Treasury explains how it came up with $700 billion: We just wanted ‘a really large number.’
By on Sep 24th, 2008 at 9:20 pm
Treasury explains how it came up with $700 billion: We just wanted ‘a really large number.’
Forbes writes on part of the reason that the American public is so skeptical of the Bush administration’s bailout proposal:
In fact, some of the most basic details, including the $700 billion figure Treasury would use to buy up bad debt, are fuzzy.
“It’s not based on any particular data point,” a Treasury spokeswoman told Forbes.com Tuesday. “We just wanted to choose a really large number.”
View Most Popular
Advertisement
What We're About
What We're Fighting For
What We're Fighting Against
Featured
Subscribe to the Progress Report
Topic CloudView topics sorted by popularity
Afghanistan
Bachmann
Beck
Boehner
Bush
Cheney
Civil Rights
Congress
Corporate Ethics
Dobbs
Economy
Election
Energy
Environment
Ethics
Fox News
Gingrich
Global Warming
Hannity
Health Care
Immigration
International Relations
Iraq
Justice
Kristol
LGBT
Lieberman
Limbaugh
Maddow
McCain
Media
Military
Obama
Palin
Pelosi
Public Plan
Race
Radical Right
Religion
Sports
Steele
Stimulus
Tea Parties
Technology
Women's Rights
Visit Our Affiliated Sites
Reports
In-depth studies on select topics
Got a hot tip?
Have a hot news tip? We'd love to hear from you. Use the form below to send us the latest.
ArchivesBlog Roll
“We expect that most if not all of this money will return to the Government” – Bush, right now.
This is the guy that told us Iraq would pay for itself
September 24th, 2008 at 9:23 pmWell, that sure gives ME confidence. Can we PLEASE put the adults back in charge now?
September 24th, 2008 at 9:23 pmYou have GOT to be kidding!
Tell ya what… you want $700,000,000,000.00 right?
How about we just drop the “7″?
After all, seven is a really little number.
And if FDR could hear Zippy the Pinhead trying to explain mortgages to Americans, he’s rise from the dead and run him out of town.
Fireside Chat my a$$!
PEACE
September 24th, 2008 at 9:24 pmPinch me….
I think I’m having a really bad nightmare.
September 24th, 2008 at 9:25 pmI’m not sure why, but somehow I am reminded of Dr. Evil. “One millllllion dollars!” and everyone is laughing at him.
Obviously, these “people” didn’t want to be laughed at. “Let’s pick a really big number, otherwise they won’t take us seriously.”
How are they supposed to panic everyone if they use little numbers?
September 24th, 2008 at 9:29 pmC’mon, you guys…that was the best speech I ever saw him give.
And, of course, the caveat being that isn’t saying much…
But he looked sober, serious, and he made no gaffes. And he told a heartwarming story.
And, most importantly, he did not close the sale for $700B. This man couldn’t sell me a pair of shoes.
September 24th, 2008 at 9:30 pmwell… that was interesting…
and, i think maybe the best performance out of that guy…
what drug does that?
he did fairly well… only lies of omission, mostly…
bet it hurt to say the words “democratic capitalism”…
…
DODD was great… watching rachel’s show…
good to know: “speed is not the issue here”, but get it right…
DODD noted that while OBAMA has been keeping in touch, with pelosi et al, even paulson, he hadn’t heard a word from mcPANDER in these past 5 days… he said he was “delighted he’s excpressing interest”… heh.
September 24th, 2008 at 9:30 pmWhen I think I’m getting a really big paycheck, I wake up from my dream. I’m hoping this past eight years is a dream…someone please wake me up!!!!
September 24th, 2008 at 9:31 pmIn other words they dont have a clue what the hell they’re doing?
September 24th, 2008 at 9:31 pmThey could have said 2000 pies per person, that would have registered in the minds of simple minded Americans, you know, McCain supporters, a little better.
September 24th, 2008 at 9:32 pmYou know, I DVR’d the speech as it came at story and bedtime, but try as I might, I couldn’t listen to the whole thing! I had to just fast forward to reach Rachel’s comments.
What does it say that someone who really cares about staying in touch with issues is more willing to fast forward past the president to hear the responses than to listen to the man himself?
