Housing bailout did nothing. The market value of subprime/mortgage related assets is plunging

[stockholmer]

Everyone has their reasons bank stocks have been getting hammered lately: http://www.businessinsider.com/why-bank-stocks-are-falling-2011-6 Regulations are piling up, law enforcement http://www.businessinsider.com/new-york-attorney-general-investigating-bank-of-america-2011-6 won't quit dogging them over past activities, the economy is mediocre, etc.

But as David Goldman argues, http://blog.atimes.net/?p=1809 it really comes down to this: The market value of subprime/mortgage related assets is plunging.

These three charts deserve a lot of attention.

Here's AAA-rated subprime...



And securitized commercial mortgage backed securities



And the super-ugly AA-rated stuff.




Thus the plunge in bank stocks -- which remain highly exposed to all this stuff (although as Goldman points out, http://blog.atimes.net/?p=1809 less so, thanks to Treasury buying) have fallen accordingly).



Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/subprime-indices-falling-2011-6#ixzz1PCLjLyzj
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[rfranklin]

1. Trying to cover up the crimes of the banksters was the main problem...

If that hadn't take place, we would have gone through a horrific couple of years and been over it.

The problem was not letting them fail and putting many, many of them in jail.

[xchrom]

2. Don't forget taking their money. Nt

[madrchsod]

3. the savings and loan guys went to prison....

obama gives this generation of crooks jobs in his cabinet and gives them billions...how fucked up is that

[girl gone mad]

4. He rewarded the criminals..

transferred their bad debts onto the public balance sheet, allowed them to continue looting the treasury for bonuses and compensation, carried on with the charade that these are brilliant and respectable people, now pushes for austerity so the workers will get to pay yet again for this whole exercise in neoliberal insanity. Oh, but they'll toss a little change into his beggar's cup which seems to be all that matters to him.

[Riftaxe]

6. Bailing out the bankers and giving the Health insurance

companies the largest gift in history is the problem.

Add to that ignoring unemployment combined with promises it would never exceed 8% means that next year is going to be one of the hardest reelection campaigns we will have to wage in recent history (even Carter didn't have this much baggage in '80)

[JVS]

5. Without income, there is no demand.

Demand always is based on being willing and able to buy something.