Nouriel Roubini is a straight up guy. In stark contrast to AIG, et al.

The FBI investigates AIG, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Lehman Brothers for fraud.

"The FBI focused on accounting fraud, insider trading, and failure to disclose the value of mortgage-related securities and other investments."

Yep. Thought so.

The collapse of these giants has triggered a $700 bailout proposel by Bush*, which he tried to ram through Congress over the weekend. His original bailout plan included golden parachutes (big fat bonuses) for the CEOs of failed -- and potentially fraud-riddled -- businesses.

His plan currently includes some relief for home owners, but wait! To qualify they have to have 29% debt-to-income ratio and at least 6% equity in their house. So, if you have 100% financing, just bought your house, lost your job, or your property value plummeted (gee, isn't that, uh, everyone?), you're S.O.L.

Economist Nouriel Roubini says we are privatizing profits and socializing losses. He predicted last July that these companies were "toast," and proposes a better plan.

In order to resolve this financial crisis it is not enough to take the bad/toxic assets off the balance sheet of the financial institutions (a new RTC); it is also necessary and fundamental to reduce the debt overhang of millions of insolvent households via a significant debt reduction on their mortgages (an HOLC program like the one that was implemented during the Great Depression); and also recapitalize undercapitalized banks with public capital in the form of preferred shares (as the RFC did with 4000 banks during the Great Depression).

Thank you. Finally, a voice of reason.



* Don't you love how Bush didn't notice there was a recession until some of his rich buddies got burned?

Meme time. I need a break.

Stolen from sardonicsmiley:

Name a character from one of my fandoms, and I'll give you either:

(a) three facts about them from my personal canon/fanon,
(b) a reason he/she sucks,
(c) a reason he/she is awesomecakes,
(d) five things that never happened to that character, or
(e) five people that character never fell in love with and why.

You pick the character. I pick the letter.

I'll play in any fandom I've written in.

And now... to make obscure Indian recipe while WG's out of the house. The trouble with having a man who cooks (and trust me, I'm not complaining) is that he tends to critique your cooking. "Honey, you should turn that down. Um. Aren't you adding that a little early-? Okay, okay, I'll leave you be!"