Paulson reveals US concerns of breakdown in law and order
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Independent Minds
The Bush administration and Congress discussed the possibility of a breakdown in law and order and the logistics of feeding US citizens if commerce and banking collapsed as a result of last autumn's financial panic, it was disclosed yesterday.
Making his first appearance on Capitol Hill since leaving office, the former Treasury secretary Hank Paulson said it was important at the time not to reveal the extent of officials' concerns, for fear it would "terrify the American people and lead to an even bigger problem".
Mr Paulson testified to the House Oversight Committee on the Bush administration's unpopular $700bn (£426bn) bailout of Wall Street, which was triggered by the failure of Lehman Brothers last September. In the days that followed, a run on some of the safest investment vehicles in the financial markets threatened to make it impossible for people to access their savings.
Paul Kanjorski, a Pennsylvania Democrat, asked Mr Paulson to reveal details of officials' concerns, which were relayed to Congress in hasty conference calls last year. The calls included discussion of law and order and whether it would be possible to feed the American people, and for how long, according to Mr Kanjorski.
"In a world where information can flow, money can move with the speed of light electronically, I looked at the ripple effect, and looked at when a financial system fails, a whole country's economic system can fail," Mr Paulson said. "I believe we could have gone back to the sorts of situations we saw in the Depression. I try not to use hyperbole. It's impossible to prove now since it didn't happen."
The Oversight committee is investigating the takeover of Merrill Lynch by Bank of America, a deal forged in the desperate weekend that Lehman Brothers failed, and which later required government support because of Merrill's spiralling losses.
Mr Paulson defended putting pressure on Bank of America when it had last-minute doubts about the deal in December. Not to have done so could have rekindled the "financial havoc" the bailout had calmed.
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Comments
That is Mr. Paulson's legacy. That and also threatening martial law if the house didn't pass the bailout bill.
Paulson (not to mention Bush) should be investigated and prosecuted for war crimes, because the bailout, according to Naomi Klein, was, in being the biggest transfer of wealth by fraud from the public to the private sector, the biggest heist in history,
And now, it will happen again and again...
And don't believe it for a moment America that the government will listen to the constituition, they already have broken much of it, have violated Posse Comitatus by directing several US brigades to stay at home to be used against the US population as and when needed.
"The last official act of any government is to loot the nation"
The money Goldman has 'made' recently belongs to the US taxpayer. Goldman insured their financial bets with AIG. So when AIG was bailed the government effectively covered Goldman loses.
People need to wake up to this huge scam. The money men have far more power the US and UK than the electorate. Bankers can take all the risks they please knowing that their survival is underwritten by the taxpayer ? and nothing is going to change.
bailout plan for Congress to approve was at the same time lending out $2.1Trillion (US) in a series of secret transactions to institutions that "if it were known who they were might cause investors to panic".
No information as to identity of the recipients has so far been divulged since the October 2008 loans, and only Bloomberg News LLC has gone to court to get the information. The Government has rebuffed them in every way, and it is still dragging on.
Since the TARP money doled out to Goldman, Citi and others was openly disclosed, then what US financial institutions could they possibly be? And when will they pay it back.
BTW this happened in the months before the November elections.
It's happening and being forced on us by the UFO-ET onslaught.
Maybe not a bad outcome after all, eh?
COWARDS!
They lied to keep up public morale at the same time fearful that the public would catch wind of their screw ups.
NOW, let the revolution begin!
We know where the bankers live AND social activists have already led protests to the homes of these bankers in CT and NY...NEXT STOP, protests and squatter action on poltician and bureaucrats homes.
I forsee VERY SHORTLY the 300 + people from the text city along the Sacramento River matching to the state capital building in Sacramento (California) and occupying it and holding hostage the legislature as well as Governor Aronold Swatzenegger. Good move!
The poor will rise up-for good or bad reasons-and the riots will come VERY SOON!
THEN, all Hell breaks loose acros the US nation and in all other nations as well.
-->All for money!
We have much to fear because of these political and economic fools...and we have much to pray for ourselves in this crisis period.
If we really want to stop this parade of theft, suspension of our privacy and return to the firm foundations of the Constitutions we need to think globally and act locally. There is someone in your local community who is fighting against the oppression.... join them. These are not idle words from an uninterested observer, I am challenged with the "trickle down abuse of power" that is now rampant across these many States. To view one example of how the power of People is usurped by the State and leveraged against the individual visit: http://RuralJustice.com
"We will surely stand together or hang separately"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HaG9d_4z
You vividly recall wrongly. No such thing ever happened. Get help soon before the insects in your head fully consume your brain stem.
"Nov 26, 2008 -
"Not quite two months ago, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson came to Congress with an unprecedented request: 700 billion taxpayer dollars to bail out America's major financial institutions. In a three-page proposal, Paulson outlined his plan to purchase firms' troubled assets and transfer that debt to the American taxpayers of today and tomorrow."
