posted by: Heather H. 2 days ago
We've all been following the story of the $700 billion bailout of the banking sector, the $17 billion of the auto sector, the $75 billion housing foreclosure bailout, etcetera, with more surely coming. I've personally watched with increasing dismay as the TARP (that's Troubled Assets Relief Management or the original bailout from last fall) has proven to be non-transparent, with almost no accountability for the Lords of Finance who got us into this mess. That old accountability thing has made me particularly angry, because it seems like the only people who haven't personally been experiencing pain so far as the very ones responsible. The rest of us surely have, whether it's our tax money subsidizing now-weak institutions, the resulting explosion of the federal deficit, the skyrocketing job loss, home foreclosures, to say nothing of the fear and stress many of us feel for ourselves, our loved ones, and our neighbors.
On the heels of all this, JP Morgan Chase, itself the recipient of $25 billion in bailout funds and payment of $400 million from AIG for their involvement in the derivatives contracts is resisting pressure to renegotiate debt that Chrysler holds with them. The debt reduction needs to happen in order to smooth negotiations for the Italian automaker Fiat to buy Chrysler. Without this, Chrysler is likely headed for bankruptcy, putting 300,000 jobs at risk.
Our friends at FireDogLake broke this down very nicely, and I certainly recommend you read their take on it here and here and here and here . There are two parts to this: first, Chase has been the extremely generous recipient of all sorts of government largesse to save it from its own bad management and decisions, without which they'd be in serious trouble. And now that they have been made whole (and used much of the government money not to kickstart lending as intended, but rather to acquire other assets for themselves), they are refusing to make any concessions to anybody else. Hypocrisy anyone?
Perhaps the most egregious element of all this to me, though, is that Chase ironically manages the debit cards that hold the unemployment benefits, which they take a fee on every transaction from. So Chase is in fact profiting from unemployed folks. It would all be funny if it weren't so disgusting.
I'm transferring my balance on my Chase credit card and canceling it, and I'd ask my fellow Care2 members to consider doing the same.
On the heels of all this, JP Morgan Chase, itself the recipient of $25 billion in bailout funds and payment of $400 million from AIG for their involvement in the derivatives contracts is resisting pressure to renegotiate debt that Chrysler holds with them. The debt reduction needs to happen in order to smooth negotiations for the Italian automaker Fiat to buy Chrysler. Without this, Chrysler is likely headed for bankruptcy, putting 300,000 jobs at risk.
Our friends at FireDogLake broke this down very nicely, and I certainly recommend you read their take on it here and here and here and here . There are two parts to this: first, Chase has been the extremely generous recipient of all sorts of government largesse to save it from its own bad management and decisions, without which they'd be in serious trouble. And now that they have been made whole (and used much of the government money not to kickstart lending as intended, but rather to acquire other assets for themselves), they are refusing to make any concessions to anybody else. Hypocrisy anyone?
Perhaps the most egregious element of all this to me, though, is that Chase ironically manages the debit cards that hold the unemployment benefits, which they take a fee on every transaction from. So Chase is in fact profiting from unemployed folks. It would all be funny if it weren't so disgusting.
I'm transferring my balance on my Chase credit card and canceling it, and I'd ask my fellow Care2 members to consider doing the same.
Read more: politics
2 comments:
Is depression here or not? not very clear. But if you look at the past history recessions and depressions come and go. (see for instance,
http://www.recessioninfocenter.com
Economies go through cycles and recession is part of the cycle. Too much government interference can backfire and it seems like that's what the governmetn is doing now
Hi !
Thanks for sharing this very informative post. Thought you might want to check out the site i found about Chase Bank since you have been discussing them to your post. Hope you'd check it out, who knows you might make a difference to other consumers out there.
Regards,
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