In a segment called “Seriously?!” (see the segment below) Erin Burnett goes down to Wall Street and talks to a protester about the purpose of the protests. Burnett asks if he knows that the U.S. government and Americans made money on the bailouts, to which the protestor says he was not aware. The CNN reporter then claims victory by stating the U.S. government made $10 billion on the bailouts and patronizingly asks the viewers, "Seriously?!?".
FACTS: Link here to view the breakdown of how much the government has spent through April 30, 2011 to support the bailout of the financial system - the government has spent about $2.5 Trillion with commitments of $12.2 Trillion & yes the government has made $10 Billion in dividends & fees.
WHAT THE PROTESTER SHOULD HAVE SAID1: "You should read www.financialsense.com & www.cliffkule.com to understand how our financial system works. You conveniently forget to include the additional trillions printed out of thin air by the Federal Reserve, a permanent subcontractor to the U.S. government, all the while destroying the purchasing power and savings of hard-working Americans across the country. Instead of taking an Austrian School of Economics approach to solving the financial crisis (as the Constitution would require), we will all suffer from the far greater indirect costs on bailing out a banking system with inflated dollars and ultra-low interest rates. You see, Erin, not one American will see that $10 billion in supposed profits but we will all have to live with continually higher commodity prices and next-to-nothing interest on our savings while our wealth slowly erodes away due to inflation. You want to throw out figures, but let's talk about hard reality. This is why I'm here and this is why we're protesting...seriously!"
Cliff Note: Cliff does not take sides and recommends both Burnett & the protester read www.cliffkule.com for insight & perspectives into the world & its MONEY
References:
1Credit and courtesy to Cullen Roche of Pragmatic Capitalism for the style and approach of this suggested response by the protester, https://pragcap.com/seriously-erin-burnett
