By popular demand, we wish to provide our readership the fond memory of former Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson, who have led us down the road of mass taxpayer money infused into failed American businesses.

But testifying before Congress is not new to Hank Paulson prior to September 2008 when the US financial meltdown had occurred.  Back in 2000, Hank Paulson was the CEO of Goldman Sachs and often influenced the regulatory decisions that Congress were to make.  Goldman Sachs ultimately received nearly $14 billion of taxpayer funds that was pumped into AIG for the purpose of keeping the US financial system intact.  Conflict of interest anybody?  In addition, since Goldman Sachs received TARP funding, couldn’t Congress have negotiated how much Goldman Sachs received at something less than face value of the Credit Default Swaps?  Because, if AIG was put into bankruptcy, Goldman Sachs would have received very little of the $14 billion from AIG.

Now to be fair to Congress and its oversight accountability, there were many questions asked and the desire for better understanding of what they were getting US taxpayers into.  But we all know how bureaucracy works in this country.

From the New York Times:

Text of Draft Proposal for Bailout Plan

LEGISLATIVE PROPOSAL FOR TREASURY AUTHORITY

TO PURCHASE MORTGAGE-RELATED ASSETS

Section 1. Short Title.

This Act may be cited as ____________________.

Sec. 2. Purchases of Mortgage-Related Assets.

(a) Authority to Purchase.–The Secretary is authorized to purchase, and to make and fund commitments to purchase, on such terms and conditions as determined by the Secretary, mortgage-related assets from any financial institution having its headquarters in the United States.

(b) Necessary Actions.–The Secretary is authorized to take such actions as the Secretary deems necessary to carry out the authorities in this Act, including, without limitation:

(1) appointing such employees as may be required to carry out the authorities in this Act and defining their duties;

(2) entering into contracts, including contracts for services authorized by section 3109 of title 5, United States Code, without regard to any other provision of law regarding public contracts;

(3) designating financial institutions as financial agents of the Government, and they shall perform all such reasonable duties related to this Act as financial agents of the Government as may be required of them;

(4) establishing vehicles that are authorized, subject to supervision by the Secretary, to purchase mortgage-related assets and issue obligations; and

(5) issuing such regulations and other guidance as may be necessary or appropriate to define terms or carry out the authorities of this Act.

Sec. 3. Considerations.

In exercising the authorities granted in this Act, the Secretary shall take into consideration means for–

(1) providing stability or preventing disruption to the financial markets or banking system; and

(2) protecting the taxpayer.

Sec. 4. Reports to Congress.

Within three months of the first exercise of the authority granted in section 2(a), and semiannually thereafter, the Secretary shall report to the Committees on the Budget, Financial Services, and Ways and Means of the House of Representatives and the Committees on the Budget, Finance, and Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate with respect to the authorities exercised under this Act and the considerations required by section 3.

Sec. 5. Rights; Management; Sale of Mortgage-Related Assets.

(a) Exercise of Rights.–The Secretary may, at any time, exercise any rights received in connection with mortgage-related assets purchased under this Act.

(b) Management of Mortgage-Related Assets.–The Secretary shall have authority to manage mortgage-related assets purchased under this Act, including revenues and portfolio risks therefrom.

(c) Sale of Mortgage-Related Assets.–The Secretary may, at any time, upon terms and conditions and at prices determined by the Secretary, sell, or enter into securities loans, repurchase transactions or other financial transactions in regard to, any mortgage-related asset purchased under this Act.

(d) Application of Sunset to Mortgage-Related Assets.–The authority of the Secretary to hold any mortgage-related asset purchased under this Act before the termination date in section 9, or to purchase or fund the purchase of a mortgage-related asset under a commitment entered into before the termination date in section 9, is not subject to the provisions of section 9.

Sec. 6. Maximum Amount of Authorized Purchases.

The Secretary’s authority to purchase mortgage-related assets under this Act shall be limited to $700,000,000,000 outstanding at any one time

Sec. 7. Funding.

