Bailout is Just the Beginning
October 4th, 2008 | 
Author: Dems and Republicans Screwed the Middle Class Good
| Bailout type | Cost to taxpayers (Source: Reuters) |
|---|---|
| Financial bailout package approved this week | up to or more than $700 billion |
| Bear Stearns financing | $29 billion |
| Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac nationalization | $200 billion |
| AIG loan and nationalization | $85 billion |
| Federal Housing Administration housing rescue bill | $300 billion |
| Mortgage community grants | $4 billion |
| JPMorgan Chase repayments | $87 billion |
| Loans to banks via Fed’s Term Auction Facility | $200 billion+ |
| Loans from Depression-era Exchange Stabilization Fund | $50 billion |
| Purchases of mortgage securities by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac | $144 billion |
| POSSIBLE TOTAL | $1.8 trillion+ |
| NUMBER OF HOUSEHOLDS PER U.S. CENSUS | 105,480,101 |
| POSSIBLE COST PER HOUSEHOLD | $17,064+ |
Last week, the Bush administration proposed a three-page bill to bail out Wall Street to the tune of $700 billion. It died in the U.S. House of Representatives earlier this week.
On Friday, though, the House approved a far bigger, broader, and beefier version of the bill–which has ballooned to a remarkable 442 pages. The vote was 263 to 171, with the bulk of the opposition coming from Republicans. Because the Senate already approved the measure, it immediately went to President Bush, who signed it into law.
The bailout bill also gives the Internal Revenue Service new authority to conduct undercover operations. It would immunize the IRS from a passel of federal laws, including permitting IRS agents to run businesses for an extended sting operation, to open their own personal bank accounts with U.S. tax dollars, and so on. (Think IRS agents posing as accountants or tax preparers and saying, “I’m not sure if that deduction is entirely legal, but it’ll save you $1,000. Want to take it?”) That section had expired as of January 1, 2008, and would now be renewed.
Posted in Economy, Housing Crisis, Politics, Rich People | 
Tags: bailout, bailout bill, government excess