Bad News for Belgian Taxpayers

From the desk of The Brussels Journal on Sun, 2008-07-20 21:40

A quote from FreedomWorks, 11 July 2008

The top five foreign holders of [troubled mortgage lenders] Freddie [Mac] and Fannie [Mae] long-term debt are China, Japan, the Cayman Islands, Luxembourg, and Belgium. In total foreign investors hold over $1.3 trillion in these agency bonds, according to the U.S. Treasury's most recent "Report on Foreign Portfolio Holdings of U.S. Securities."

FreedomWorks President Matt Kibbe commented, "The prospectus for every GSE bond clearly states that it is not backed by the United States government. That's why investors holding agency bonds already receive a significant risk premium over Treasuries."

"A bailout at this stage would be the worst possible outcome for American taxpayers and mortgage holders, who have been paying a risk premium to these foreign investors. It would change the rules of the game retroactively and would directly subsidize the risks taken by sophisticated foreign investors."

"A bailout of GSE bondholders would be perhaps the greatest taxpayer rip-off in American history. It is bad economics and you can be sure it is terrible politics."

BAD NEWS FOR TAXPAYERS AND PRIVATE PENSIONS ALSO.

Submitted by Anthony Thomas Flynn on Wed, 2008-07-30 09:07.

In the UK. this government has run up debts of some £1600 Billion. That looks like, £1600,000,000,000,000. I have a copy of one of the PFI contracts. It is always stated that the time scale of the pay-back period is 30 years. That is only the first stage and ends in 2030. The second stage then goes on until 2061, and then it is open and can be extended from then. Also, the contract is re-financed every five years and a yearly "service charge", is paid. At the moment the service charge is £30 to £40 million a year. So my happy taxpayers, a piddling little Hospital, worth about £60 to £80 million, is going to cost you, and the next two or three generations of Taxpayers, Billions of£Pounds sterling, it could even be Hundreds of Billions of £Pounds.

There is another source of money. It has been raided by "Dear Gordon" already, but another raid will be in order. Remember the Private Pension Funds? There is still about £6/700 Billion on deposit there. That will come in handy. In addition these changes will also get British Airways out of trouble, if they join up with Iberia, the Spanish Airline. Bang goes BA's pensions. Then of course there is British Energy, and all the other companies with big Pension deficits. Looked at in this light, I'm bloody glad that I'm in my seventys.

I'll leave it like that for now, and you can cogitate on the future of the European Union Finances. Try guessing whether the European Central Bank is still open in 2009. Or has it all fallen apart by then???  Regards, ATFlynn "Norfolk's Mutineer" 

 

Freddie & Fanny

Submitted by kappert on Mon, 2008-07-21 14:24.

China, Japan, the Cayman Islands, Luxembourg, and Belgium - FreedomWorks. I think, I will start to weep ...

You gotta laugh.  European

Submitted by Amsterdamsky on Mon, 2008-07-21 09:05.

You gotta laugh.  European banks would never even consider giving an unsecured loan to a small growing european business but they are more than happy to throw billions at US junk securities.  Let them go under.  Europe will be better off without these parasites in the long run.