Presenting The $303 Trillion In Derivatives That US Taxpayers Are Now On The Hook For

[Lucille]

Save the banks....SAVE THE BANKS!!!!! /CONgress

How many more ways can the craven criminals on Capitol Hill bail out their banksta partners in crime on the backs of US taxpayers? Bail-ins, bail-outs, ZIRP, NIRP...DERP.

The economy will never improve until this cancerous debt is liquidated.

All of the bad mortgage debt must be liquidated, whether via foreclosure or bankruptcy. Banks holding substantial mortgages or mortgage backed assets must face the music and adjust their balance sheets to reflect today’s reality. Undoubtedly this will force many banks into immediate insolvency, but such banks must be allowed to fail without receiving another nickel of taxpayer money. Banks took the risks and made money during the bubble years; those who exercised bad judgment must now accept the consequences of their actions.

The Banks must be restrained, and the financial system reformed, with balance restored to the economy, before there can be any sustainable recovery.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-...rillion-derivatives-us-taxpayers-are-now-hook

Courtesy of the Cronybus(sic) last minute passage, government was provided a quid-pro-quo $1.1 trillion spending allowance with Wall Street's blessing in exchange for assuring banks that taxpayers would be on the hook for yet another bailout, as a result of the swaps push-out provision, after incorporating explicit Citigroup language that allows financial institutions to trade certain financial derivatives from subsidiaries that are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp, explicitly putting taxpayers on the hook for losses caused by these contracts. Recall:

We say explicitly, of course, because taxpayers have always been on the hook implicitly for the next Wall Street meltdown.

Why?

Exhibit A: US banks are the proud owners of $303 trillion in derivatives (and spare us the whole "but.. but... net exposure" cluelessness - read here why that is absolutely irrelevant when even one counterparty fails):

Exhibit B: Here are the four banks that are in complete control of the US "republic."

At least we now know with certainty that to a clear majority in Congress - one consisting of republicans and democrats - the future viability of Wall Street is far more important than the well-being of their constituents. Which also, implicitly, was made clear when Hank Paulson was waving a three-page "blank check" term sheet, and when Congress voted through the biggest bailout of banks in US history back in 2008.

The only question is when the next multi-trillion (or perhaps quadrillion now that all global central banks are all in?) bailout takes place.

 

[jllundqu]

Sigh.... hope it crashes soon. Living in my bunker is draining my provisions!

 

[Ronin Truth]

Hey things are getting much better and really looking up now. It used to be a quadrillion $ in derivatives.

 

[Brian4Liberty]

TARP and CRomnibus. Both shoved down America's throat.

 

[Ronin Truth]

TARP and CRomnibus. Both shoved down America's throat.

"Government, when it is examined, turns out to be nothing more nor less than a group of fallible men with the political force to act as though they were infallible." -- Bob LeFevre

"If voting made any difference they wouldn't let us do it." -- Mark Twain

 

[HOLLYWOOD]

Do you really think you have a choice with these bought, bribed, racketeering politicians? They even admit it, but who cares, because moron America keeps reelecting these criminals back into office. See below

MAY 2009: Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) On Monday night in an interview with a radio host back home, on WJJG 1530 AM's "Mornings with Ray Hanania.

"And the banks -- hard to believe in a time when we're facing a banking crisis that many of the banks created -- are still the most powerful lobby on Capitol Hill. And they frankly own the place," he said "

Progress Illinois picked up the quote.

 

[Lucille]

http://www.theburningplatform.com/2014/12/13/its-a-wonderful-life-wall-street-edition/

 

[Lucille]

Democrats Who Voted For The Cromnibus Received Double The Money From Wall Street Than "No" Voters
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-...s-received-double-money-wall-street-no-voters

While the government may have voted itself some $1.1 trillion to spend until the end of fiscal 2015, the biggest contention in the Cromnibus, or as it is also known, the Cronybus, vote which passed the House with the narrowest of margins on Thursday night, was the swaps push-out provision - drafted by Citigroup - and which, as we detailed yesterday, could put American taxpayers on the hook for up to $303 trillion in gross notional derivatives as a result of "siloing" swaps, and their associated risks, in FDIC-insured operating companies.

