Deep Politics Forum

Barry Ritholtz puts the bailout figure into proper historical perspective, and it ain't pretty folks:

If we add in the Citi bailout, the total cost now exceeds $4.6165 trillion dollars. People have a hard time conceptualizing very large numbers, so let’s give this some context. The current Credit Crisis bailout is now the largest outlay In American history.
Jim Bianco of Bianco Research crunched the inflation adjusted numbers. The bailout has cost more than all of these big budget government expenditures –- combined:

• Marshall Plan: Cost: $12.7 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $115.3 billion
• Louisiana Purchase: Cost: $15 million, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $217 billion
• Race to the Moon: Cost: $36.4 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $237 billion
• S&L Crisis: Cost: $153 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $256 billion
• Korean War: Cost: $54 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $454 billion
• The New Deal: Cost: $32 billion (Est), Inflation Adjusted Cost: $500 billion (Est)
• Invasion of Iraq: Cost: $551b, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $597 billion
• Vietnam War: Cost: $111 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $698 billion
• NASA: Cost: $416.7 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $851.2 billionTOTAL: $3.92 trillion
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data courtesy of Bianco Research

You can read Ritholtz's whole post here. But we have to warn you, there really isn't an upside.

http://www.alternet.org/blogs/peek/108713/

That's a bad set of numbers.

Magda Hassan Wrote:Barry Ritholtz puts the bailout figure into proper historical perspective, and it ain't pretty folks:
If we add in the Citi bailout, the total cost now exceeds $4.6165 trillion dollars. People have a hard time conceptualizing very large numbers, so let’s give this some context. The current Credit Crisis bailout is now the largest outlay In American history.
Jim Bianco of Bianco Research crunched the inflation adjusted numbers. The bailout has cost more than all of these big budget government expenditures –- combined:

• Marshall Plan: Cost: $12.7 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $115.3 billion
• Louisiana Purchase: Cost: $15 million, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $217 billion
• Race to the Moon: Cost: $36.4 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $237 billion
• S&L Crisis: Cost: $153 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $256 billion
• Korean War: Cost: $54 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $454 billion
• The New Deal: Cost: $32 billion (Est), Inflation Adjusted Cost: $500 billion (Est)
• Invasion of Iraq: Cost: $551b, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $597 billion
• Vietnam War: Cost: $111 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $698 billion
• NASA: Cost: $416.7 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $851.2 billionTOTAL: $3.92 trillion
______________________________________________________________________

data courtesy of Bianco Research
You can read Ritholtz's whole post here. But we have to warn you, there really isn't an upside.

http://www.alternet.org/blogs/peek/108713/

I saw this on tv last night- Rachel Maddow- and had to change the station.
And it's just getting worse. I have little hope that Obama will call for a criminal investigation of Paulson (etc) as to where all the $ actually went. Not where they said it would go/do. LIARS! Thieves. Our government.
Dawn

A month or so ago I estimated a total cost of between $2.5 - $3 trillion which I scratched on the back of a worthless bank cheque. What optimistic lunacy. We're not at the end of this tunnel yet, so the figures are going to keep on rolling in....

I reckon the Bush and Clinton clans have done their Cowboy buddies proud --- the biggest bank heist in Galactic history.

For ever and ever. Amen.

I saw the figure this morning that the total is now 7.7 Trillion [with a T]. I'll try to find the list that makes that total..but by the looks of it that will be doubled in short order. The only way to come up with that kind of money is to just print it. If you don't have a large basket or backpack for enough inflated money to buy a loaf of bread - get one soon. But Congress still won't fund the few millions for needy people here and there...etc. Sickening and now about to go into freefall, I fear.

Magda Hassan

Mark Stapleton

Dawn Meredith

David Guyatt

Peter Lemkin