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Rescuing banks? Not again! Where is our free market capitalism?

Gah! Bush and Obama are two in one. They are both socialist.

The banks act irresponsibly, that's their own fault! Why should we bail them out? With the 700,000,000,000 dollars, we could actually give everyone living in poverty and/or suffering unemployment 10-15 thousand dollars. But instead, we choose to bail out irresponsible banks. The only people who seem to profit from this 'bailout' crap are the irresponsible CEOs who already have more than enough gold coins in their pockets.
- Interfering with the free market will NOT stimulate the economy despite the claims of several fiscal 'experts' such as Paulson.

Those idiot bureaucrats just keep appending zeroes and hope that it will work...

And all the Bush bashing here is a bit out of line. May I remind everyone that the Democrats in Congress aren't doing any better...

Our whole government is corrupted...

Bill, you are far from alone on the incorrect math as it shows up wrong in blogs all over, but $2,000 per U.S. person is closer to the right number for $750 billion....I've see it as high as $200,000 per person (or was it $2,000,000 per person?). I saw somewhere that we should all be given calculators that go to 100 trillion, so we can try and understand that quantity of money.

Worst President ever.

And he said , I'm outta here! You take care of it. I have pocketed more than my entire clan can possibly spend!! I will live like a sheik when this is done and Crawford texas won't possibly be big enough!! He will not be tried for any of this, what a miscarriage of justice.

BUSH is still the USA's PRESIDENT?

I thought he got impeached!!!!!

Lets see... 700 billion dollars, approximately 350 million men women and children in the US (legally). How about rescuing the economy by giving that money to those people to spend to invest, save for school, catch up on mortgages, buy things they want or need? Hmmmm, $20,000 per PERSON would sure work for me. As for Wall Street, let them cut costs like we have to in order to survive. And the automakers, well, I only wish I had the benefits of either the execs or the UAW retirees who have been slaughtering the golden goose for years. Nice pensions, low cost health care must be nice. Too bad the majority of America does not get the same.

Only one thing wrong, the big banks will not pay back one cent of the billions in bailout while the car companies will pay back every cent and interest. MATCH THAT WALL STREET!!!!!!!!`

This is not a Bush problem or Obama problem. This is the whole of America's problem. Bush and Obama should work together as much as possible.

There needs to be a congressional hearing required to prove their viability and identify where every penny goes to ensure there are no management bonuses or golden parachutes, with monthly updates, along with a Financial Czar to manage the funds, to ensure there are no more 'funny' loans just to move the money to their partners, just like the automakers. Also, how about the taxpayer benefiting through drastically reduced interest rates on loans through CitiGroup companies, especially if the focus is on taxpayers instead of pumping more money into corporations, based on the failed 'trickle down' concept.

Rick @ 1:07-

Really? That's all you got? For months, your posts have been nothing but negative. We're trying to turn a new page and we still get you and the other right wingers spewing nonsense.

Republican policies have put us where we are (no the Democrats are not blameless) and now is the time to do something different. What say we give it 6 months or so?

Bush promises close cooperation with Obama.....

..and we're supposed to start believeing him now.?

these two should spend their 'retirement' in prison for what they've done to our country.

I hope Obama gets them and gets them good.

Bush to Paulson: " My pockets are full, how about yours" ?

Bush and his friends have been stuffing themselves for a long time. Him and Shotgun Cheney need to leave out the backdoor --NOW!

Why is Paulson look like the VILLAIN character in the BOND movies?
hahahahaha

Even Bush himself can't wait for Obama to take over!
I bet he's whistling "Take this job and shove it" under his breath!

Can you imagine what that conversation sounded like??? Barack was using words that George most likely had no idea what they meant......i.e. recession, deflation, depression, save, bail out , laid off, foreclosure etc......hurry January 20th......get here quickly.........

