Bailout Money - Instead of Being Used to Stabilize the Economy or Even the Bailed-Out Companies - is Just Going to Line the Pockets of the Wealthy → Washingtons Blog

Thursday, March 5, 2009



And as the New York Times notes, "Tens of billions of [bailout] dollars have merely passed through A.I.G. to its derivatives trading partners". Josh Mashall provides some of the details:

By law, the Fed isn't allowed to buy assets -- it can only lend, as lender of last resort. That was a problem for the Bear Stearns bailout, because JP Morgan said it would only buy Bear if someone else assumed responsibility for the crap. [The] Fed came up with this idea to start a shadow company, called a special purpose vehicle (SPVs were how Enron operated, creating "Chewco" and the like named after Chewbacca - the New York Fed called their SPV "Maiden Lane LLC" for name of the street the NY Fed is located on in southern Manhattan). The deal then was JP Morgan put $1 billion into Maiden Lane, the Fed put $29 billion in cash into it. Maiden Lane paid Bear Stearns $30 billion, which went straight back to JP Morgan as this deal happened simultaneously to JP's purchase of Bear. So Morgan got $30 billion in cash ($29 billion net) and the Fed got stuck owning the crap, but was legally only making a loan to Maiden Lane, who was the legal owner (Maiden Lane was incorporated not in NYC, but in Delaware to avoid paying taxes). By the Fed's own accounting - which is very different from a real company's accounting - Maiden Lane has lost $5 billion between its creation and today....

Using the loophole it had learned during Bear Stearns, the Fed set up two new companies: Maiden Lane II and Maiden Lane III [to help bail out AIG's investors]. Two dealt with the secured lending and Three the shitty credit default swaps. The Fed lent each Maiden Lane $20 billion and $25 billion and then Maiden Lane paid off the investors that had either lent AIG the money to buy the shitty mortgage backed securities (ML II) and those who had the shitty mortgages and the corresponding insurance (ML III). To avoid booking a loss on the Fed's balance sheet, because the Fed had some legal problems if either of these Maiden Lanes lost money, and because of a reporting requirement that Dodd had put into TARP which actually required the Fed to report to the Congress and the public about the cost to taxpayers from ML I, the Fed did some creative accounting. They still paid all of the investors off at full value (par), so that they didn't lose anything. But they booked the loss on AIG's balance sheet and kept Maiden Lane clean. This is the hidden story behind how AIG went from losing $38 billion during the first 9 months of 2008 to losing $61 billion in the 4th quarter.

This was all exposed at today's hearing. And despite repeated requests from Senators on both sides - Dodd, Shelby, Corker, Warner - the Fed is still refusing to say who it bailed out through Maiden Lane II and III.



  1. the bail amount is discussed and decided during the arraignment, which is also known as bond hearing. If you think that there are some errors in your rap sheet or anything that might affect the decision of the judge regarding bail issues, it is important that you get a good lawyer that can help clarify such issues with the judge. Being prepared with important documents and information is required not only to ensure your eligibility for bail, but also to make sure that the bail amount is not that high.

  2. The Bailout today is over 5 trillion dollars that could have been better spent giving every American $ 16,000.00 THOUSAND DOLLARS yes thats exactly correct and no American would have complained about being laidoff it would have created so much work and jobs for every one . Just think of all the people that would have used that money for a down paiement on a house which would have boosted the economy better than any stimulous package in the history of the UNITED STATES . Other benefitors would have purchased small cars which would have brought the 3 AUTO Makers out of debt without bailing them out . No one would have got a pink slip either , I am amazed that out of all the articles i have read no one cares about THE PEOPLE just the bureaucrats and their rich friends . I feel we are living in a get rich quick system for the rich to get even richer . The wealthy are too wealthy as it is , give the money to the PEOPLE that work hard and need the money that will appreciate it .






-- Comments that explicitly call for violence
