They don't pay taxes; they're barely American companies.They are not using this money to, uh, lend to you, me, or the condo developer down the street,
They're, rather, using the money to buy up other banks, right and left. Ok, mostly right. Fun for all!
While that’s admittedly removing the smaller, weaker banks from the market – a possible benefit to consumers and taxpayers alike – this trend is also having a detrimental effect: It’s reducing the competition that’s benefited consumers and kept the explosion in banking fees from being far worse than it already is.(From link, just above.) In normal-speak; the banks are busily figuring out how to screw us over even more efficiently, using our very own tax dollars! Awesome leverage. Stunning. Mattresses are looking better all the time.
For example, Bank of America is using some of that sweet, sweet TARP money to buy up a Chinese Bank. Yuan for all!
How much money have you and I given Bank of America? Why, about 45 Billion. Fun for them, not so much for me, or thee.
This is what we get for putting the very people who created the crisis in charge of fixing it. See a problem there, just a little?
Oh, and Hi everyone, it's Djinn. I've been spinning rather more rapidly than usual and so have been unable to blog, or do much of anything. I was actually too sick to get my first dizziness treatment, because my Dr. forbad me from taking my old nausea medication while failing to prescribe me a substitute anti-emetic. Got one now.
Thanks to Calculated Risk and Stu Rees Cartoons for the pic.
3 comments:
It's hard to experience outrage when you are not positive what the right course of action is. People are so confused by the conflicting testimony of experts on this subject that they are more likely to wring their hands than grab pitchforks and head to the capitol.
One infuriating thing about banks acquiring other banks (aside from the fact that they are using this public money to enlarge themselves rather than actually easing the credit crunch) is that the government felt forced into these financial interventions because the institutions were "too large to fail." So now all these institutions have learned that the safest course of action for them is to grow as fast as possible.
Perhaps there needs to be regulation regarding the size to financial institutions. After all, if they are to big to fail then maybe they are too big too be allowed. It seems like having more banks ( and smaller too ) would be healthier for the economy.
I see this as the last (amazingly effective) gasp of the Bush regime sweeping up all the remaining bits of cash in the treasury and turning it over to their very very very good friends; leaving us with, well, nothing.
"yuan for all?" you crack me up. are things better with your anti-emetics now?
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