Stuart Carlson for December 16, 2009

^You’ll get your wish next year. At least in Congress.

I’m hoping for more determination from the citizens to finally recognize that they are the human sacrifice to the gods of money, money, money.

Wall St. bankers and fat cats are like junkies; they’re addicted to risky behavior with over-leveraged odds just hoping for that REALLY big pay off. Time to take the crack pipe away for good. The bailout rehab didn’t take, they’re back at it. (the idea for this riff came from watching Robin Williams on some program)

GlUTtony.

Actually, how much of the bailout money has been paid back?

Kitty hunting season comes early sometimes.

The purpose of the bailout money was to stabilize the balance sheets of the banks. They are required to maintain about 8% equity - a ratio of $1 of capital for every $12 in assets.

IOUs, mortgages, derivatives from others count as assets. So as the value of all those assets plummeted, the bank’s ratio of assets to capital moved from solvent to insolvent.

First Congress changed the law so that the banks/financial institutions did not need to “mark-to-market” the assets. This meant that they could keep them on their books at inflated values on the pretext that the market was “frozen” and once it got moving again, their toxic assets would return to the value they attributed to them on their books.

That only worked partially, so the TARP funds were used to ‘buy’ some of the toxic assets, and replace them with hard cash or US Treasury IOUs…

It took a lot of money, just to keep the banks solvent. It will take a whole lot more to increase their assets to the point that they can begin making loans at the previous level (which was clearly unsustainable)…and is that what we really want to do?

I totally agree with the toon, totally shows American for the corpratocracy that it is. And I love the drawing of the toon, very well done!

United Corporate States of America

^Oligarchy