We've given the Treasury at least $250 Billion and maybe $350 Billion taxpayer dollars with no explanation of where the money has gone or any requirement that it actually go to stress points in the economy.
My guess is that most of that money is now in secure Swiss bank accounts under the names of the board of directors and executive officers of the bailed-out US banks and maybe some token finders fees in the names of the administration and lawmakers who enabled the transaction. But then, I have a suspicous nature and, so far, all the proof of anything points to the entire eight years of Bush's "free-trade-no-regulation" economy as being one giant confidence game.
Now the automakers want a bailout. Every industry in America wants a bailout. All God's children want a bailout. Dumb idea to throw any new money at the problem until we find out where the last money we threw went. Dumb idea to throw more money on individual industry bailouts when banks have money to lend as bridge loans to automakers and others!
First thing the new Congress should do is pass a law that makes the banks who got the money lend that money to automakers to reshape the auto industry into a "green industry" or to any other manufacturing industries who thinks they are entitled to a bailout from public funds! If Congress can pass laws that tell banks to lend to "no credit check" consumers, they can pass laws to tell banks to lend to "no credit check" manufacturers. Get and keep people employed so they can pay their mortgages, buy new cars, and buy stuff from Wal-Mart!
Second thing Congress should do is to actually start criminal investigations into the eight years of confidence games played by Wall Street and the Bush administration. RICO prosecution and penalties come to mind. All money or property the crooks still have should be confiscated; the crooks who thought up the financial instruments and shell games (even if they later became members of the Bush cabinet) should go to jail for a long, long, long time! For the public good -- to restore confidence in the rule of law and in the economy!
