The repugnant bailout nation

[Crewleader]

There seems to be little outrage as the US, a country where free enterprise is supposed to reign, moves to nationalize losses without even contemplating reform.

By Bill Fleckenstein

We are at another moment when those of a bullish persuasion, whose financial muscle memory was developed under former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, are determined to put lipstick on the pig at every opportunity.

As soon as any facet of each financial minicrisis ends -- whether that be in certain subprime lenders, certain Alt-A lenders, certain monoline insurers or certain banks -- folks act as though all is well, even as financial institutions continue to implode.

At nearly every one, there's a lot more than meets the eye, because much of the surface strength centers on the perception that these institutions have correctly marked their mortgage-related assets. Recently, the portfolio of Cheyne Finance, one of the more infamous structured-investment vehicles, or SIVs, was sold at 44 cents on the dollar. I suspect that similar assets are not marked anywhere near that valuation on financial institutions' balance sheets. So, the game of "everything's contained" continues, albeit in a different form.

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/ContrarianChronicles/TheRepugnantBailoutNation.aspx?

[Fed_Up_Grammy]

1. Too confusing for me !

[DJ13]

2. Perfect

To Paulson, one of the cabal's powerful members, who last week described the legislation as sending "a very strong message to the markets," here is my interpretation of that message:

Yeah, we're willing to do anything to keep the status quo, as rotten as it is, because reform is too painful to contemplate.

[sendero]

3. They are desparately....

.. trying to sweep this whole mess under the rug. It's like trying to stuff a live cat under a rug, it won't stop moving.

And while on some level Fannie and Freddie had to be bailed out, that doesn't have to mean business as usual. The Congress should take over F and F like the FDIC takes over a failed bank. All of the execs should be OUT OF A JOB. The business should be re-organized along a sustainable model, or even better, phased out over time.

And with each bailout or takeover, there are actors who like to act like this is almost over. Not even close, not this year, maybe not even next.