Gimme My Bailout -- Turkey!

Ok, it's an old image, and even an older story. But they've both become traditions. So:




Yes, this turkey needs a bailout. Lucky for him (or her), we've got the official announcement from the White House

"President George W. Bush offers an official pardon to May, the 2007 Thanksgiving Turkey, during festivities Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2007, in the Rose Garden of the White House. In pardoning May, and the alternate, Flower, the President said, "May they live the rest of their lives in blissful gobbling. And may all Americans enjoy a holiday full of love and peace. God bless you all." White House photo by Chris Greenburg

Gimme My Bailout -- Public Universities!

Let us say here, for the record,
if there's anything more meaningless than a bailout promise from the federal government, it's a non-binding resolution passed by the California Legislature. This is bound to solve all our problems...

For Immediate Release Contact: Alice Sunshine, 510.384.1967
November 25, 2008 Lisa Cohen, 310.395.2544

MEDIA ADVISORY

Assemblymember Anthony Portantino to Call on U.S. Government to Rescue Embattled Public Colleges and Universities

-- Higher Education Committee Chair to Introduce a Resolution to the CA State Assembly Next Week Calling for A "New Deal for a New Millennium for Higher Education" --

WHO:

Assemblymember Anthony Portantino, chair state Assembly Higher Education Committee
Dr. Lillian Taiz, President, California Faculty Association/ History Professor, Cal State L.A.
California State University faculty and students

WHAT:

A resolution calling on the U.S. government to come to the rescue of the nation’s embattled public colleges and universities, especially here in California, will be introduced in the California state Assembly on Monday, December 1 by a group of state Assemblymembers led by Anthony Portantino, chair of the Assembly Higher Education Committee.

WHEN:

Monday, December 1 at 11am

WHERE:

Reporters can cover the news conference in person or on the phone:

BY PHONE AT (866) 812-0403 (Ask for “New Deal for Higher Education”)

IN PERSON AT State Capitol, Room 127

For more information, contact Alice Sunshine at 510.384.1967 or Lisa Cohen at 310.395.2544.

Gimme My Bailout -- The UK!

Hey, wanna buy a nice little island or two in the North Atlantic? We know where you can get em for a song. Britain, it appears is on the brink.

The Bank of England's drastic rate cuts are a necessary but not sufficient stimulus. Monetary policy is failing to get traction because the credit system has broken down.

We face the risk of a rapid downward spiral if we misjudge the threat at this dangerous moment, as we sit poised on the tipping point. Besides, the whole world is now resorting to fiscal stimulus in unison under IMF prodding. Sticking together is imperative. If countries reflate in isolation, they can and will be singled out and punished. That is the lesson of 1931.

But this is not to excuse the Brown Government for the total hash it has made of the British economy. It presided over a rise in household debt to 165pc of personal income. How could the regulators possibly think this was in the interests of British society? What economic doctrine justifies such stupidity? Why were 120pc mortgages ever allowed? Indeed, why were 100pc mortgages ever allowed? Debt is as dangerous as heroin."

And hardly as fun...

Gimme My Bailout - The Credit Card Industry

OK, so the Treasury Dept. no longer wants to go into the real estate business and buy bad loans. Now, they want to bail out the folks that give lines of credit to anyone with a pulse, and loan money to us at 25 percent interest? Really?

"Paulson also announced that Treasury no longer plans to buy troubled mortgage-related assets from private banks – a move which the secretary admitted had been the original intent of the bailout.

“We asked for $700 billion to purchase troubled assets from financial institutions,” he said.

However, due to what Paulson described as a “considerably” more troubled financial market, Treasury has abandoned that goal.

“We are not planning to purchase illiquid mortgage assets,” he said.


Does this guy have any clue what he's doing?

Gimme My Bailout -- The Media Industry

It ain't just newspapers that need help. Here's the latest casulaty list from paidcontent.org.

Of course, not to be outdone, the MSM has some continuing problems of their own as this memo indicates, courtesy of no less a chronicler of the slow death of my industry that Jim Romenesco:

To: The newsroom staff
From: Ken Paulson and John Hillkirk

The current economic crisis has taken its toll on businesses nationwide, including USA TODAY. This will mean a cut in our 2009 budget, including the elimination of about 20 positions in early December.

We wish this wasn't necessary, but we're facing unprecedented economic challenges and we have to cut spending.

We'll have our regular monthly staff meeting Monday at 5 p.m. EST and will discuss this development and answer any questions you may have, but here are the basics: Those whose jobs are eliminated will receive severance consisting of 1 week of pay for each completed year of service, with a minimum of 2 weeks and a maximum of 26 weeks of severance.