For the purpose of the authorities granted in this Act, and for the costs of administering those authorities, the Secretary may use the proceeds of the sale of any securities issued under chapter 31 of title 31, United States Code, and the purposes for which securities may be issued under chapter 31 of title 31, United States Code, are extended to include actions authorized by this Act, including the payment of administrative expenses. Any funds expended for actions authorized by this Act, including the payment of administrative expenses, shall be deemed appropriated at the time of such expenditure.

Sec. 8. Review.

Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to the authority of this Act are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency.

Sec. 9. Termination of Authority.

The authorities under this Act, with the exception of authorities granted in sections 2(b)(5), 5 and 7, shall terminate two years from the date of enactment of this Act.

Sec. 10. Increase in Statutory Limit on the Public Debt.

Subsection (b) of section 3101 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by striking out the dollar limitation contained in such subsection and inserting in lieu thereof $11,315,000,000,000.

Sec. 11. Credit Reform.

The costs of purchases of mortgage-related assets made under section 2(a) of this Act shall be determined as provided under the Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990, as applicable.

Sec. 12. Definitions.

For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply:

(1) Mortgage-Related Assets.–The term “mortgage-related assets” means residential or commercial mortgages and any securities, obligations, or other instruments that are based on or related to such mortgages, that in each case was originated or issued on or before September 17, 2008.

(2) Secretary.–The term “Secretary” means the Secretary of the Treasury.

(3) United States.–The term “United States” means the States, territories, and possessions of the United States and the District of Columbia.

Here’s are videos of the testimony and the afterward public opinion.

US Treasury Secretary Urging Bailout of US Financial Institution

BBC Surveys Public Opinion

Once again House congressional leaders are off target (both Democrats & Republicans).  Meet the mastermind behind the AIG unit that current AIG Chairman & CEO Liddy is getting bashed for.  Personally, I don’t see how a guy who worked along Milken of Drexel Burhnam Lambert who was arrested for fraud, be allowed to sell products and services without strong oversight and regulation.

Joseph J. Cassano and a over a couple of dozen staff from his AIG business division brought down the United States financial system and possibly the World.

BEHIND INSURER’S CRISIS, A BLIND EYE TO A WEB OF RISK

By GRETCHEN MORGENSON

The London Office

The insurance giant’s London unit was known as A.I.G. Financial Products, or A.I.G.F.P. It was run with almost complete autonomy, and with an iron hand, by Joseph J. Cassano, according to current and former A.I.G. employees.

A onetime executive with Drexel Burnham Lambert — the investment bank made famous in the 1980s by the junk bond king Michael R. Milken, who later pleaded guilty to six felony charges — Mr. Cassano helped start the London unit in 1987.

The unit became profitable enough that analysts considered Mr. Cassano a dark horse candidate to succeed Maurice R. Greenberg, the longtime chief executive who shaped A.I.G. in his own image until he was ousted amid an accounting scandal three years ago.

But last February, Mr. Cassano resigned after the London unit began bleeding money and auditors raised questions about how the unit valued its holdings. By Sept. 15, the unit’s troubles forced a major downgrade in A.I.G.’s debt rating, requiring the company to post roughly $15 billion in additional collateral — which then prompted the federal rescue.

Mr. Cassano, 53, lives in a handsome, three-story town house in the Knightsbridge neighborhood of London, just around the corner from Harrods department store on a quiet square with a private garden.

He did not respond to interview requests left at his home and with his lawyer. An A.I.G. spokesman also declined to comment.

See additional articles:  NY Times -

Behind Insurer’s Crisis, Blind Eye to a Web of Risk

Well, don’t feel alone.  As United Technologies announced today that 11,600 jobs will be eliminated in 2009, these future unemployed will join the 12.5 million Americans who are currently unemployed as of the end of February 2009.  Year to date figures shows 1.3 million jobs eliminated which is an average of 22,135 jobs lost every day.

