> Buffet in the article: "I felt that this is something like I've never seen before, and the American public and Congress don't fully understand the gravity of the problem"
Do you really think that Buffet has a "sense of the people"?
> General Motors needed to be rescued
No. General Motors needed to go into bankruptcy and have all of its contracts broken.
> and there are millions out of work, yet these items have little association with Bear Sterns, AIG, Wall St. etc., the financial institutions where the damage shook the pillars of our economy which rests upon the financial system and the dollar.
You're babbling.
> The point being things are connected
Yes, but that doesn't tell us that TARP was a good idea.
> The dollar is no longer backed by anything but promises
That's nothing new and TARP did nothing to change it.
> It's true the dollar has been fairly consistent for about a decade, and that's because our standing in the world has remained so - people still die to get in. However, a truer measure of faith in the dollar is the price of gold 10 years ago vs. today - $280 vs. $1080 respectively.
The price of the dollar relative to other currencies tells us the relationship between the US and other countries. The price of gold is a combination of absolute value and general skepticism.
Note that TARP didn't address any of that.
You do remember TARP. You're trying to argue that it was necessary. Yet, you've only mentioned generalities that are independent of TARP.
Do you really think that Buffet has a "sense of the people"?
> General Motors needed to be rescued
No. General Motors needed to go into bankruptcy and have all of its contracts broken.
> and there are millions out of work, yet these items have little association with Bear Sterns, AIG, Wall St. etc., the financial institutions where the damage shook the pillars of our economy which rests upon the financial system and the dollar.
You're babbling.
> The point being things are connected
Yes, but that doesn't tell us that TARP was a good idea.
> The dollar is no longer backed by anything but promises
That's nothing new and TARP did nothing to change it.
> It's true the dollar has been fairly consistent for about a decade, and that's because our standing in the world has remained so - people still die to get in. However, a truer measure of faith in the dollar is the price of gold 10 years ago vs. today - $280 vs. $1080 respectively.
The price of the dollar relative to other currencies tells us the relationship between the US and other countries. The price of gold is a combination of absolute value and general skepticism.
Note that TARP didn't address any of that.
You do remember TARP. You're trying to argue that it was necessary. Yet, you've only mentioned generalities that are independent of TARP.