It is nice to see President Bush cooperating with the incoming administration. Putting aside partisan politics and putting America first! What a concept. Good luck to the Bush family. It should not have turned out this way, but I guess the Republicans did the best they could do considering their philosophy.

@ Joyce

As far as I am concerned we owe this man NO RESPECT. Why should we respect him ? He never showed respect for the American people when he was lying to them and trying to scare them half to death with his lies. He is an idiot and he is getting far better than he deserves. He should be sitting behind bars.

Let's give every person living in the U.S. a million dollars, 300 million- sounds like a deal -a small amount compared to the bailouts that are taking place-give it back to the taxpayers.

Now Obama's saying we have to act quickly. Last time I heard that before I put out a lot of money, I was on a used car lot. I hope he has not become a Washington regular before he's even sworn in!

Paulsen said the same thing 2 months ago & we bought it. Let's learn something this time. I believe they are the ones with alot to loose, not us.

Georgians:

Remember to vote for Jim Martin for Senate!

Early voting is today, tomorrow, and Wednesday. Election day is December 2nd.

I cast my vote today; the line was not very Democrat friendly. Get out your vote to help us on our way to a filibuster-proof majority!

Why don't people understand that government IS the problem with the economy, not the solution.

Giving BILLIONS of dollars in taxpayer's money to private corporations is irresponsible. I have no stake in Citigroup, AIG, any of the big 3 automakers, or any other PRIVATE business. Stop forcing me to pay for someone else's mistakes.

These bailouts are making things worse, not better. Creating money out of thin air increases inflation and causes the price of everything to rise. All the bailouts are doing is reaffirming that personal responsibility is no longer necessary and is rewarding failure.

President Bush didn't create this mess. Bill Clinton, Barney Frank, Nancy Pelosi nad crew created it by forcing banks to give out subprime mortgages. Banks proceeded to give people loans, even though they would never be able to repay them.

I am so angry the feds are giving Citigroup more money. They gave them $25 billion previously and they used it for acquisitions instead of freeing up credit or helping homeowners restructure their mortgages. Now they're giving them another $20 billion. What for, so they can buy more companies and become an even larger entity?

This picture gave me a good laugh. They say that a picture is worth a thousand words. Paulson looks like Uncle Fester, and Bush is using his "intelligent looking frown/smile/squint.

What makes any of you bloggers think the bailouts will stop when Obama is in office?

The bailouts will continues because we will be threatened with the possible dissapearance of our 401ks and IRAs that are all tied to the market.

So we let them get away with taking away our civil liberties, our ability to earn money in savings, and just about anything else all for the illusion...

I swear!

Does Bush the Younger E-V-E-R take an adult/presidential picture? He must hold the record for the most doofus/Mad Magazine-inspired photographs in presidential history.

To Hometowndemocrat – I'm thinking more like Uncle Fester and Howdy Dooty. Yes some Republicans do have a sense of humor

EVERY SINGLE CENT OF THE BAILOUT MONEY SHOULD BE ACCOUNTED FOR AND POSTED FOR THE AMERICAN PEOPLE TO SEE FOR THEMSELVES.

Of course he did. This whole thing is engineered and they are all in this together. This new treasury secretary coming in is in the same circles of the others. This is very dreadful news.

Obama better be prepared to stomp on the way Wall Street has conducted business for far too long now.How much of this"bailout"
money is going to reward those who have put the whole world in such dire straits and how much is really going to"trickle down"to those who need it most.

bush and team of GOP crroks from texas

The hard time will be gone with Bush.

I'm sure PRESIDENT ELECT OBAMA will NOT listen to ANYTHING bush has to say except GOOD BYE. why should he? bush hasn't listen to anyone except crazy cheney for 8 yrs. good riddence to them both. and take all the other crooks with you.

Obama will have a transition presidency – all 4 years of it to try and restore all the failures left by the incompetent George Bush. The Obama presidency will be in the shadow of George Bush.

Sure he did, he needed to know how to spell CITI!

