Posted on 09/19/2008 12:01:04 PM PDT by Sub-Driver
Congressional Leaders Were Stunned by Warnings By DAVID M. HERSZENHORN
WASHINGTON — It was a room full of people who rarely hold their tongues. But as the Fed chairman, Ben S. Bernanke, laid out the potentially devastating ramifications of the financial crisis before congressional leaders on Thursday night, there was a stunned silence at first.
Mr. Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. had made an urgent and unusual evening visit to Capitol Hill, and they were gathered around a conference table in the offices of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
“When you listened to him describe it you gulped," said Senator Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York.
As Senator Christopher J. Dodd, Democrat of Connecticut and chairman of the Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, put it, “There was a long pause in the room.”
Mr. Schumer added, “History was sort of hanging over it, like this was a moment.”
When Mr. Schumer described the meeting as “somber,” Mr. Dodd cut in. “Somber doesn’t begin to justy the words,” he said. “We have never heard language like this.”
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
You're pretty smart, are you sure you're dead?
susie
"Gulp!"
"Oh no...Our failed socialist policies and constant self- enrichment (dollars and votes) have really dealt a devastating blow to the economy!"
"I never imagined...not in a million years! How much will we have to raise taxes to cover the tab? What?! Raising taxes will have a negative impact? Will create further injury to the economy? And...increasing taxes will actually decrease Treasury revenues? You sound like Ronald Reagan...What?! Uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh...Forget JFK! Soak the rich!"
"Get Soros, Dean and Axelrod on the phone!"
And keep buying property... If you’re current on your mortgage, you have nothing to worry about, and right now there are some VERY good deals out there. And I get the feeling that not only will prices drop a bit more, but the few liquid banks will be VERY interested in getting solid, 30 year conventional mortgages with low risk clients.
Now can be the time that a savvy investor becomes a serious landlord, and in 20 years you’re going to be sitting VERY nice, especially compared to positions in gold or silver.
Land - it’s the one thing that man absolutely needs, and the one thing that is a guaranteed finite supply.
No, it was just sarcasm, but not by much. However, I was thinking about this comment when I wrote it, and this is real:
WASHINGTON – The Federal Reserve's bailout of insurance giant American International Group reminded some of the most powerful members of Congress how little power they sometimes have. The lawmakers didn't like the decision being sprung on them with no notice, but they're also happy not having the responsibility for it.
Care to place a bet on that prediction?
Sounds like pitchfork and torches time (metaphorically of course).
susie
Yea that will save America
How is that working out for you all?
I have a good word of the day... Alt-A Loans... Chewy!
I would normally agree with the answer about gold and silver, but rules of the game are changing so fast nobody can make an informed decision. They outlawed short selling on financials today; confiscation of precious metals is not that big of a reach anymore. It could happen. Then you have zero or maybe $38 an ounce in your account.
The banks are mad as hell right now because the treasury has declared a $50 billion "insurance" fund for money market accounts. This means that the banks don't have an advantage anymore for deposit security. In fact, they might have a disadvantage because of the 100k limit on FDIC (until the MM funds runs out).
So, in a nutshell, nobody knows what the hell is going to happen six months from now or six hours from now because the rules keep changing.
I’m thinking this probably isn’t the kind of talk that will help settle roiled markets.
There’s a reason these meetings happen behind closed doors, after all.
I note there doesn’t seem to be any republicans being quoted about the meeting, only people who would be better off if the markets tanked again, so long as they can’t be blamed.
The disconnect from one's conscience is a slow process that typically happens during childhood.
It's rare for it to be reversed.
Dodd and other RATs were worried they were going to have to pay off their sweet heart loans from Fanny Mae.
Well, there are lots of problems, Sen Chuckie. First, it has happened before, and it is not a brave new world, but a world of deadbeats that we have seen before.
Second, when we have reached the point where credit lines are the lifeblood of the economy, we have achieved a brave new world. The trick is to replace this poison in the system with the oxygen of productive enterprise and payments kept in balance through honest accounting of income and outgo.
Lawmakers frustrated, sobered by AIG bailout
If they’re sober, want to bet that’s a great excuse to go out and get hammered? When was the last time most of them were sober?
Congressional Leaders Were Stunned by Warnings, Went Home to do Nothing
“So what can the average person do to protect their savings and investments?”
My thoughts exactly...
Look at the bright side.
At least this financial implosion happened while the grown-ups were in charge!
I wonder what hack an N0bama administration would have running Treasury?? Bwarney Frank?? Chris Dodd??
You just up and blow $1T and you claim to be sober? A 19 year old sailor with 3 months pay in a house of ill-repute manages his money better than this. He at least gets something he wanted for his cash.
Did they cancel their vacations?
The fact that they “gulped” just shows how out-of-touch these people are. Who’s minding the store, you jackasses?
There’s something very wrong with people who get all up in arms over a “Troopergate” thing but fiddle while Wall Street burns. Anyone with a brain would’ve known a real estate boom wasn’t going to last forever and you can’t make loans to people who are undeserving of them.
What fools.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.