Mysteriously pulled post-publication on Sunday by the UK Telegraph but resurrected via Rawles, this article by Liam Halligan is worth the read.
Excerpt:
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...The trouble is, though, as the bill for these bail—outs keeps rising, so does the possibility that the political consensus will crack and there'll be an almighty, and debilitating, dust—up. Paulson's RTC plan, in theory, could restore confidence. By taking sub—prime loans off banks' books, it could de—ice the inter—bank market, restoring credit lines to households and firms and preventing the "credit crunch" from shifting wholesale, in that fabled phrase, "from Wall Street to Main Street".
But, in the run—up to the US election in November, Democrats in Congress — and even some Republicans — may decide they're simply not having it. How much more can the US taxpayer take? It sounds insane, but the liabilities being taken on by the Fed and the US Treasury are now so enormous that the government itself could default...
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Read the whole thing.
Then go get cash out of your bank - enough for three months' expenses, at least.
Tempus fugit.
I am not surprised by this in the least, though I did raise an eyebrow at the sheer scope and chutzpah of this act of intercontinental armed robbery.
ReplyDeleteAdd this to the long list of reasons why only a damned fool would ever have a bank account or a credit card.
If you have money in the bank, pull it all out today, while you're still allowed. Put it in your mattress, or in your Bible, or in Mason jars to bury in your back yard, but get it out of their hands. If you have credit cards, pay them off today, cut them up, and cancel the accounts. If you must cash checks, go to a check cashing place; the fees are a tiny fraction of what King Henry has in mind for you. If you must send money through the mail, buy a money order. And for everything else, pay in person only, in cash only--while it's still legal.