Misuse of Taxpayer Money

Hank Paulson used to work at Goldman Sachs. Some of Timothy Geithner's staff at the New York Fed had worked at Goldman Sachs. Goldman Sachs stood to loose large amounts of money and possibly fail if AIG were allowed to fail. More to the point, many friends of Hank Paulson and Timothy Geithner stood to loose large amounts of money. It is for this reason that I believe that it was determined that AIG was “too big to fail.” While there are a number experts that say we were on the brinks of a huge collapse, there are an equal number of experts that say otherwise. We will never know what would have happened. We do know that the only groups that have really benefited from the bailouts are those that helped to cause them.

Paulson and the Fed had asked Congress for money to purchase troubled assets, that is why the legislation was titled Troubled Asset Relief Program. Anybody that follows the corruption in Congress and the Fed knew that this money would never be used to help the people, those that give the Federal Government the authority to exist. We knew that the money would be used to reward the wall street executives for their highly risky behavior. This behavior was only taken so that the could make further profit. Confident in the knowledge that when the time come that it all came crashing down, they could call on the people that they had bought and paid for at the Fed and in the Federal Government. Then it happened, Hank Paulson announced that they were no longer going to use the money for troubled assets but to infuse cash into the banks. Since the executives had already collected money on the trouble assets, buying these would not be in their best interest. The U.S. taxpayer is still on the hook for losses at AIG but AIG is currently paying out sixteen-billion dollars in bonuses. If we are still on the hook for losses, how can AIG be claiming profit to pay out such bonuses.

In the real America I don't care how much money anybody makes. That America includes a true free market, true capitalism. The America we live in contains crony capitalism and a market that is skewed by corrupt politicians and corporate executives that write legislation that benefits big companies but virtually prevents smaller companies from competing.

In the days of our founding fathers, Paulson, Geithner and Bernanke would have been tarred, feathered and run out of town on a rail. In a real America today, they would be in jail for misuse of taxpayer money. In the world we unfortunately live in today, they are rewarded and protected by the corrupt, unethical group that passes for Congress. This group regularly and openly violate their oaths of office. They do so without fear because they've trained a large number of people over the years that the Government is in charge of the people instead of the way it is supposed to be, the people in charge of the Government. If you haven't noticed, people are waking up to your corruption. They are doing so in large numbers. Democrats and Republicans alike should be in fear of the people. This is a health fear, a fear that our founding fathers intended. Thomas Jefferson said it best, “When the Government fears the people there is liberty. When the people fear the Government there is Tyranny.” We the people are tired of living in Tyranny.