Right! Let's rescue more banks but ignore the auto industry. Let's take care of the fat cats on Wall St., while the auto workers start forming bread lines.

Thanks Mr President for care and concern of your rich pals.

did bush tell him how pleased he is with the way the new clinton administration is coming along?

Bush has screwed our economy, our image around the world, created a war based on lies, thousands of our military men and women have been killed or wounded along with millions of Iraq citizens. Bush should be ashame to show his face and talk about the economy.

PRES OBAMA NEEDS TO ADDRESS THE TERRIBLE MURDER RATE IN OUR MAJOR CITIES ,,, WE NEED TO DEAL WITH PROBLEM ASP

It's time for George W Bush to cut short his reign,apoligise to the American people and leave the White House on November 30,2008. At the moment he is a TOTAL LAME DUCK and the American Economy is taking a WORLD BEATING with this idiot at the controls drinking and driving is the best way that I could put it. I'm certain the American people will welcome something like this only if he acts now like he acted going to war with IRAQ.Come on George,act now and save your beloved country and let the NEW ADMINISTRATION TAKE CHARGE. Every one knew from the inception that you were the wrong man for the job thanks to those Florida MISCOUNTS in 2000 and votes that were NOT COUNTED in 2004. George Bush said he was in READY in 2000, but as every one knows now it was only to do WRONG.

Now we bailed out Citi Group....hmmmm....The Saudi percentage of ownership of Citi is pretty high. We paid $147 per barrel and now they need our help to bail them out from bad financial risks that they took. How about we get 40%-50% of the oil reserves in Saudi Arabia for exchange to help them out and a veto sit position on the OPEC Consul?

So when are they going to bail out my 401(k)? It's in a crisis, too!

To President-Elect Obama:

Just a small piece of advice. Listen to President Bush's advice and then do the exact opposite.

You are bound to succeed.

I have a dream too. Bush and all of his cronies in jail. At the very least tied up in lawsuits, investigations, and fines, so they remain stressed and sick in the stomach, for a minimum of 8 years. If they go to the islands to try and enjoy their ill-gotten gains, the press should follow them, hound them, and make them miserable. It's not called blood-money for nothing.

W finally made a good move by consulting first with Obama before making a decision on citi corp. First smart thing he has done in 8 years.

Don't worry George....Once Obama gets his citibank cronies in there everything will be okay.

Larry Summers...are you kidding me?

I hope the Obama supporters onthis board are not the change we can believe in. What a bunch of hateful, immature morons.

Duhbya and Darth, your day is past. Please step aside for Obama.

Anything to try to throw off some of the stink to someone else, eh, Mr. Soon-to-be-ex-President?

Okay, all news organizations need to stop showing Bush's face when discussing the economy. This is why people are so freaked out! It's not even a subliminal message, Bush plus Economy = lower retail and panic on Wall Street. Stop showing the two together. Why can't Obama move in today?!!!!!!!

Look at the Picture of the Two clowns GOTCHA FOLKS! Looks like they had their hands in the cookie Jar stole alot and got away with it They have Robbed and conned us and are smiling about it SAD SAD SAD!!!!

FYI......The Chicago Tribune ran a story today about SUV's starting to be sold again because gas prices have decreased recently. The GM plant that makes Escalades and a couple other models have employees working overtime to build more gas-guzzling SUV's. Is that good business sense? Sell the ones sitting on lots all across the country but don't make more!! Waste, waste, waste. There goes your taxpayer dollars!!

@ B.J does anyone else remember that America had a surplus before the Republicans took office?

Bush as long as you are still Involved and are still President we will never Recover, please Bush for the sake of the country and the People STAY OUT OF THINGS let Obama handle them!

