$7.7 Trillion ?!?

[atRax]

Seriously .. all that money invested in nothing new is so sad.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p...rhU&refer=home

Here's a graphic that compare half of the amount of the bailout


With the US Dollar likely to follow the way of Zimbabwe, firms heavily dependent on the dollar will have to hedge their risk. Even small to medium sized firms may be wise to consider holding retirement and other assets in foreign equities, currencies, bonds, and hard assets like gold. To do this, Americans will have to learn more about other countries rules. In many cases, people will find that places such as Singapore and Hong Kong have even more freedom than the so called “land of the free”. Americans may have more sensitivity to different ways of working and doing things, rather than a mindless, “US is Best” mantra of the past.

Welcome to the next

[silverx2]

Im so glad a canadian is trying to hype this up.

[TallGuyLittleCar]

With the US Dollar likely to follow the way of Zimbabwe, firms heavily dependent on the dollar will have to hedge their risk.

The dollars strength has been rising. Even though many will blame the U.S. for the global crises we are making out much better than many others. With Oil's falling prices and possibly deflation many folks feel we will return to a strong dollar.

The Canadian dollar is back to 80% of the american dollar. Not only that the fall of oil prices seriously puts a crimp in tar sands oil profit.

[gerbick]

It's sorta a huge oversight to leave out WWII. That alone would make some of those numbers look minor - $1.6 trillion, of which most was never recovered.

[FlashLackey]

It's always nice to hear that there are people speculating hard times for Americans, with glee.

Bunching together the amounts of potential government spending and insurance for various programs (some completely unrelated to each other) and calling it "the" cost of "the" bailout is a bit misleading.

Besides that, this administration may not be the one to do it, but, there is an incredible amount of potential growth and wealth to be tapped into if things get too rough. It's sitting there in the form of massively bloated, inefficient government programs. Privatize the education system, medicare, social security and adopt the Fair Tax Act and the US would see the greatest bull market swing in the history of the world.

[MagnusVS]

Interesting figures, but in financial terms, I don't think I would categorize it as a cost, but rather as an investment (I hope for the sake of all Americans here that it won't go in the pockets of the CEO's of Goldman and JP).

[FlashLackey]

Despite much public hysteria about CEO pay, the amount they make, while being comparatively more than a lot of people, is a tiny fraction of the amounts considered to be part of "the problem" or "the bailout."

The top Goldman CEO, made .0035 percent of the total amount Goldman paid all of it's employees in 2007. The amount of the bailout money is 35 times more than the amount Goldman paid to all of it's employees. There is zero risk that CEO pay is going to squander the bailout funds or make it ineffective. It just makes good head-lines and appeals to peoples envy to bring it up.

[gerbick]

It's always nice to hear that there are people speculating hard times for Americans, with glee.

I didn't see it like that at all. It's a huge problem... and we go down, so do a lot of other people. The concern should be valid.

[FlashLackey]

True. If we go down, most others go down much worse, actually.

Maybe I didn't read it correctly. But, I sensed a bit of cynicism in phrases like "so called “land of the free”", "more sensitivity to different ways of working and doing things" and "mindless, “US is Best” mantra."

[TallGuyLittleCar]

I didn't see it like that at all. It's a huge problem... and we go down, so do a lot of other people. The concern should be valid.

We are to big to fail!

[jAQUAN]

We are to big to fail!

You're kidding right?