$700,000,000,000.00

With all the casual talk of "bailouts" I'm frightened that the number has just be come a number. 700_hundred_billion_berkeleying_dollars. That's seven hundred thousand millions. And that's just "round 1." Does that make anyone else's head spin?

And they'll blow it in no time flat.

That is just for hookers and booze while they discuss how much this is going to cost.

Indeed. Most people can't really comprehend how much money that is.

I can't anyway. Of couse, as a real life hundredare I need not concern myself with such trivial things.

Am I the only one that thinks this all reeks of Socialism? If my business fails, I go broke, I close up, period. No Golden Parachute, nada. If these failures badly affect the economy, the pain will help the country get stronger. Reorganize, figure ways to do things better, guess these old fashioned ideas don't hold up anymore. No pain, no gain isn't just for body builders.

Remember 700 Billion was the first vote, the one that didn't pass. Then they added about 130 Billion more to get the votes.. so now we can all sleep well at night knowing the american childrens wooden arrow industry will survive thanks to our tax dollars.

I can't believe you people. You would really want to deprive kids of their wooden arrows after they were deprived of lawn darts?

Remember the old saying, 'a billion here and a billion there, pretty soon we will be talking about real money'.

Re: $700B:
"Shoot, a fella' could have a pretty good weekend in Vegas with all that stuff" - Major Kong

Mostly, it just makes me sad. I did figure out what business I'm going to open up in BVI / Costa Rica though.

Couldn't we just get Bill Gates to write a chck for it an call it a day?

I dunno about you guys, but I think it's time to start trying to be a bank CEO

P71 wrote: I dunno about you guys, but I think it's time to start trying to be a bank CEO

+1..

I see it like this..

Take on lots of risk..

Make money from people..

Utt ohh bad idea..

Make money from the government

either way.. you win.

If you can't beat them. Join them.

Tim Baxter wrote: Remember 700 Billion was the first vote, the one that didn't pass. Then they added about 130 Billion more to get the votes.. so now we can all sleep well at night knowing the american childrens wooden arrow industry will survive thanks to our tax dollars.

Isn't is sad? NOBODY mentions 830 BILLION dollars, just 700 BILLION. As if that extra $130,000,000,000.00 is pittance....

I'm bedding in, making some popcorn, turning down the heat and getting ready for the show!! I wonder how different it'll be in 6/12 months?

-Rob

ignorant wrote:

P71 wrote: I dunno about you guys, but I think it's time to start trying to be a bank CEO

+1.. I see it like this.. Take on lots of risk.. Make money from people.. Utt ohh bad idea.. Make money from the government either way.. you win. If you can't beat them. Join them.

Berkeley that. Just do what you normally do, but magically "BECOME" a bank to have access to the bailout money.

(American Express just "became" a bank:)

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=96844962&ft=1&f=1001

Isn't is sad? NOBODY mentions 830 BILLION dollars

I didn't mention it for fear that I'd get flamed for overshooting the number. "Experts" say, when all is said and done, it'll be over a trillion...oh sorry...$1,000,000,000,000.00.

OR $1,000,000,000,000,000.00, they don't really know.

I heard it described this way.

A million dollars in tightly stacked bills $100 would make a small stack- twice the size of a brick.

A billion dollars would fill a large room to the ceiling.

DILYSI Dave wrote: Mostly, it just makes me sad. I did figure out what business I'm going to open up in BVI / Costa Rica though.

I look forward to this being implemented. Please PM/email me the details. Patent pending, patent pending, patent pending.

SVreX wrote: I heard it described this way. A million dollars in tightly stacked bills $100 would make a small stack- twice the size of a brick. A billion dollars would fill a large room to the ceiling.

I doubt that. Just last night a guy who worked at a bank told me that a million dollars in uncut sheets was roughly the size of a suitcase.

So it would be roughly 1000 suitcases.

Or to help visualize it, if every passenger on a 747 took one suitcase, it would be around 2 747's worth (depending on the seating configuration).

A thousand suitcases would fill just about any size room there Gameboy...

700 billion? That was only the portion that needed congressional approval. The Fed also pushed 2 trillion out in the last couple months with no oversight.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/side/6104541.html

"The Federal Reserve is refusing to identify the recipients of almost $2 trillion of emergency loans from American taxpayers or the troubled assets the central bank is accepting as collateral.

Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said in September they would comply with congressional demands for transparency in a $700 billion bailout of the banking system. Two months later, as the Fed lends far more than that in separate rescue programs that didn’t require approval by Congress, Americans have no idea where their money is going or what securities the banks are pledging in return.

The Fed made the loans under terms of 11 programs, eight of them created in the past 15 months..."

Yep, like Chris said, my understanding is that it's at about 2 trillion, and that's just what's known...at the moment.

Studiously ignored is the inflation that will be coming.

In happier news, gun sales are through the berkeleying roof...especially assault rifles:

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/10/27/politics/washingtonpost/main4547564.shtml

poopshovel wrote: In happier news, gun sales are through the berkeleying roof...especially assault rifles: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/10/27/politics/washingtonpost/main4547564.shtml

Yeah, and guess what I was going to buy myself for Christmas...

whine Barack Obama is already affecting my gun ownership!

The one trivial fact that people keep forgetting about the bailout is that it isn't lost money. It's a freakin' loan! And it's also at a very high interest rate so there is money to be made.

Another aspect is a stock buy. Let's see, the old adage is buy low and sell high? They bought at the lowest possible price and therefore there will also be a big profit on that portion.

Some future president will get all the credit for a drop in the National debt.