The Heist

Gotta love bailouts..

In the six weeks since lawmakers approved the Treasury's massive bailout of financial firms, the government has poured money into the country's largest banks, recruited smaller banks into the program and repeatedly widened its scope to cover yet other types of businesses, from insurers to consumer lenders.

Along the way, the Bush administration has committed $290 billion of the $700 billion rescue package.

Yet for all this activity, no formal action has been taken to fill the independent oversight posts established by Congress when it approved the bailout to prevent corruption and government waste. Nor has the first monitoring report required by lawmakers been completed, though the initial deadline has passed.

"It's a mess," said Eric M. Thorson, the Treasury Department's inspector general, who has been working to oversee the bailout program until the newly created position of special inspector general is filled. "I don't think anyone understands right now how we're going to do proper oversight of this thing."

It reminds me of the Iraq war profiteering... KBR, Halliburton, etc.. billions disappearing, with no accounting at all.

This has to be the largest theft in history, and people are lining up to get their share.. nearly a trillion dollars of tax payer money given away.

That is Conservative ideology, with the passive, spineless, acquiescence of the Congressional Democrats in action. There is no accountability.. just a continuation of the class warfare in a "free market Capitalist" system.

The government should have done nothing and let it all crash and burn.. the banking system.. the mortgage industry.. insurance.. auto industry.. every little bit of it... because all that's being done is lining the pockets for the lucky few that have an inside track to grab the cash and run.

What we're seeing is reality catching up with the illusion of American style economics.. where the evil of human nature rules all, and most everyone is powerless to do anything about it.. even in a so-called Democracy.

/edit

I'd also point out that for the entire Bush term.. Democrats in Congress were cowed into giving Chimpy whatever he wanted.. They did again on this "bail out" legislation.. and it's a horrible program.. awful in every single way.. and exactly what Bush wanted.