If I wake up on November 5th and all is not right in this country, I’m heading to Costa Rica.
Seriously.
PEACE
September 24th, 2008 at 9:32 pmi have a great idea… population 300million US citizens…
give each, EACH, one million and there’s PLENTY left over…
why not?
September 24th, 2008 at 9:33 pmSame idiocy that got us to invade a country that never attacked us, sit on their ass while a US city drown, etc., etc., etc.,
Eugene:
September 24th, 2008 at 9:33 pmAdults? I would settle for a high school kid doing a summer internship, anything is better than the Clampetts running the show right now.
Gee, I can’t imagine how this country could possibly end up in this situation.
Wouldn’t the first criterion for drawing up a number be based on need? I don’t even think used car salespeople just “choose a really large number”.
September 24th, 2008 at 9:36 pmMaybe thats how they came up with this “really large number”?
“You know those pies at McDonalds? According to my calculations exactly 2000 pies per American equals exactly 700 billion dollars. That cant be a coincidence. Its a sign.”
September 24th, 2008 at 9:36 pmFor those of you who missed it, here is a leaked draft of GDumbya’s remarks. He dusted off an old speech he gave us on the brink of another self-inflicted crisis that he caused:
THE PRESI-DUNCE: My fellow citizens, at this hour, American [and coalition forces] taxpayers are in the early stages of [military operations] getting screwed over to [disarm Iraq] bail out Wall Street, to free its [people] CEO’s from responsibility for their own incompetence and [to defend the world them from grave danger] not being as rich.
On my orders, [coalition forces] taxpayers have begun [striking selected targets of military importance] bending over and grabbing their ankles to undermine [Saddam Hussein's] their ability to [wage war] pay their bills. These are opening stages of what will be a broad and concerted campaign. [35 countries] Millions of taxpayers are giving crucial support — from the use of [naval and air bases] their grocery money, to help with [intelligence and logistics] their mortgage and rent money, to the [deployment of combat units] money they’d use to pay their doctor. Every [nation] person in this [coalition] country [has chosen] must be forced to bear the [duty and share the honor] burden of serving our common [defense] richest citizens. To all the men and women of the United States, [Armed Forces now in the Middle East the peace of a troubled world] the fate of the richest among us and the hopes of [an oppressed] wealthy people now depend on you. That [trust] means the rip-off is [well placed] on.
May God bless [our country] my friends and [all who defend her] save their arses.
Soon, Darth Cheney will be telling us that this bail-out will pay for itself. And, after it fails, defeated presidential candidate Johnny McNumbNuts will call for a “bail-out surge”.
September 24th, 2008 at 9:48 pmYou can even get simpler on the 2,000 pies by making the most popular “Bush” president in Reggie Bush. The Republicans then can crow they put the first black man in office, Kim Kardashian would be the first lady and they’d see a surge in People magazine style points they’d never see unless Palin did a strip show in Vegas for a convention of 40+ year old guys with little to no scruples.
The GOP won’t win on substance anytime soon, so it’s time for the Hail Mary…but they may get on their knees for that.
September 24th, 2008 at 9:49 pmAs I endlessly refrain, the difference between fiction and reality is that fiction has to make sense, unlike this Administration. Sad thing is that this freak show is just leaving me so numb I can hardly be shocked by it any more. However there’s always tommorrow and yet another new low for this Adminstration to fess up to. Hey 23%er’s is This enough for you to Finally admit things Ain’t going well?
September 24th, 2008 at 9:49 pmImpeach Pelosi, Cheney and Bush and Save the Constitution!
Impeach Palin, Restore the Rule of Law and Work On Sobering Up!
“Treasury explains how it came up with $700 billion: We just wanted ‘a really large number.’”
– - Hey, it worked for Spinal Tap. Their amps dial up to eleven.
September 24th, 2008 at 9:50 pmUh, katy…your math is off.
By a factor of 1000.
Giving each person in the U.S. a million would cost $320 TRILLION. A million millions.
I’m sure Bernanke and Paulson would be fine with that. It really doesn’t make much of a difference…the rich and the super rich will STILL be light years ahead of us, thanks to Bush & CO.
September 24th, 2008 at 9:50 pmOh dear, the little Bushies had to take off their shoes and socks.
