Screwed-up bail out

Wow... i missed this. Too distracted by other things, I have not read the details of the bail-out except to know they poured a whole lot of my (and other tax-payers) hard earned money into these financial institutions, trying to cover up the mistakes, greed, and incompetence of people who sometimes enjoyed bonuses 2-3x my annual salary (and I get paid well!)

But this is great! So what these same people are saying to the American public is: "We screwed up, you unscrew it,* then maybe we'll screw u again, making more money for ourselves in the process."

Finance industry lobbyists tried to stop lawmakers from limiting executive salaries at bailed-out companies, and fought to get their companies hired to control the assets that the Treasury will oversee.^{25 26} - via Harper's Weekly Review this week.

* He's not my representative^ but obviously, I was influenced by his insightful statement here :)

“The private market has screwed itself up, and they need the government to come help them unscrew it.” - said Representative Barney Frank (D., Mass.), Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee.

BTW, wiki enlightens:

In 2003, Frank opposed Bush administration and Congressional Republican efforts for the most significant regulatory overhaul in the housing finance industry since the savings and loan crisis. Under the plan a new agency would have been created within the Treasury Department to assume supervision of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-sponsored companies that are the two largest players in the mortgage lending industry. "These two entities, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, are not facing any kind of financial crisis," Frank said. He added, "The more people exaggerate these problems, the more pressure there is on these companies, the less we will see in terms of affordable housing."^[28]

So, Bush administration had proposed that the Treasury Dept. should take over Fannie & Freddie 5 years back? Well...he got his wish!!

^ He's the 4th district representative, I'm in the 7th and Cambridge nearby is in the 8th..... I HAD to check, u know...to see if the guy who said this was representing me! :)