What exactly is $700 billion ??

[WalkinTarget]

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's reference to a $700 billion economic bailout for the nation's troubled financial institutions is a bit like watching a re-run of "Cosmos," featuring Carl Sagan. All that talk of billions and billions eventually can leave you speechless.

First, there are about 300 million men, women, and children in the United States. Keeping in mind that not all of them pay taxes, the bailout comes out to roughly $2,300 per person, about the same amount a typical American pays personally in taxes.

Twelve Bill Gateses is the equivalent of $700 billion.

The net worth of the entire Forbes 400 is about two times the cost of the bailout.

James Cameron would have to film 381 blockbusters as popular as his $1.8 billion "Titanic" to foot the bill.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, the single-year cost of obesity in the United States was $117 billion in 2000, or about one-sixth the bailout.

The GDP of Florida alone was about $734 Billion last year, about 5% of the National GDP.

The Netherlands GDP was $768.7 Billion last year.

The Marshall Plan, which helped finance the recovery of Western Europe after World War II, cost the United States about $13 billion. Of course, in 2008 dollars that's more like $100 billion.

Should the Treasury receive authority from Congress to borrow $700 billion, the national debt will rise by only about 7 percent. Right now, it's sitting at $9.6 trillion.

http://www.slate.com/id/2200718/

[MR_MADHATTER]

To spend that much money you would have to spend $1916.50 per day for 1 million years.
$700,000,000,000 / 365.25 /1,000,000 = $1916.4955.......

[{CLR} Naillik]

Oh wow... that's alota money.
Though I always found favors better than money, it does help with getting favors

[Trooper110]

I'm not sure the bail out needs to be that big, but from everything I've read and heard, if we don't have some kind of bailout, there's going to be a depression as bad or worse than the great depression. It sucks that we, the taxpayers, have to foot the bill, but with the current nitwit in office and all the policies of his administration, that's what it comes down to. If they play their cards right, wait for a turnaround, and sell off the bad loans, there could be a break even point, or some profit, which I don't believe will happen, but something needs to be done.

[{CLR}geneSW]

cost of a single F22 raptor is about 130mil or so... In order to spend 700 billion you would have to buy at least 5384 F22 raptors!

[{CLR} Naillik]

cost of a single F22 raptor is about 130mil or so... In order to spend 700 billion you would have to buy at least 5384 F22 raptors!

Well, at least we'd have a really big airforce..... though the fuel would suck

[BenKenobi]

Good thread !! !

[K PhaNTOM]

What exactly is $700 billion ??

I'm pretty sure that 700 is a number....

P.S. I still think F16's are cooler than F22's....

[Skud]

If we do the bailout the CEOs of these companies that swindled us will get a 12% increase on their severance packages...the stockholders will get pennies on their dollars...workers lose their jobs. Unfortunately, the deal will be between the connected in Washington and the connected on Wall Street...using fear tactics of "what would happen if we don't do it?". We foot the bill.

Well, let us not do it. The stock market has been running at exaggerated levels for a while now, with much of the "worth" being in day-trading, gambling...no real material worth. Well, the reckoning has come. We shouldn't bail out the super rich, the ones who can participate in this. Now is the time for sacrifice, and they can do it too. PS, 700 billion is about $2,600 per househould, before interest is added. 700 billion with no oversight? How many billion has been "lost" in Iraq?

Old article that predicts some of what's happening:

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/stor...9124B59D436%7D

[mapes]

Should the Treasury receive authority from Congress to borrow $700 billion, the national debt will rise by only about 7 percent. Right now, it's sitting at $9.6 trillion.

http://www.slate.com/id/2200718/

Let us not forget that the AIG buy out not only cost the the taxpayer those billions of dollars but, also made the taxpayer assume 5 trillion in AIG liabilities. In one fell swoop practically doubling the deficit.


Another thing I'd like to point out. I heard an awesome quote that to me rings true. Someone was likening the bailout to Socialism and some else said " No this is worse than Socialism, because we are socializing the debt and privatizing the profit". Which is true.

Personally I'd rather use that 700 billion to help people stay in they're houses and let the banks at the top rot in hell.

[Skud]

oversight on our money

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/0..._n_128294.html

Another frightening aspect: once again the Bush Administration asks for a blank check with no oversight, months before leaving office. How many of his cronies will reap the rewards? I was watching live video of the hearings, Chuck Schumer (spelling?) of New York was asking why, if the money will be spent in increments, couldn't it be borrowed in increments. Paulson said they needed it all now, to give the markets a sense of security.

He was then asked by Schumer what the difference is, since the markets would know that the money is coming? Also, why borrow 700 billion if the first installment of, say, $150 billion would suffice?

Paulson simply said that the $700 billion was the plan they came up with, and the plan that needs to be implemented. End of story.

YIKES

[Hammy]

What is 700B?

My answer:

1. There are about 300 Million people living within the United States. In knowing the illegal citizen problem is out of control, I would ask that yu allow me to add another 50 Million people.

2. With 1 being true, the number becomes a fiscal responsibility of $2000 per person. (700B / The population)

3. However, the fact that so many do not pay their taxes, and the 50 million illegals in the US from all corners of the globe, the actual burden is much higher.

Here is why:

The burden is not carried by the general public, it is only carried by the people who pay taxes.

One such study I found shared that only 138.4 million americans paid their taxes in the year 2007 for taxation owed on year 2006.

So essentially- the number is around 200 Million pay their taxes, the rest do not (some for legitimate reasons I will add- retired, no capital gain on investment, etc)

5. If we take the number 200Million, and readjust the values, this makes us responsible for $3500 per person in added responsibiliy.

6. It gets worse when you factor in the degredation of the value in a dollar, a.k.a inflation. I have seen feared values of nearly 3 to 1 where the value of a something like a loaf of bread would cost you three times as much thanks to the depreciated dollar.

If that were the case, your actualized value in debt for this bailout would be more like 7000 to 10,500 per tax paying american.

I may be wrong on some of these things, but that is the way I am looking at $700B.

Edit Let's not forget that corporate taxation applies to relief in this $700B proposal, but being that there are so many coporate loop holes being exploited based on my research, I chose to leave the burden on us.

~Hammy