Over Here, Me Too!

I've been thinking of trying to quantify the breadth of recent government bailout for a couple of weeks, and today I finally found a little time for it. In just a few minutes I was able to find information on most every bailout that has been issued in the last year. The following is a running total of what I found (see: sub-prime mortgage, greed, irresponsibility):

1. In the late summer of 2007, Countrywide Financial is bailed out for $23B.
2. In March 2008, Bear Stearns is bailed out for $29B.
3. In July 2008, IndyMac is bailed out for $32B.
4. In September 2008, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are nationalized and their debts guaranteed by the FHFA. The government has promised up to $200B through 2009 to keep things afloat and now either owns or guarantees ~$5T (as in trillion) in real estate mortgages, etc.
5. In September 2008, AIG is given $85B to keep its doors open. Also note that another bank, Lehman Bros., is not bailed out and subsequently declares bankruptcy. They had ~$600B in assets.
6. ~$700B is set aside for the Troubled Assets Relief Program, which is intended to guarantee mortgages so people don't have to move out of their homes.

This is just what I could find. Wikipedia says that as of mid-November, the total government price tag is over $5T: $1T in loans to broker-dealers, $1.8T in loans by the Fed through the Term Auction Facility, $700 billion for TARP, $200 billion insurance for Fannie and Freddie, and $1.5 trillion insurance for unsecured bank debt by FDIC. This website has an even larger number of $8.5T, and is pretty well documented.

As of 2 December 2008 no money has been given to the auto industry, but I expect that to change by Christmas. They are seeking at least $25B. It is also noteworthy to mention that in 2009 President Obama plans on introducing a stimulus plan like the one President Bush did, but the 2009 version will cost $500B to $700B while the 2008 version was $168B. It is expected to try to bolster state budgets in addition to individuals and families.

My opinion doesn't mean anything when it comes to something like this, so I'll just offer a realization. The federal defecit has doubled in a year, and nobody seems to care enough to bite the bullet. This debt is going to be passed from the Boomers to GenX to my GenY, and it's probably not going to be reconciled even by my children's generation. I can only soberly say that I do not expect any money from the U.S. government upon my retirement.