This is not a particularly good deal for American taxpayers, but it is a marvelous deal for Citi. In return for all the cash and guarantees they are giving away, taxpayers will get only $27 billion of preferred shares paying an 8 percent dividend. No other strings are attached. The senior executives of Citi, including those who have served at the highest levels in the US government, have done their jobs exceedingly well. The American public, including the media, have not the slightest clue what just happened.
Meanwhile, more than a million workers in the automobile industry, along with six million homeowners in danger of losing their homes, and a millions of Americans who depend on small businesses and retailers for paychecks, are getting nothing at all.
He had previously posted an item about Citi versus the The Big Three Automakers (GM, Ford & Chrysler) and why Citi should not be favored over the The Big Three. Citi's failure effects the market; automakers' failure effect that proverbial "Main St", meaning working and middle class peoples.
If you're looking for an informed opinion on the economy, I highly recommend Reich. I barely think i need to mention this, but his ideas are considerably more leftist (I would requalify that as more "middle class focused" as opposed to focused on the rich) just so you know.
Meanwhile, Obama just finished a press conference introducing his new economic team. The members are a mix of experienced and new, centrist and center-left. I have no commentary to add to this, as the only thing I know abotu any of them is that Lawrence Summers, now head of the National Economic Council, ticked off a poopload of ladeez at Harvard when he said girls are genetically crappy at math. Or something like that.
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