NAIN STREET-WHERE IS THE MONEY?

can we make a RECESSION PAINLESS? PART 3
GET the FACTS behind the NEWS

The federal gov’t has agreed to spend $300 plus billion on bailouts of various companies plus $750 billion to ease banking liquidity. This does not include $160 billion economic stimulus payment with talk of another stimulus program probably as much or more. This is in addition to a $417 billion budget deficit.

However what is happening is that the large banks are sitting on the public money to protect against their own losses. If financially well of,with the approval of Treasury Secretry Paulson, they are looking to acquire banks or their assets at bargain prices. .

Now a new complication. On Nov. 3, 2008 the Federal Reserve reported its latest quarterly survey of bank lending practices. The Federal Reserve said that “a high number of bank reported they had made it tougher to borrow across a broad range of loan products”. 60% of the banks had tightened credit card debt, 80% had tightened business and commercial loans. 95% raised costs for lines of credit to large and medium size business. 50% of domestic banks said they ”were somewhat or much less willing” to make consumer installment loans This report was for Oct. 1-15th.

WASHINGTON Nov. 19 — The Treasury secretary, Henry M. Paulson Jr., on Tuesday rejected pleas to use money from the $700 billion bailout program to help homeowners avoid foreclosure or to stave off bankruptcy by Detroit’s Big Three automakers.

Mr. Paulson acknowledged that he had the authority to use bailout money for homeowners, but he insisted that the money should go toward “investment” in financial institutions rather than “spending” on rescue efforts.“We have seen that capital purchases are clearly powerful in terms of impact for dollar of investment,” he said in his prepared testimony.

FEDERAL FINANCIAL HELP IS NOT GETTING TO MAIN STREET.
Next, what are others doing to help.