I actually applaud the government on the Citigroup bailout plan. Obviously the clueless and ignorant execs at the bank don't deserve a cent for their blunders, but from an economic strategic view not doing so would be catastrophic. Unless we want US to plunge and lose over all the other emerging countries trying to bring us down, sometimes these decisions are necessary. A Citigroup failure would mean a complete undermining of foreign confidence in our economic system. Some people would say who cares, but if you think about it that's quite an irresponsible remark to make.

Hey BJ,

Not a good indicator of good economic policy. The Dow was hanging at 14,000 because of bad policies and complete lack of oversight, hence why it was not sustainable and crashed to where it is now. And these continued bailouts will keep the market down as well... there's just no confidence in the market. It'll be a while before we see true economic recovery.

The govn't will have to get involved regardless of what happens..if the banks fail, the FDIC insurance will have to take over...so hey why not help if they can...maybe save some jobs..it is a shame that America's economic strength is down the drain....

Bush as long as you are still Involed we will never recover!!!

Paulson is another dud in bush family.

IMPEACH BUSH!

Well, well, well. Almost eight years down the road, and the people of America are finding out what the rest of the world knew before he was elected. GW Bush was a dummy, uniformed, puppet of the Republican Neo-conservatives. Dick Chenney was the President of the United States and Haliburton, and was only titled Vice-President.
You were douped.

Did Georgie tell him what a big dump he was leaving for him to deal with and how he's stopped working now that help is finally on the way?

I thought I saw this photo posted in the Post Office,or was that a dream about the future?

Joyce-
Dubya is a criminal.

Don't tell anybody to show respect when this crook should be in handcuffs.

But, Carol, we all care deeply about what you have to say.

Imagine that! Bail out for the boys wearing suits and ties who got themselves in this financial mess. But the unionized companies have to face the 3rd degree, have a plan, get questioned by congress, and wait before anything. Yet the BIG Bankers, Brokers, Investers and rest of Wall Street get their welfare checks without question.

Something smell's a fishy. But don't defend those Big Three price galging companies. Hey you could have competed with Honda and Toyota. You chose not to. You and BIG OIL were in bed together. Why don't you ask your pimp BIG OIL for a bail out?

Dubya is scrambling to find something to do now that he has been retired from the White House (thank you God for term limits). Hard to make the resume for the past 8 yrs. look succesful, though. Lame duck does not even begin to describe how irrelevant he and his ilk have become. I pay my mortgage and bills on time but our family can barely keep our heads above water with the costs of living. When do I get MY bailout?

Eight years ago the US had a $200 Billion dollar suprlus and oil was $25 a barrel. With an oil man and his cronies from Haliburton in the White House for the past eight years, there is nothing short of a catastrophe in the offing for the new president and yet the personal fortunes of these crooks has grown substantially. The utter contempt that Bush & Co. continue to show for the country and the very office they hold is beyond comprehension. The Evil Empire is finally going through a Regime change. I hope Obama investigates the corruption and throws them all in jail. Impeaching Clinton for what he did but to sit idly by and let these scoundrals get away with their true crimes that directly hurts millions the world over is hypocracy.

Any 1 of you folks that think they can do better, in 2012 go run for office. Or better yet 2010 go run for the senate or congress. Then say that no good president . Until you walk in another persons shoes don`t be so hasty to judge them. Who knows what bush and obama talked about. Atleast bush isn`t keeping obama in the dark. He is giving obama access to things he actually doesn`t have to. LEAVE THE HATE IN THE BOX!

Does anyone else recall that the Dow was over 14,000 before the Demoncrats gained control of Congress?

Just sayin...

Paulsen is a traitor to this country. He is giving billions to his cronies with no oversight on what they do. Then he says no money for the automakers....... yea the blue collar guys

Bush said, "If need be, we're going to make these kind of decisions to safeguard our financial system in the future." Please don't let them have their hands on the rest of the bailout package.
Please!! Please stop them now!

Congress, you had better be taking notes and taking names on all this. If the citizens don't see some accountability SOON..., we are going to start losing the anticipatory hope we have for fixing this mess and becoming an even GREATER nation in the process. We need to see the accountability taking place...Emphasis on SEE.