If you want to restore “confidence” to the stock market investors (and speculators/gamblers), we need to: A. get out of Iraq, B. get out of Afghanistan, C. end the Bush tax cuts for the rich, D. clamp down and end uncontrolled corporate speculation in the electronic oil futures markets and other commodity markets. E. require hand-counted paper ballots in all US elections.
September 24th, 2008 at 9:54 pmyesterday in comments I asked, skeptically, “how did they come up with a ‘plan’ so fast?” ( Yes I did, it’s true!)
Well, now we know.
Frankly I;m shocked, shocked that anyone here is shocked that the 700B figure is completely made-up…I mean to say…come on!
September 24th, 2008 at 9:55 pmAny good negotiator will tell you: Start High!
September 24th, 2008 at 9:56 pmDidHeJustSayThat Says:
Any good negotiator will tell you: Start High!
– - Then get sober.
September 24th, 2008 at 9:59 pmOMG! OMG!
Schumer said how about starting with $150 billion and let’s get past the immediate crisis and see what effect you’re having.
“No. We need it all. We need it all now.”
They don’t even know how much they need!!!!!!
September 24th, 2008 at 10:02 pm12 katy
300,000,000 x 1,000,000 = 300 Trillion
Million: 1,000,000
Billion: 1,000,000,000
Trillion: 1,000,000,000,000
Quintillion: 1,000,000,000,000,000,000
Sextillion: 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
Nonillion: 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
Centillion: 1 followed by 303 zeros
nice thought though
September 24th, 2008 at 10:02 pmAll this gives me some great ideas about how to file my tax return next time around – get ready for a Billion-Dollar refund check, Baker family!!!!!
Republicans declare Free-For-All – I’m going to loot my better-off neighbors house right now!! Come on kids, before somebody else gets the good stuff!!!!
wooooo-hoooo!!!
September 24th, 2008 at 10:07 pmdaddy-o, i was never any good at the math…
i believe the term is “math phobic”… and i learned that from cher!
thanks… i knew it was too easy…
September 24th, 2008 at 10:13 pmhad enough Says:
12 katy
300,000,000 x 1,000,000 = 300 Trillion
Million: 1,000,000
Billion: 1,000,000,000
Trillion: 1,000,000,000,000
Quintillion: 1,000,000,000,000,000,000
Sextillion: 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
Nonillion: 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
Centillion: 1 followed by 303 zeros
– - Don’t forget Bush’s, ” a Brazillian.”
September 24th, 2008 at 10:15 pmJust when I thought these people could not be any stupider. I vote we shouldn’t give them any money until they stop acting like crack addicts.
-AF
Andrew Sullivan Is A Fraud
September 24th, 2008 at 10:18 pmyou too, had enough… thanks.
… gawd, how embarrassing…
*sigh*
September 24th, 2008 at 10:19 pmgood chuckles, guys… thanks for that!
September 24th, 2008 at 10:21 pmWhy not choose a “really large number” – when the criminal cabal behind dur chimpfurher has already successfully stolen BILLIONS AND BILLIONS, you might as well ask for more.
Mock this quote all you want – they are laughing all the way to the bank. And, who knows, they might actually get a TRILLION dollars.
September 24th, 2008 at 10:25 pm“We just wanted to choose a really large number.”
Sheesh. These people sound like preschoolers: “Ummm…a really-really large number…how about A KATRILLION GAZILLION DOLLARS?!! Ok!
September 24th, 2008 at 10:36 pmSeptember 24, 2008
Amy Goodman speaks with Naomi Klein who says the public should be wary of the Bush administration trying to use the crisis to push through more of the radical pro-corporate policies that helped cause it in the first place.
September 24th, 2008 at 10:41 pmLemme get this straight…
All week long these di*kweeds have been running around, screeching “the sky is falling, the sky is falling” at the top of their lungs.
We, in turn, were supposed to be SOOOOOO F-in’ scared, we were gonna immediately, no questions asked, no review, no oversight, no chance of a ghost of even asking, “What are you doing w/ ALL THAT MONEY”…
FORK OVER $700,000,000,000 to these SOBs from hell… IMMEDIATELY…
And… now… they’ve got the gall to say, “Well, we used used a really, really, really big number to scare you all… we really don’t know how much we’ll need… BUT, won’t you please give us the money, no strings attached… please-please-please-please, w/ sugar on top?”