In the midst of the economic decline, it appears that there is much debate about the causes of the recession and the government remedies to arrest job loss, foreclosures and restore confidence in our financial sector which is widely believed to be the epic center of the crisis.

Jim Puzzanghera of the LA Times wrote on March 9, 2009:

Some experts say what these ventures have done is make an AIG or a Citigroup that’s “too interconnected to fail.” And it’s not just the size that would matter. AIG’s interconnectedness with other companies, markets and economies is so huge and convoluted that it’s almost impossible to foresee what all the consequences of collapse would be.

The prime example of this problem is about $500 billion in unregulated credit default swaps held by AIG. Those complex financial instruments are essentially insurance policies taken out on mortgage-backed securities and other assets. The swaps were designed to pay out money to buyers who got caught in exactly the type of financial crisis taking place right now.

In essence, AIG was committed to insuring hundreds of billions, if not trillions, of dollars in investments. When the housing market crashed and the economy nose-dived, those investments tanked as well. And AIG was liable for the losses — a liability so large that it is now overwhelming the rest of the company, including the still-profitable parts.

What’s worse, because credit default swaps were unregulated and the layers of transactions so arcane that they are difficult to understand clearly, the true cost is essentially impossible to measure with certainty. Once the dominoes began to fall, no one knew where the process would end.

“People don’t know the exposure, so as a result there’s a huge premium on fear and the unknown,” said Kent Smetters, associate professor of insurance and risk management at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.

However, Ralph Vartabedian of the LA Times wrote on March 10, 2009:

But critics contend that what was originally proposed as an overwhelming gesture of government resolve to get banks on their feet now seems like an intravenous drip, barely sustaining the giant institutions that account for the majority of U.S. bank assets. As time goes on, the problems appear again to be deepening.

“Some of these banks are walking dead and should be closed,” said Sen. Richard C. Shelby of Alabama, a 20-year veteran of the Senate Banking Committee and its senior Republican. “We are propping up financial institutions that are insolvent and have already failed. The government has made a political decision to keep them going at the taxpayers’ expense.”

At the other end of the political spectrum, the AFL-CIO Executive Council voted unanimously last week to urge President Obama to nationalize problem banks as a way to stimulate and stabilize the financial system.

“Every day we delay is another day workers in this country feel the pain of a stagnant economy,” said Richard L. Trumka, secretary-treasurer of the labor organization, a powerful influence on the Democratic-controlled White House and Congress.

Despite, P. Parameswaran wrote of US Federal Reserve Chairman as saying,

“In the near term, governments around the world must continue to take forceful and, when appropriate, coordinated actions to restore financial market functioning and the flow of credit,” he told the Council on Foreign Relations, a think tank, in Washington.

Speaking ahead of a weekend meeting of the Group of 20 finance ministers and central bank chiefs in London, Bernanke said while fighting the current crisis, policymakers should embrace reforms to the financial architecture that could help prevent a similar turmoil from developing in the future.

“We must have a strategy that regulates the financial system as a whole, in a holistic way, not just its individual components,” he said.

“In particular, strong and effective regulation and supervision of banking institutions, although necessary for reducing systemic risk, are not sufficient by themselves to achieve this aim.”

Martin Crutsinger, AP Economics Writer reported today:

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner says that within the next couple of weeks the administration will unveil its plan for dealing with the toxic assets that lie at the heart of the current financial crisis.

Geithner says that the plan the administration has put together will provide low-cost government financing to private investors who are willing to purchase the bad assets that are currently clogging banks’ balance sheets.

It is clear that our despite the expectation of the US Government to always have the answers or solutions to the problems of society, it is abundantly clear that they don’t.  As painful as it maybe to experience first hand the fumbling of government, it appears that finally that the government leaders who are charged with turning the economy around are beginning to focus in on the issues and causes which is good news.  The first step to solving any problem is first identifying the problems and causes.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied 380 points today as Citibank reported positive operating profits the first two months of this year.  Perhaps, we’re beginning to see a glimmer of light in this dark and winding tunnel.