The annual $3 trillion budget is not broken down between operating and capital expenses. Other oddities, the Pentagon lost $1.5 billion worth of assets in an inventory. Our BLM couldn’t find a way to include royalty payment requirements on oil leases.

Until those Financial Rescue Program (FRP) assets are sold and money returned to the Treasury or Fed, I’m counting them as our expense. I’m happy to give the feds credit when they flip the junk, sell the preferred shares or those distressed institutions make good on their debt (by actually paying it back).

There are several programs, including the much-maligned $700 billion bailout, which could cost the taxpayers $200-300 billion if managed poorly. The Bear Stearns guarantees are up to $30 billion, but will likely cost the Treasury much less than a third of that. The other programs, primarily the Fed loans and government backing of Fannie & Freddie, are loan guarantees that represent the entire value of the portfolios, and are certainly not a realistic estimate of likely costs to the government.

This sort of glib misrepresentation only helps to muddle any opposition to the bailout programs by making it far to easy for the financial services lobby to point at these off-hand lies as evidence that the those opposing the bailout don’t understand the complexity.

Many of us do, and judging by the your articles, most of us understand it better than the editors here. Please spend some time listening to Planet Money and working to understand the entire complexity before making your next “the sky has fallen” post. If you do, we will all be better served.

1. corporate tax and capital gains cuts
2. lowered employee wages and benefits

When was the last time a government entity gave a firm $10 billion and the beneficiary turned around and cut 50,000 jobs? We used to have economic development programs, now it’s straight up corporate welfare.

The State of Texas gave Vought Aircraft Industries $35 million to cut 600 jobs. Vought is an affiliate of The Carlyle Group. They owe folks in Dallas 3,000 jobs by 2009.

I bet they go the way of CitiGroup before fulfilling their contractual obligation.

“CNBC updated their total. It’s now $4.284 trillion.”

if my math is correct, that’s about $14,000 for every man, woman and child in the good ol’ USofA.

i think i’m going to be sick.

It’s too bad impeachment is still off the table. For that alone the Democratic leadership should be impeached as well. Add to that their zeal in shoveling our money to any Fortune 500 company in need and they should be tried for treason.

Damn this two party system to hell. This is why I voted for Cynthia McKinney for president. I want to see real change.

Damn, if only my health was traded on the Stock Exchange.

Keith H. Says:
48 Fred. I grew up around people that lived through and never recovered mentally/emotionally from the depression. It affected their lives till they died of old age.

Me to Keith, my grandparents would be aghast of the waste inherent in daily life in America today.

They kept a garden, chickens and cattle well past time when it was a necessity……they were afraid of not having enough to eat……do Americans really understand that? I don’t think so.

They don’t need to buy us, they already own us. Practically the entire amount spent on the Iraq debacle has been borrowed from China. If China called in all it’s debts tomorrow, it would be over for this country. Fortunately they need us to keep buying their cheap goods, so they won’t do that now. But who knows what they will do down the road.

Bulk of Iraq Reconstruction Monies ‘Will Come From Iraqis,’ Rumsfeld Says

WASHINGTON, Oct. 2, 2003 – The American taxpayer will not have to foot the entire bill for rebuilding post-Saddam Iraq, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said here today.
The $20 billion for Iraqi security and reconstruction contained within President Bush’s $87 billion supplemental budget proposal for fiscal 2004 now before Congress “is not intended to cover all of Iraq’s needs,” Rumsfeld noted to reporters at a Pentagon press conference.

“The bulk of the funds for Iraq’s reconstruction will come from Iraqis,” explained Rumsfeld, who was accompanied at the briefing by Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Iraqis will pay for the rebuilding of their country, the defense secretary noted, through oil revenues, recovered assets, international trade, direct foreign investments and contributions from the international community.

Keith H. Says:
Buy some ammo for the huntin’ rifle cause I will be poachin’ me some deer to feed the youngsters.

Keith, you must be young. I can remember the older folks who lived through the 29+ depression talking about the wooded areas where we live…..and it is rural and in those days sparsley populated, being hunted out.

Entire species of animals had to be re-introduced in the years after the depression because they had hunted them out of existance……..

Our area is much more populated now so it won’t take long before we are eating sourcrout sandwiches. Meat, unless you like crow will not be on the menu.