CHESSNOID

So the plan so far has been bail out the insolvent companies, keep them afloat so they can pay  CEOs off with tax payer’s money, for one quarter cook the books so they reflect a profit, only to have them post even bigger losses next quarter (s), and then re-bail them out with some more tax money.  I know the stock markets have recently rallied, but that doesn’t mean the economy is better or will get better soon.

Most financial companies see a worsening economy based on increasing foreclosure, rising unemployment, and higher defaults on credit cards, loans, and commercial loans for the next 1 to 2 years.  On top of the governmental cheer-leading for the stimulus packages and bailouts that are not working, we have more proposed government spending with no real plan on how to pay for it.  Don’t believe for a second we are just reallocating savings to pay for new programs when social security and medicare are getting closer to jeopardy.

Back to the wasteful bailouts, how many times will we continue to bailout companies that have not changed any part of their plans to survive in the current economy.  We have AIG, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, many banks, auto makers,and other companies continuing to dip and re-dip their corrupt hands into the taxpayer jars while the American people struggle to literally survive.

Take American Express which received 3 billion dollars worth of tax payer money.  They said they were profitable, but are not putting up more reserves for even bigger losses in the following quarters.  Will and should the United States government continue to give a private for profit company tax payer dollars to keep it up and running while it shows itself to be insolvent on the books and continues to pay its CEOs and the top people million dollar bonuses!!!!

Money.CNN:

Nowhere has the recession been felt more acutely than among credit card issuers. With unemployment on the rise, consumers have failed to stay current on their bills or have cut down on spending altogether.

Both trends persisted in the latest quarter for AmEx, as total spending by AmEx customers declined by 15% to $2.7 billion from $3.2 billion a year ago. The company, however, attributed the drop in spending to it having canceled roughly 2.7 million cards which it considered inactive during the quarter.

Still, the percentage of loans considered uncollectable continued to rise, particularly in its domestic card business, climbing to 10% from 8.5% in the previous quarter.

AmEx posted particularly weak results in its domestic credit card business, which swung to a loss of $200 million during the quarter.

Still, management noted that there were some encouraging signs in the latest quarter, including a lower-than-expected number of consumer bankruptcies.

“Just as in prior recessions, our aim is to be in position to gain competitive advantage once the economy begins to improve,” Kenneth Chenault, AmEx’s chairman and chief officer, said in a statement.

Many have viewed AmEx, which both issues cards directly to consumers and making money from its retailer card network, as a proxy for the broader credit card industry.

But unlike several of its peers in the financial services industry, the company has managed to stay profitable despite the severe downturn in the nation’s economy.

No company is too big to fail and no government administration should bail out those FAILED companies. Let them go bankrupt and stop wasting money on these insolvent companies. Let’s quit while we are ahead. Stop the wasteful and corrupt bailouts. And Please, can our government work on the “Main Street not Wall Street” economy and start helping the American people who are struggling.