U.S. Theatre of the Absurd
Sep. 25th, 2008 01:50 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
As if there weren't enough problems with the proposed bailout, there's this little gem that
cakmpls quoted this morning. As reported by Forbes.com:
In fact, some of the most basic details, including the $700 billion figure Treasury would use to buy up bad debt, are fuzzy.
"It's not based on any particular data point," a Treasury spokeswoman told Forbes.com Tuesday. "We just wanted to choose a really large number."
My head would go all 'splody if I didn't have Jon Stewart and Steven Colbert over at Comedy Central to turn to. Humor truly is the best medicine.
Banks aren't lending money to other banks, yet since this whole financial thing blew up a couple of weeks ago, I've personally received more and better offers for loans than I've received in months. And it's not just an anomaly of the mail cycle -- one of the offers turned up in a phone call. It was totally unexpected. I wasn't even thinking about the possibility of a lower rate on the transaction I was calling about; I only wanted to check on the mechanics of it to make sure it went through smoothly.
Yes, I know the experience of the one does not translate to the experience of the many. And getting 1.99% interest from me is better than they can get from banks that are refusing to move money at all this week. I'll gladly take the added savings in my interest costs, especially since there were no transaction fees and the rate it goes to at the end of the promotional period is the rate I expected to be paying from the get-go.
But it's unsettling when financial institutions rate me a better credit risk than their fellow financial institutions. Truly unsettling.
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In fact, some of the most basic details, including the $700 billion figure Treasury would use to buy up bad debt, are fuzzy.
"It's not based on any particular data point," a Treasury spokeswoman told Forbes.com Tuesday. "We just wanted to choose a really large number."
My head would go all 'splody if I didn't have Jon Stewart and Steven Colbert over at Comedy Central to turn to. Humor truly is the best medicine.
Banks aren't lending money to other banks, yet since this whole financial thing blew up a couple of weeks ago, I've personally received more and better offers for loans than I've received in months. And it's not just an anomaly of the mail cycle -- one of the offers turned up in a phone call. It was totally unexpected. I wasn't even thinking about the possibility of a lower rate on the transaction I was calling about; I only wanted to check on the mechanics of it to make sure it went through smoothly.
Yes, I know the experience of the one does not translate to the experience of the many. And getting 1.99% interest from me is better than they can get from banks that are refusing to move money at all this week. I'll gladly take the added savings in my interest costs, especially since there were no transaction fees and the rate it goes to at the end of the promotional period is the rate I expected to be paying from the get-go.
But it's unsettling when financial institutions rate me a better credit risk than their fellow financial institutions. Truly unsettling.
no subject
Date: 2008-09-26 01:53 am (UTC)One of the weird things is that I have a really great credit score, but I have no extra money. So I keep getting offers that I couldn't possibly consider.