We stated that "we now know with certainty that to a clear majority in Congress - one consisting of republicans and democrats - the future viability of Wall Street is far more important than the well-being of their constituents."

The only question is what was the (s)quid for this particular quo. Now thanks to an analysis by the WaPo, we have the answer.

First, it should come as no surprise that Republicans would be willing to vote for a bill that seeks to indemnify Wall Street from future failure. After all, Wall Street's proximity to the GOP, and vice versa, is hardly a contentious issue. And yet, it was "only" 162 republicans who voted for the Cromnibus - some 67 voted against. Which means that whipping the 57 democrats who also voted for the Bill to get the crucial 218 passing votes was far more critical to assure passage of the swaps push out provision.

The map below shows the final geographic breakdown of the vote by party:

What exactly motivated those 57 Democrats to break ranks with the rest of their party - the 139 democrats voted against the spending bill - and to be not only on the receiving end of Elizabeth Warren's ire, but also accountable for dumping a few hundred trillions of derivatives into the laps of US taxpayers.

The answer, what else: money. The WaPo reports:

"We cross-referenced the vote with data from the Center for Responsive Politics on how much each member had received in campaign contributions from the finance/insurance/real estate industries. This isn't only from PACs affiliated with those industries, we'll note; it also includes employees of firms in those industries. On average, members of Congress who voted yes received $322,000 from those industries. Those who voted no? $162,000. Here's the split by party.

[...]
WaPo tries to hedge what is clearly influence peddling by Wall Street: "It's important to remember that there isn't as clear a line from campaign contributions to congressional votes as people often assume. That's a tough argument to make in this context, of course, but it's worth remembering that it's not clear in which direction the influence flows. Did the financial, et al., industries give to these members of Congress because they are more likely to be sympathetic on issues such as bank deregulation? Did Congress vote for deregulation because of the contributions? The answer is a third option: Influence is complex and often impossible to trace."

Actually, no. The answer is indeed as simple as it appears after a cursory glance: the criminal syndicate that is Wall Street, a syndicate that has seen zero incarcerations over the Great Financial Crisis, and instead has paid of regulators and any cops on the beat from throwing bankers in jail thanks to some $178 billion (and counting) in kickbacks to the government...

... traffics in money: money spent to purchase the goodwill, influence and votes, of "for sale" puppets in Washington.

Most importantly, none of the above is to insinuate that Democrats or Republicans are more "pro-Wall Street":

The No. 1 recipient of contributions from those industries is that dark red box in the middle of the Republican "yes" votes: Speaker John Boehner.

The reality is that both parties are equally guilty of aiding and abbetting the robbery of the middle class by Wall Street and its "privately-owned" Federal Reserve.

What is most insulting is how cheaply Wall Street's Congressional marionettes will betray their constituents.

Finally, as long as Wall Street is allowed to purchase votes and peddle influence for what amounts to pennies on any given bank's quarterly EPS number, nothing will ever change, until what little is left of America's middle class realizes just how corrupt the American system of government has become, and changes it. Violently.

Unfortunately, with $303 trillion derivatives it has just been saddled with, it is now far too late.

 

[HOLLYWOOD]

Democrats Who Voted For The Cromnibus Received Double The Money From Wall Street Than "No" Voters
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-...s-received-double-money-wall-street-no-voters

Aaaaaaaaaaaaah, that explains it! So, when the press questioned Speaker of the House, John Boehner, about the Banksters' Bailout Provisions, Boehner replies,

"This Cromnibus Bill was worked-out in a Bi-Partisan 'Fuck the American Taxpayers' bi-cabinet fashion."

Link: http://www.theblaze.com/blog/2014/1...ing-bill-as-bipartisan-as-gop-dems-attack-it/

 

[Lucille]

"That's big time stuff. They know what's going on, they know it's very fragile, and the big banks weren't going to get stuck with this, so the five big banks got their protection--it's all going to be dumped on the taxpayer just as the last collapse was."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bz62mrExdEU

 

[presence]

Sigh.... hope it crashes soon. Living in my bunker is draining my provisions!