Just when you think these BEEEE-ACHTS couldn’t top themselves… they do.
September 24th, 2008 at 10:56 pmI’ve been thinking about this situation. What if this is nothing but a ruse, you know, like Iraq and it’s imminent attack on the US with it’s WMD’s. What if its nothing but a Enron-type, big party book cooking event. Since the large financial institutions sense that Obama will become president and that several seats in congress will go to Democrats this election, prompting them to believe that more serious regulation is on the way, why not have one more neocon inspired boondoggle to siphon off as much free money as they can get? “We just wanted to choose a really large number.” Well, don’t sell yourself short. Why not ask for $800 Billion? Shit, why not try for the big T, One Trillion Dollars! The smell is becoming more and more apparent and with more information coming out every day its beginning to reek of a putrid stench. There is something obscenely wrong with this entire picture. I say no to the bailout or whatever they want to call it. I call it a big screw job straight up our collective asses!
September 24th, 2008 at 10:59 pmOT but, watch David Letterman tonight. He catches John McLiar in another lie. McLiar was supposed to be on Letterman (as it is taped earlier in the day) and backed out siting his need to go to Washington to work on the financial crisis. Well, David caught him giving an interview with Katie Couric at the time he was supposed to be on his show. What’s even better is that Letterman got Keith Olbermann to replace McLiar. This should be fun.
September 24th, 2008 at 11:02 pmGame. Set. Match.
This was never a serious proposal. The “court review” language was a poison pill which would have assured it’s never having been implemented, no matter the terms.
This is all just dithering while Rome burns, trying to buy the bad actors as much time as possible. The question is where will they go, and what will they do with that time?
September 24th, 2008 at 11:03 pmYep. It truly is amazing. For months if not years we have been hearing about confidence and how important it is to the market. You can’t talk negatively about the market because that will erode confidence and lead to further trouble. Yet in the last week, it is now panic time and we arbitrarily chose a number to remedy the situation. On top of it, we must suspend the campaigns. None of it makes sense from a logical perspective – at least with the information we have.
September 24th, 2008 at 11:11 pmThese irresponsible, imoral criminals should be arrested imediatly! They are using TAX payers money to fix their greedy irresponsible behaviour! What happened to the USA?
September 24th, 2008 at 11:27 pm#
#
katy Says:
you too, had enough… thanks.
… gawd, how embarrassing…
*sigh*
September 24th, 2008 at 10:19 pm
I’m not into math but do remember the zero rule… add the zeros when x them… which is twelve… to see how many 12 zeros is I found the chart. No one knows this crap. I responded to another post as yours last night with this chart as the 1 million for everyone is going around the web. This morning, a caller on Thom Hartman’s show brought it up, which irritated him as he IS probably a math whiz and he quoted some number such as 2,000 for all if 700 billion was divided into 300 million.
September 24th, 2008 at 11:29 pmMr. Evil – good point. Sounds about as likely as that crazy conspiracy theory where a man on a dialysis machine in a cave uses cell-phones to mastermind a set of hijacked airplanes that are flown into buildings, defeating the most worlds most sophisticated air-traffic control system and powerful military.
Geee… didn’t someone make BILLIONS AND BILLIONS off of that too? And didn’t they tell us it’s impossible to track where the money when?
Like profits on the insider trading on advanced knowledge of the attacks cannot be traced? The money was just secretly paid off?
They got away with that one, folks, this one is child’s play by comparision.
September 24th, 2008 at 11:33 pmMr. Evil Says:
I’ve been thinking about this situation. What if this is nothing but a ruse,
With all the previous actions and the fact Paulson wanted to get this done right away and no over sigh, what else can one believe. One last money theft before Obama takes over.
September 24th, 2008 at 11:40 pmBush wanted eleventy billion . . . .
September 25th, 2008 at 12:11 amGawd, Sen. Obama is playing as if these repugs are on the up and up.
repugs pull all kinds of sh1t from their asses.
September 25th, 2008 at 12:14 amJess Wonderin Says:
Bush wanted eleventy billion . . . .
____________
I think you left out a couple of decimal points and some zeros in that figure.
