2007-present Financial Crisis CheatSheet

We've written quite extensively on the financial crisis over the last two years since we started; a financial crisis that is Not in recovery or anywhere close unless the sole barometer of success is how the Dow looks now vs then..

So much has gone on in 5 years, its nearly impossible to remember it all, even for those who spent their energies tracking the day to day minutia.

So we compiled a 'cheat sheet' summary which highlights everything the government and Fed have done to try to potpourri over the stench of a rotten, floundering US economy since 2007 that is nowhere close to getting better for the bottom 99%


Here’s a recap of some of the larger moves made during the Crisis:

    * Fed cutting interest rates from 5.25-0.25% (Sept ’07-today).

~ If you had 10k in a 1yr CD at 5.25%, your interest using simple math would have been $525;  Based on 0.25%, your annual interest now would be $25.

    * The Bear Stearns deal- taking on $30 billion in junk mortgages (Mar ’08).

    * Opening various lending windows to investment banks (Mar ’08).

    * Hank Paulson nationalizes/spends $400 billion on Fannie/ Freddie (Sept ’08).

    * The Fed takes over insurance company AIG for $85 billion (Sept ’08).

    * The Fed doles out $25 billion for the automakers (Sept ’08)

~  In the case of GM, they took that money, then eliminated three car brands, raised their prices by 5-10%  and in 2009, opened a car manufacturing plant in China

    * The Feds kick off the $700 billion TARP program (Oct ’08)

~ In addition, credit card companies like AMEX and Discover are allowed to be called "banks" for purposes of receiving bailout funds

    * The Fed buys commercial paper from non-financial firms (Oct ’08)

    * The Fed offers $540 billion to backstop money market funds (Oct ’08)

    * The Fed agrees to back up to $280 billion of Citigroup’s liabilities (Oct ’08).
 
    * $40 billion more to AIG (Nov ’08)
 
    * The Fed backstops $140 billion of Bank of America’s liabilities (Jan ’09)
 
    * Obama’s $787 Billion Stimulus (Jan ’09)
 
    *  QE 1 buys $1.25 trillion in Treasuries and mortgage debt (March ’09)
 
    * QE lite buys $200-300 billion of Treasuries and mortgage debt (Aug ’10)
 
    * QE 2 buys $600 billion in Treasuries (Nov ’10)
 
    * Operation Twist 2 -$45 bil/month until end of 2012 (Nov ’11)

  * QE 3 buys additional $40 billion in Mortgage Backed Securities every month from now on (Sept. ’12)

If you add everything up, the powerful elite system has spent $5.9 Trillion to prop up the banks, stock market, hedge funds,etc while completely ignoring the needs of the bottom 99% which statistically represents close to 279 million people out of a population of 310million.

  Here's where things stand for us:

  *  Median income today is lower than it was during at the end of 2009 (when the recession supposedly ended)

  

  * The percentage of Americans on food stamps has increased from 11% to nearly 15%

  

  * The average unemployment duration has increased from 30 weeks to nearly 40 weeks

  

  * The civilian employment to population ratio hasn’t budged

  * Oil’s gone from $70 per barrel in 2007 to nearly $100 today. 

  

  * Agricultural commodities have risen more than 20%.

The Fed balance sheet is already at $2.8 trillion.  This makes it larger than the GDP of France, the UK, or Brazil. Indeed, if the Fed’s balance sheet were a country, it’d be the FIFTH Largest country in the world!   

So much time, energy and financial resources to Elmer's glue & duct-tape over a decrepit financial system that does little to no benefit for anyone outside the elite..  its truly amazing how much We the People take while collectively holding our ankles for our tormentors.