Thom's blog - Thursday December 2nd, 2010
By shawnt56
You need to know this. Forget about the $700 billion dollars in federal aid known as TARP that went to the banksters back in 2008. That was just the tip of the iceberg. According to new secret documents released yesterday by the Federal Reserve – between 2007 and this year – the Fed pumped more than 3 trillion dollars into the hands of banks and businesses to stave off financial collapse. 3 trillion dollars! Most of that money came in the form of short term lending – banks were given billions of dollars at interest rates of a half percent or even sometimes as low as .0077%. That’s essentially free money. So exactly who benefited from this secret low-interest lending program by the Fed? The usual suspects – Citigroup – Lehman Brother – and Merril Lynch. Foreign banks took advantage too – like UBS of Switzerland and BNP Paribas of France. Also – Americans businesses like McDonalds – Verizon – and Caterpillar received some of the cake as well. Suntrust Bank received about $7.5 billion – directly from their own CEO who happened to also be serving on the Board of Directors at the Atlanta Federal Reserve at the time. At the height of this program – in 2008 – the Fed had over $1.5 trillion in outstanding loans. The release of these documents - showing more than 21,000 transactions unknown until now – highlights the need for a more transparent Federal Reserve. An issue that’s been advanced by Members of Congress like Ron Paul in the House and Bernie Sanders in the Senate. It also shows just how strong Wall Street’s grip on our government is. Banksters profited off this program and now sit on mountains of cash – while small businesses suffer around the country and can't get their own loans. The very same financial institutions that received loans at an interest rate of less than a half percent – now are charging their credit card users a 30% interest rate. Sound fair to you?? On top of that – these institutions spent millions of dollars lobbying Congress during the financial reform debate – while at the same time they were borrowing free money from the government. This is insanity. It’s time to change our priorities in our country.
Thom's Blog Is On the Move
By webmaster
Hello All
Thom's blog in this space and moving to a new home.
Please follow us across to hartmannreport.com - this will be the only place going forward to read Thom's blog posts and articles.
Images of Thom
At Mondragon - both the mountain and the cooperative city - in Spain (written about in "Threshold" book)
From The Thom Hartmann Reader:
"In an age rife with media-inspired confusion and political cowardice, we yearn for a decent, caring, deeply human soul whose grasp of the problems confronting us provides a light by which we can make our way through the quagmire of lies, distortions, pandering, and hollow self-puffery that strips the American Dream of its promise. How lucky we are, then, to have access to the wit, wisdom, and willingness of Thom Hartmann, who shares with us here that very light, grown out of his own life experience."
From Cracking the Code:
"In Cracking the Code, Thom Hartmann, America’s most popular, informed, and articulate progressive talk show host and political analyst, tells us what makes humans vulnerable to unscrupulous propagandists and what we can do about it. It is essential reading for all Americans who are fed up with right-wing extremists manipulating our minds and politics to promote agendas contrary to our core values and interests."
From Cracking the Code:
"No one communicates more thoughtfully or effectively on the radio airwaves than Thom Hartmann. He gets inside the arguments and helps people to think them through—to understand how to respond when they’re talking about public issues with coworkers, neighbors, and friends. This book explores some of the key perspectives behind his approach, teaching us not just how to find the facts, but to talk about what they mean in a way that people will hear."