Bush wanted eleventyleven billion… or perhaps even a kazillion billion… you know what they say… when you’re next stop is a cell at the Hague, you might as well go big or don’t go at all!
September 25th, 2008 at 12:29 amI’ll take the 2000…
September 25th, 2008 at 2:45 amrather than hand it over to some overfed CEO…
Watch how the plan unfolds.
September 25th, 2008 at 4:20 amRemember roveroolala said this election will be decided by events.
As the looting liers continue the citizens lose badly either way but: dems stall and it’s their fault. The dems get the full force from the media as the bad guys.
If dems don’t go along it’s now the dem depression and roveroolala slims another generation.
Dems do go along and the economy recovers immediately for 45 days, bushcon looting liers win, old pardon guy is hand carried into office, pardons everyone, resigns for supprise health reasons and the circus keeps on getting more thrilling.
The head bushcon is correct on this one: be real skaart.
That was roveroolala slimes
September 25th, 2008 at 4:22 amTreasury Secretary Paulson must be really desperate to help out his multi-millionaire CEO pals at Goldman Sachs, as well as at other Wall Street firms, for him to lie the way he did at the congressional hearing, playing dumb about Section 8, repeatedly claiming he’s for oversight even though Section 8 denies any oversight.
(NOTE: In bygone U.S. Army terminology, Section 8 referred to someone being discharged from service for being mentally unfit or for displaying character traits deemed undesirable. Wow, what a coincidence!! The Section 8 designation was split into Section Bush and Section Cheney, respectively…really. Would I lie?).
Anyway, I trace this entire Republican-created Wall Street fiasco back to Bush’s “ownership society” scheme.
I bet that there is a study somewhere (probably compiled at one of the right-wing think tanks) indicating that “owners of property” tend to be more conservative and therefore tend to vote more often for Republicans instead of Democrats.
Some Republican strategist (Karl Rove?) hit upon the idea that increasing home ownership would swell the ranks of Republican-leaning voters.
This is why federal and Wall Street regulations were relaxed, making it possible for a whole lot of credit-overextended, collateral-challenged potential home owners to realize the American dream of owning a home…but with many of these people now foreclosed on or facing foreclosure.
At least that’s my theory.
Now, although I know it’s too late and won’t help, I’m going to paint some lipstick on my piggy bank.
September 25th, 2008 at 4:26 amI think it is pretty clear. They are seizing an opportunity (one I doubt they orchestrated; they’re not that bright).
But there IS a goal!!
To drive the LAST NAIL into the coffin of our Government.
This is, pure and simple, TREASON.
But it has the intended effect. It will destroy Social Security, health care reform, Medicare and Medicaid and ANYTHING that does not serve the feudal masters of the corporatocracy.
They get the money. We get the shaft.
And it is the CULMINATION of the repugnican philosophy to destroy the United States government.
September 25th, 2008 at 5:59 amCould they tell the banks they are only getting $1 and just change the font on the memo to make it really large.
September 25th, 2008 at 8:29 amThey can’t do the math accurately to figure this thing out because it’s a flux state, will the value be 6 cents on the dollar or 60 cents? So why not go big because they just want to shove it down our throat as fast as they can before we realize how rank the whole thing is.
September 25th, 2008 at 9:30 amAnd why is it no one is saying anything about legal repercussions for the *^%#$ who ran them into the ground in the first place?
I would at least like the satisfaction of seeing someone in charge going down for this if I and my kids have to pay for the damn thing.
I am suprised I haven’t seen anyone discussing how this is exactly what happened twice to this country already in the early 1900’s. If anyone wants a wake up call I have two things you can take a look at and form your own opinion from there. I dont advise blindly following anyones opinion or anything without looking into it themselves but here, http://video.google.com/videosearch?hl=en&q=zeitgeist&oe=UTF-8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wv&oi=property_suggestions&resnum=0&ct=property-revision&cd=1# and http://video.google.com/videosearch?hl=en&q=america+freedom+to+fascism&oe=UTF-8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wv&oi=property_suggestions&resnum=0&ct=property-revision&cd=1# . I suggest at least taking the time to watch those documentaries. If your eyes aren’t open yet they will be.
September 26th, 2008 at 9:54 am