This may sound unreasonable but why bailout any of these companies. Let them fail, and then other will take their place. I know America will go through much pain because of the collapse but should come out better in the long run. Does not anyone see that the downside to all these bailouts is that once again the Democrats will be blamed for ‘tax and spend, tax and spend’? If these companies had not had such greedy capitalism, who main goal was to make money at any cost, we wouldn’t be in this mess. If US government is going to help anybody it needs to be the folk who have addresses on Main St, Not Wall St or in Auto City.

The sooner the these 2 clowns are out the better for ALL OF US.
Every time one of these guys speaks, the market loses confidence and billions of dollars go up in smoke.
I have an idea. SHUT UP and let Obama handle it.

Just one question – The big three came to congress asking for money. They were told "show us the plan". The banks simply go to Paulson and have billions of dollars throw at them. WHERE IS THEIR PLAN?????

No more BAILOUTS!

facts are facts–by the village idiot, you DO mean Obama the guy who had to pad his Presidency with Clinton retreads because he has no clue how to run anything–? the guy who has no courage to have press conferences because he can only stammer when not teleprompted ? You should have specified–we might have thought you meant Gaffe-man Biden!

They should allow Obama to implement his stimulus package before XMAS.

Xmas makes many companies half its yearly income.

I don't like the bailouts, but could someone explain why it appears to be so easy for banks and insurance to get billions of dollars, but the car companies can't even get a loan they will have to pay back?

The best way for US govt to demonstrate that it is not abetting more gamblers or wall street thieves is to tax all capital gains at 50% by calculating them based on the lowest price of stock in the past 6 months incase they sell within the next 3 years.

The capital gain taxes can be reduced to normal levels after 3 years, this will ensure that shortsellers, speculators and wall street money launderers stick their necks also and dont exit the market by making quick bucks.

Nice picture......it looks like Lurch chasing Howdy Doody!

That pic looks like tweedledee and tweedledum, or dumb and dumber.

The sooner both of these clowns are out of the way the better off we'll all be.

The trouble with the way these bailouts are being done is that there's nothing in these deals that requires Wall Street to change the way it does business. The people receiving these monies are treating their bailouts as gifts and rewards, and are right back to the "business-as-usual" protocol that put them in the hole to begin with.

Bailouts are only good for buying time. What will or will not make a difference in the country's future is whether or not business people use this very expensive opportunity to transform the way they do business. If they don't change, I don't see how bailing these companies out could be good for the country.

Georgie you should have had this epiphany about 24 months ago. Here you are at the 11th Hour rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.

Its amazing how fast they go to save the fat cat thieves, but let working Americans go down the tubes.

George Bush does not have to consult with Barack Obama on any issue. In doing so, he shows respect and that he is supportive of President-elect Obama.

President Bush's presidency has had numerous problems but he is president. Show him some respect.

Bush`s grandfather was an investment banker as was his father. Paulson came from Leaman Bros ( bankrupt financial institution). Naturally, they deem the banks and financial sector of utmost importance. They are just taking care of theirselves and their "buddies" first. Everyone else can help themselves to the crumbs.---– Sound familiar ???? Sounds like the last dying gasp of "trickle down economics".

why isnt bush talking to congress? what can obama do before jan. 20th ???? wonder if paulson an bush have a detailed buss. plan
from citi group before they got the money??? will bush hand the keys to the W.H. before jan. 20th to obama ???????
isnt the G.O.P the greast thing since the coming of christ.

pull all the bailout money and give it to each family that pays taxes, that would stimulate the economy and not giving it ti the financials, but to the people who ahve paid the the mioney and will continue to pay. GIve us all a one time check, no taxes and let us spend and stimuate the economy and the banks.
Nice of Bush to keep Obama informed,,,,but nothing obama can do to stop this little twit.