If you'd like to volunteer for severance, please notify Lillian Perez in Human Resources by close of business on Dec. 1, using the attached form. Volunteers will receive the same compensation package. Any staff member may volunteer and will be considered for the severance, but there may be some limits based on overall newsroom needs.

The job eliminations - including those of volunteers - are expected to take place in early December, although under some circumstances, staff members may stay a few more weeks.

This is a difficult close to what has been an extraordinary year for this newsroom, including outstanding coverage of the presidential race, the Olympics and the stunning decline on Wall Street.

We'll talk about all of this on Monday. In the meantime, please feel free to drop by or send an e-mail with any questions.

Gimme My Bailout -- The BCS

Ugh. What a mess... If only I cared about college football. Maybe when U.C. Santa Cruz is in a BCS conference...

Gimme My Bailout -- Scorecard

A nice way to keep track of your tax dollars at work, courtesy of the New York Times:

http://projects.nytimes.com/creditcrisis/recipients/table

.. which incidentally, may be up for a bailout of its own...

Gimme My Bailout -- Mystery Meat Edition

From Politico:

Bush warned there could be more bailouts to come, and said that on his flight back from an international economic summit in Peru on Sunday, he had talked with Paulson about “the decisions made to safeguard” Citigroup Inc.

“If need be, we’re going to make these kind of decisions to safeguard our financial system in the future,” Bush said. “I talked to President-elect Obama about the decision we made. I told the American people, and I’ve told the president-elect when I first met him, that any time we were to make a big decision during this transition, he will be informed, as will his team.

Gimme My Bailout -- Citibank!

From the AP:

Referring to the Citigroup rescue, Bush said: "We have made these kind of decisions in the past. We made one last night. And if need be we will make these kind of decisions to safeguard our financial system in the future."

Briefing reporters later, White House deputy press secretary Tony Fratto would not identify any other firms or institutions that might be next in line for government assistance. "We would never foreshadow any specific actions involving private firms, but I think it's safe to say ... that we take threats to our financial system seriously and we stand ready to take any steps necessary to prevent systemic events in our economy," Fratto said.

He also said that the Treasury Department could rethink its decision last week to leave the final $350 billion of the $700 billion in bailout money approved by Congress for the Obama administration. Fratto said Treasury officials "wouldn't hesitate to go to Congress" for that money if it feels it is needed now.

Bush, who spoke after meeting with Paulson and other Cabinet members at the Treasury Department, said they all realize that Americans are concerned for their jobs and savings.

Gimme My Bailout -- The Big 3

From MarketWatch.com:

The chief executives of the Big Three U.S. automakers faced some skeptical lawmakers as they returned to Capitol Hill for a second day of furious lobbying for aid for their battered industry Wednesday.

Testifying before the House Financial Services Committee, the CEOs of General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC each fielded questions from members who said the companies must become more competitive and worried about how $25 billion in government loans would be used.

"If we continue down the path of taking money from more efficient and competitive companies and giving them to companies which are less efficient and in trouble because of bad management and bad decisions, our overall productivity as a country will continue to suffer," said Rep. Spencer Bachus, the top Republican on the financial-services panel.

Democrats in the House and the Senate are scrambling to push through a rescue package for the ailing industry. Bills in both chambers of Congress would extend $25 billion in the form of bridge loans, drawn from the recently enacted $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program for the financial markets. A vote in the Senate may come as early as Wednesday.

Gimme My Bailout -- State of California!

From The Sacramento Bee:

Assembly Speaker Karen Bass touted Uncle Sam as a realistic savior Wednesday for California's multibillion-dollar budget shortfall – but critics say the tactic could backfire by raising false hopes.

"I'm still concerned that some folks are looking at this in isolation and not in its national and international context," Bass said of a projected budget gap of $27.8 billion over two years.

Rather than Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's approach of bridging the gap by roughly a 50-50 formula of tax increases and program cuts, Bass said it's realistic to turn to federal officials for a bailout that would avoid cuts.

"I don't want to go there," the Los Angeles Democrat said of cuts to education, health care or other key services. "I want to split the baby in half, too. I want to do 50 percent revenue, and 50 percent support from the federal government."

Welcome

With so many people asking for a hand out these days, we've decided to start collecting those stories and sharing them with you, gentle reader. Think of it as a heads-up on who has their hand out. And we invite you all to send us your sob stories in hopes that you, too, can get your piece of the pie. And if you find bailout stories published elsewhere that you'd like to share, send them to me here