Web Letters: Paulson's Swindle Revealed

The outrage of the bailout was palpable when first announced, something smelled and now its becoming clear that this was a deal for the fat bastards to steal the country blind in case Obama got elected and a large majority of the country fell for it. The Portuguese could take a lesson in plundering from these bastards. There needs to be an immediate halt to Paulson's corporate largesse. And a needs to be special prosecutor appointed by the Obama administration to track these guys to the ends of the earth.

Michael Weber

Chaska, MN

No wonder these guys tried their darnest to get a bail-out program without oversight or monitoring from anybody else! (And they almost [?] got away with it.) Now we know why.

Isn't there anything we can do about taking them to task for what they did (are doing) to the taxpayers' money in the guise of responding for the benefit of the American people to an economic meltdown of the very companies they "used to" be involved with?

Isn't what you reported, assuming it to be true, tantamount to plunder? And isn't that a grievious crime on the level of treason? (And how wide would the net of justice spread to catch such malefactors and their cohorts, etc.?)

Can they, will they get away scot-free?

Talk about gunning after those who aimed to devastate America! Who was it who said, "I have met the enemy and it is us"? (At least, a few of us in positions of power right here in America.)

angelo J. de Los Reyes

Santa Ana, CA

Thank you for blowing the whistle on the Goldman deal's bad terms. Is there somewhere I can actually see these terms? Have you actually seen these terms? The only document you reference is a letter from the steelworkers who purport that they saw the terms. The only other support is several other web letters from readers who are apparently quicker and more believing than me to take the steelworkers' word, relayed through you. So, for those among your readership that might still want to do their own research, any links would be appreciated.

Reginald Thornton

Atlanta, GA

I cannot believe the gall of these guys and the freedom with which they are throwing taxpayer dollars at these banks. Not one red cent of that money should be going to executives or bonuses. I am livid that they would even entertain the thought and then follow through. Lynching--or better yet, the guillotine--needs to be brought back. These guys need to be lynched. I am a normal middle-class working person and have watched the life savings of both me and my husband vanish before my eyes. Crooks! the whole damn lot of them. How in the hell do these people sleep at night? There needs to be a full investigaton, FBI, Congress (another bunch of crooks), Supreme Court Justices, somebody, anybody... who the hell is tough enough to stand up to these guys and protect the American people? Doesn't anyone in politics have the backbone to go after these guys? I am pissed, and this just reinforces my thinking that we need to vote all their asses out and impose term limits for the whole damn lot of them.

Merry Roloff

Centennial, CO

William Greider could as well ask, "Where's my 1 percent loan?" The last I looked, the banks were still charging me 20-25 percent on my charge cards, even as they have shafted savers virtually out of their last penny's worth of interest (and it is taught in Econ 101--the Samuelson version--that "savings is the engine of investment"). Somehow, the concept of usury is also lost on the Axis-of-See-No-Evil, otherwise known as Congress.

And yet, one newspaper after another reports breathlessly, "Fed cuts rates again!" It is worth noting in closing that the only cabinet member to go to jail, Albert Fall, of Teapot Dome fame (compared to Enron, Worldcom, Fannie Mae and a hundred other horrors associated with the "conservative Republican" administration, Teapot was nothing but a peepot), was convicted of what must by modern standards appear to be the equivalent of jaywalking: accepting an interest-free loan.

Congress has just given a wink and a nod to the moral equivalent of Teapot Dome to the tenth power.

Robert Tartell

Houston, TX

I read William Greider's article today, and felt, if nothing else vindicated, in my anger and encouraged to know that my peripheral understanding but deeply felt instinct of what has been transpiring during the last several weeks has not been completely off the mark. I have been blogging about this "bail out" fiasco for a few weeks. This helps me to vent, but otherwise leaves us in the same, powerless position. It is time to do more than speak out as individuals.

If we want to steer these funds to a lawful, regulated and positive use, we need to organize ourselves quickly. I can't speak to the best course of action for businesses, as their plight with the banks is layered and much more complicated, but as a consumer I am prepared to organize my neighborhood, picket my bank and significantly reduce my relationship with my bank. It will become strictly a holding place for my money. No interest paid, no additional credit activity, nothing. I have already removed the bulk value of a credit line and put it into an interest-bearing savings account. I am contemplating the reduction of my mortgage payment to principal only, no interest. If banks can ignore the terms and conditions associated with the billions of dollars in bail-out funds, then I can ignore the terms and conditions of my loan agreement as well.

You know, I am one of the lucky ones in the midst of this mess. I am ten to thirteen years away from retirement, which will hopefully prove to be enough time to gain the 35 percent value loss on my 401k. My home has retained enough value to have me in a position of equity. But I am infuriated about what is being done to hard-working Americans. This is not a situation we carved out for ourselves, this has been done to us! Thirty years of deregulation, made possible by the government, and perpetuated by lobbyists and powerful financial institutions, have benefited the wealthy and the greedy. These actions come with dire consequences for people who show up for work every day. It's wrong and it stinks. I will do what I can to make a statement, but I am reaching out to others to join me, because acting alone will result in this crisis growing deeper. A massive failure for which the government will have the audacity to look to us, the middle-class Americans, to fix.

margo c. epstein

Carlsbad, CA

A public Congressional investigation with subpoena powers should be at the top of the next Congress's agenda... unless Pelosi takes it off the table and dumps it in with impeachment hearings.

DoJ and the FBI should also initiate investigations.

US Atty/SDNY should start investigating and call a grand jury inquiry.

Under no circumstances should Paulson be allowed to stay at Treasury.

His staffing of the bailout crew must be examined by independent counsel.

And, yes, an independent prosecutor should be appointed.

Likelihood of any of this happening?

Ask Pelosi and check her table.

R.H. Weber

Brooklyn, NY