"After one failed vote, a lot of arm-twisting and $110 billion in sweeteners, Congress gave Paulson the keys to Uncle Sam's vault. In less time than it takes to pass a Christmas resolution, Congress passed the largest bailout in history and granted extraordinary new powers to the federal government. "
From the Bush archive at: http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archi
Over the weekend, members of my Administration and congressional leaders worked on legislation to address the crisis in our Nation's financial markets. They made good headway toward a bill that can pass the House and Senate in a timely manner, and the American people appreciate their efforts.
Obviously, there will be differences over some details, and we will have to work through them. That is an understandable part of the policy making process. But it would not be understandable if Members of Congress sought to use this emergency legislation to pass unrelated provisions, or to insist on provisions that would undermine the effectiveness of the plan. I appreciate Members of Congress in both parties resisting the urge to do so, and keeping the rescue bill focused on solving the crisis in our financial markets.
Americans are watching to see if Democrats and Republicans, the Congress and the White House, can come together to solve this problem with the urgency it warrants. Indeed, the whole world is watching to see if we can act quickly to shore up our markets and prevent damage to our capital markets, businesses, our housing sector, and retirement accounts.
Failure to act would have broad consequences far beyond Wall Street. It would threaten small business owners and homeowners on Main Street.
Everyone recognizes that it's not easy to write a bill of this magnitude in a timely manner, and all those who have worked so hard over the weekend and continue this morning deserve the thanks and appreciation of every American. Working together, I am confident we can enact the legislation necessary to prevent lasting damage to our economy and meet the unique challenge facing us today.
From:
http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archi
President Bush Meets with Bicameral and Bipartisan Members of Congress to Discuss Economy
Cabinet Room
President George W. Bush speaks during a meeting with Bicameral and Bipartisan members of Congress Thursday, Sept. 25, 2008, in the Cabinet Room of the White House. Included in the meeting with the President are, from left: Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.; Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.; Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill. White House photo by David Bohrer I want to thank the Secretary of the Treasury for working hard with the members. I thank the members for working long hours like they've been doing to come up with a solution that's bipartisan and that will solve the problem.
THE PRESIDENT: I want to thank the leaders of the House and the Senate for coming. I appreciate our presidential candidates for being here, as well.
We are in a serious economic crisis in the country if we don't pass a piece of legislation. I want to thank the spirit of bipartisan cooperation that's taking place here in Washington. One thing the American people have to know is that all of us around the table take this issue very seriously and we know we've got to get something done as quickly as possible. And this meeting is an attempt to move the process forward. My hope is that we can reach an agreement very shortly.
Thank you very much.
END 4:04 P.M. EDT
Still no evidence of Bush threatening congress with marshal law. I also vividly recall all of you nutjobs claiming that Bush would openly declare marshal law before his term was up, using the economic crisis as bait, thus intstalling himself as some permanent fascist dictator. Alas, we have Obama as president and you are still crazy as a bat.
http://www.prisonplanet.com/paulson-w
Paul Joseph Watson
Prison Planet.com
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Senator James Inhofe has revealed that Henry Paulson was behind the threats of martial law and a new great depression prior to the passage of the bailout bill, having made such warnings during a conference call on September 19th, around two weeks before the legislation was eventually approved by both the Senate and Congress.
citing
http://www.infowars.net/articles/octobe
Democratic Congressman: Representatives Were Threatened With Martial Law In America Over Bailout Bill
Warns that a panic atmosphere is intentionally being nurtured to get bill passed
Steve Watson
Infowars.net
Friday, Oct 3, 2008
StumbleUpon
A Democratic Congressman has warned that a panic atmosphere is being intentionally created in order to get the financial bailout billed passed, further stating that several members of Congress were told before Monday's vote that martial law will be instigated in America if the legislation fails.
Congressman Brad Sherman of California's 27th congressional district told the House in a speech yesterday evening that he personally knew of several Congressional representatives who have said they were threatened with the prospect of all out martial law should they vote in opposition to the $700 billion bailout.
Sherman essentially intimated that powerful forces who want the bill passed have attempted to blackmail elected representatives.
Mr Paulson said. "I believe we could have gone back to the sorts of situations we saw in the Depression. I try not to use hyperbole. It's impossible to prove now since it didn't happen
To quote Mandy Rice Davies "Well, he would, wouldn't he?".
Can our free press confirm how much money HP has? And whether he has benefited directly or indirectly from the bail out of AEG?
There is a lot of information, data, and growing anger on the internet concerning HP and what has happened (look at the Bankers bonuses for this season....).
I am 100% behind saving the banks and making sure the system survives but I am not prepared to endure unemployment, financing state funded final salary pensions and higher taxes just to prop up a selfish, obscenely greedy group of individuals who do not produce anything but zeros.