put all the lipstick you want on that sucker, and it’s still a
pig*treaty*.Another factoid about the SOFA is that it’s not a ‘treaty’, but, merely a MOU
Same answer as my 54.
I agree he is walking on eggshells … just suggesting he has to judge who is most likely to let him live … we’ll see.
Speaking of political theatre, I have this nagging suspicion McCain will vote against the bailout package. It will pass without him and then he can claim that unlike Obama, he was looking out for the taxpayers.
gee. I wish I could get mu hands on a pet Maliki. I hear they purr when fed US dollars.
32 people were killed in Baghdad today, and over 100 injured in bombings before the Fitr meal. Wonder how 60 Minutes would cover that, if it were New York, at Thanksgiving. Still doing great?!
I have a nagging feeling a lot of Republicans will do the Mcsame.
The point I’m apparently failing to make, is that an agreement is between at least two ‘parties’… The Iraqis aren’t as willing as you seem to assume…! ;-)
Well, the Romans didn’t have private jets at their disposal, but most Senators and many Reps do. I wouldn’t be too sure about their not having slaves, either. There are some mighty strange goings-on in Richistan these days.
well, thank gawd for small favors.
How much autonomy do they have in this area? Are they trying to stall until georgie is gone?
I am beginning to figure this stuff out. Buffet invests $5B, with 10% or more return each year. But is this a good investment if GoldmanSachs has $100B in debt? Not so much. But Mr. Moneypants Paulson will insure GS continues to produce TrashCash in unmarked bills, from its bright shiny troubled assets.
If Obama is smart, he’ll vote against it. The dems seem to have a sufficient vote count.
Isn’t it sad that the MSM isn’t reporting the considerable uptick in violence…! Why didn’t Obama refute McBush on the ‘Surge’ during the debate…?
Twain,
Buffett just bought $5BB in Goldman-Sachs stock.
Goldman-Sachs is the firm likely to gain the most from the bill.
Buffet is a smart man, doubtless. But not disinterested.
While I’m at it, I’ll throw out what I think they’re terrified of. (Hey, eCAHN, I see you, so would be curious your take.) It’s nothing but my best guess, and one of the sad things about this whole charade the last week is: why do I have to guess? Why don’t they just tell us?
So here’s my guess about what’s going on: banks have to meet certain capital ratios, which are calculated at the end of the quarter (i.e. Tuesday.) Since they’ve lost so much, many banks are having a difficult time meeting their ratios this quarter. Because of that, they won’t lend at all, instead hoarding every penny, and calling every callable debt, through Tuesday. At the same time, on Tuesday, something on the order of $1T of “commercial paper” (basically, very short-term corporate bonds) mature and become due. Normally, CFO’s of those corporations would float a new issue and use the proceeds to pay off the last one; this is called a “rollover”.
My guess is that people are afraid of a terrible crunching sound on Tuesday as companies trying to rollover their paper run up against banks trying to meet their capital requirements. Basically, then companies would be unable to get anyone to buy their paper, so they’d have to come up with the money this week instead of just rolling it over. Since they don’t have the money, the companies would essentially be insolvent. That’s the “Main Street” component of the failure that they fear.
That’s the story as I make it. Others may be devised.
Recommended
Ding. No bottom to McBlame’s depths.
Point taken. We’ll find out when it’s too late.
With all due respect to the victims both here and there, at the time of the Virginia Tech massacre I couldn’t help but think how (only) 33 killed in a day would have been an improvement if it had happened in Baghdad.
That’s why Obama won’t vote on it at all. Doesn’t trust McCain not to change his vote to “NO” at the last minute.
Agreed, although he has to weigh other political considerations, including (Democratic) team morale (gad, I choke at the thought).
I’m not in the loop, so have no idea what is going on. We’ll all find out when it is too late.
Good point about end of quarter. Haven’t seen anyone point that out.
My experience with financial crises has them being solved in back rooms with powerful players. This one has been the most public yet. (Not wanting to watch making sausage is the apppropriate cliche.) It’s been real.
Ratfood: 133 people were victims today. And that’s not counting the toll on families.
AND it doesn’t encompass what happens to the wounded, without antibiotics, dressings, physical therapy, and and and…..
are you suggesting that a temporary decrease in required capital ratios (not saying this is a good idea – seems like the opposite of a good regulation) would accomplish something similar to throwing $700 billion at the markets?
Thank you kindly, Teddy.
knowledge is power.
I’m beyond sad. I’m outraged.
Done.
From Section 128 of the bailout draft text:
Actually, I am not 100% clear if the reserve ratio is the same as the capital ratio. So I shouldn’t necessarily say it’s exactly what they did, but if not, it at least rhymes…
If this whole thing doesn’t work, and some seem to think it won’t, Buffet could lose a lot. What will happen if it doesn’t work?
You’re preaching to the choir, as I agree with everything you’ve said
See prostrateddragon’s link at 24. It’s the best explanation I’ve seen for why even if things go south, Buffet will still end up doing very well. And if there’s a bailout, he will end up doing even better.
Sorry. Didn’t mean to preach.
thanks.
i’m finding the financial details pretty opaque.
Buffet is very old. His money is committed to the Gates Foundation. What does he care if it doesn’t work, as long as he gets to be a player?
I noticed ya popped in at the Beach House, Laura!
TomDispatch: Chalmers Johnson, The Pentagon Bailout Fraud
I’m flitting all over tonight. How’s by you?
I had read about the Gates Foundation and think that’s great. I don’t understand why Buffet got involved in this Wall Street thing to begin with but as you say, maybe he just wants to play.
No need to be sorry, there are things worth be outraged about and this is certainly one of them.
Ditto! Did you see my post today? In particular about the slaying of the LBGT icon…?
I must have checked in before you posted–as I go there every day. Just read it. I hadn’t caught the LBGT story. How terrible.
I appreciate your posts, CT.
Sorry Siun, we can’t afford health care for children, whether they are in Iraq or America. The money just isn’t there. Er…well,
This thing is more than some mortgages that were forclosed upon. This is about REAL MONEY being there. Our banks have to be in compliance with the Basel 2 agreement by Sept 30 other wise there will be nothing to trade with. This bomb has been ticking for a while now and the administration hastried to stampede congress into STAKING THE ECONOMY on bankrolling fraud that has been comitted on an incomprehensible level.. There are a number of EU and Middle Eastern entities who made a call a few weeks ago saying they wanted their money, if they don’t get it, they take every thing out of US money market funds, and go elsewhere. That is what set off the first panic. This thing is huge.
http://www.developer.com/java/…..hp/3403901