The 2008 Bush Bailouts — Republican Socialism!

No, not that stimulus. I’m talking about the Bush 1.632 trillion dollars in bailouts that occurred between March 2008 and October 2008.

March 2008
New York Fed took control of a $30 billion portfolio of assets through a limited liability company formed to manage the assets. J.P. Morgan Chase will bear the first $1 billion of any losses associated with the portfolio, and any gains will accrue to the New York Fed. Source

OMG! That’s socialism!!!

May 2008: Stimulus checks and tax cuts
$178 Billion Stimulus Package
The U.S. Treasury provided an economic stimulus package to American taxpayers in the form of $600 economic stimulus checks for individuals and $1,200 economic stimulus payments for couples. That cost the government $100 billion, and they threw in another $68 billion in tax breaks for businesses, $8 billion to increase unemployment benefits from 26 weeks to 39 weeks, and a $4 billion economic stimulus package to be doled out to states and local municipalities to buy and rehab foreclosed properties.

July 2008: Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008
It authorizes the Federal Housing Administration to guarantee up to $300 billion in new 30-year fixed rate mortgages for sub-prime borrowers if lenders write-down principal loan balances to 90 percent of current appraisal value. It also provided tax credits for first-time home buyers, who could be eligible to receive up to a $7,500 tax credit.

OMG! They’re helping people buy homes they can’t afford!!!

September 2008
$200 Billion Stimulus Package – Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Bailout
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (privately owned mortgage companies that are backed by the federal government) were about to fail, due to declining house prices and rising foreclosures. The Bush Administration stepped in with a $200 billion economic stimulus package and placed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and their $5 trillion in home loans in “temporary conservatorship,” to be supervised by the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

September 2008
$50 Billion Stimulus Package To Guarantee Money Market Funds
When the economic crisis reached a crescendo, Americans began to pull their money out of money market funds – historically considered to be the safest investment. To stop the bloodshed, the U.S. Treasury agreed to guarantee up to $50 billion, for up to a year.

September 2008
$25 Billion Stimulus Package – Automakers Bailout
In an attempt to stave off bankruptcies for the “Big 3 automakers,” the Bush Administration gave General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler $25 billion in low-interest loans.

September – November 2008
$150 Billion Stimulus Package – AIG Bailout
With the world’s largest insurance company in dire straits and 74 million clients at risk, the American government chipped in and gave AIG (American Insurance Group) $150 billion in a stimulus package that included: loans, purchase of toxic assets, and purchase of preferred shares.

October 2008
$700 Billion Stimulus Package – Banks Bailout
The Bush Administration, under the umbrella of the U.S. Treasury, committed $700 billion in economic stimulus money under TARP (Troubled Asset Relief Program). By many accounts, if this economic stimulus money hadn’t been injected, credit between banks would have frozen overnight, and not only the American economy, but also the global economy, would have seized up.

Source

At least the Obama stimulus helped our economy and improved our infrastructure. With the exception of the stimulus check gimmick and the bailout of Fannie and Freddie, the Bush bailouts pretty much just helped corporations.