Every time Bush speaks it costs us billions.

I just don't get it. We gave them money already. Now we're giving them more? None of these clowns deserve anything. When will they bailout folks like the gentleman I saw on the news this weekend that lost his job 2 wks ago and has his children panhandling instead of going to school. The poor man was so distraught....What about those people. Paulson is slinging the taxpayers money around like he worked for it. What a bunch of idiots. Overthrow them all.....They should be behind bars......

What's going to happen now? Every company in America is going to line up with puppydog eyes and hat in hand, asking for a bailout! Me thinks the American people are being given a snow job.

I am continually amazed that the federal govenment (and I don't care which party at this point) is bleeding itself to death while bailing out all of these companies and groups who have not been better managers of their money! And then we expect individuals to take personal responsibility for their financial mistakes so they won't experience foreclosure or job loss or anything else related to financial insecurity. Give me a break--no more bailouts for huge corporations, huge car manufacturers, or Wall Street. What happened to all the talk about the guys on Main Street? I am one of those, and I can barely buy groceries, partly because of my own irresponsibility with money and partly because everything is so expensive and for no good reason. When you have only $50 to spend in one week for groceries, how can you feed your family unless it is all hamburger (and that is getting out of reach!) and soup. Let's get real and stop bleeding ourselves to death. STOP THE BAILOUTS AND GET BACK TO HELPING US REGULAR FOLKS!!!

Any time the village idiot makes a decision Americans must cringe.

Just look at this photo and tell me they didnt just rob the bank,or should we say,the American tax payer.

Just resign now GW! You've destroyed our nation, brought it to the verge of financial ruin, just like Osama bin Laden designed. You lost the war on terror, they won just the way the wanted to – they said they wanted to destroy american financially.

You should just quit now and let Barack and his team in ,now, we can't spare a moment more

Rule #1- Take anything gwb says and do the OPPOSITE- He is by far the worse President in my lifetime- and that includes Richard Nixon.
I can't wait until January 20, 2009.

throw the GOP out of there now .Bush should be impeached

If I were Obama I would be saying "No, you sit back and relax George, you have caused enough trouble already....I'll fix this".
I would think advice from George Bush is the last thing anyone would need seeing the mess we are in right now....when you see him it's like "the lights are on but nobody's home"!!!!!!!!
Not surprising he seems to be keeping a low profile these days....nobody cares about what he has to say anymore.

Bush is trying to use up all of the bailout money, with no strings attached, before Obama takes office.

Rescue the financial institutions and Wall Street?? Ever since the $700 billion bailout of those greedy financial institutions, including $20 billion over the weekend to Citi Corp, the stock market has fallen about 2-3,000 points. At that rate, another $700 billion or so will get it close to O. Why not help the manufacturing sector, like the bankrupt auto industry and some 3 million American jobs that are dependent upon the American auto industry surviving!? Or does all our money just to to the corporate fatcat friends of Pauson on Wall Street?

I want to say to all people of america, I hope you all have a HAPPY THANKSGIVING. Even though I disagree with Bush 100% of the time I still wish him well and will try to foregive the decesions he has made for this country.

Why is the media still giving this guy air time? It's clear that he does not care about the economy and what's going on in it because he and his family are set for rest of their lives. Seems like every thing PE Obama says Bush agrees with it.

Why doesn't he just step out of the way and let PE Obama/Biden take over things straight away?

Who is this man in the White house and what has he done withthe George Bsh we suffered through for 7 years?
In the last few weeks This "impostor" has acted in a way that say he does understand what americans want, he is listening to others and he is being gracious to other political leaders.
Where've you been George W?

Deja vu . . . Heckuva job, Paulie

Gee, Mighty big of W to do that. :-/

How many more decisions can W make in 57 days?

How much more money to his friends and their friends? How much more in his retirement package? It's our money, people. Padding the wealthy retirement packages. Not ours.