If the goal of the bailout was to allow people to take loans, why didn't the goverment just lend...

[Bread and Circus]

the money directly and cut out the middle man?

[redqueen]

1. It was to unfreeze credit markets. (nt)

[liberal N proud]

2. Because then the fat cats at AIG and others couldn't continue to party

And they might not have been able to get their obscene bonus checks.

[Vickers]

3. How can we trust you with your money?

:sarcasm:

[HamdenRice]

4. Because postal workers are not presently trained to be loan officers

It's kind of like asking, if the government is going to take over the health care system, why not fire all the existing doctors, nurses and dentists and provide health care itself.

The banks already have branches and loan officers. How long do you think it would take to train all those post office workers (the post office being the only federal offices in virtually every community) to become loan officers?

[yodoobo]

5. well they are laying of 40,000 postal employees

Retraining them for finance would be far better than putting them in the unemployment line.

[HamdenRice]

7. Wouldn't it be better to have them, like, continue as postal workers?

Are you prepared to have your local letter carriers also carry out gall bladder surgery?

[yodoobo]

9. It certainly would.

But thats not what is going to happen. No, they will be unemployed in a few weeks.

[nadinbrzezinski]

11. You a postal worker? I am married to one and it is not a matter of weeks

they are juggling many things right now to reduce that pain and YES I saw the story

[yodoobo]

12. contractor

I don't know when exactly the layoffs hit. Being a contractor, they don't really tell me much. Pretty much everything I know about this layoff I've learned from the news.

I had hoped to be hired permanent, but that looks pretty unlikely now.

[wryter2000]

6. Nothing goes from the government to the people (including soldiers)

Without their favorite corporate crooks taking their cut first.

[elifino]

8. I think government officials are looking out for them selfs

Protecting their investments and their benefactors.

[nadinbrzezinski]

10. It was to unfreeze credit markets and the feds are currently BUYING commercial paper

essentially cutting the middle man... like... like... like the Great Depression