I was wrong. We came alot closer to financial collapse than I thought

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JerichoHill

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Of course, I didn't have this information, no one did, except those on the inside, and I suppose that's why it didn't leak until now, because then collapse really would have happened. But wow, I'm shocked.

But here's this, today: (politico)

Rep. Paul Kanjorski's description, late last month, of how close to the brink the global economy came on September 18. That was the day, recall, when Congressional leaders emerged stunned from a meeting with Henry Paulson, and gave him broad authority to spend $700 billion.

Part of what he said:

On Thursday at 11:00 a.m. the Federal Reserve noticed a tremendous draw-down of money market accounts in the U.S., to the tune of $550 billion was being drawn out in the matter of an hour or two. The Treasury opened up its window to help and pumped a $105 billion in the system and quickly realized that they could not stem the tide. We were having an electronic run on the banks. They decided to close the operation, close down the money accounts and announce a guarantee of $250,000 per account so there wouldn't be further panic out there.

If they had not done that, their estimation is that by 2:00 p.m. that afternoon, $5.5 trillion would have been drawn out of the money market system of the U.S., would have collapsed the entire economy of the U.S., and within 24 hours the world economy would have collapsed. It would have been the end of our economic system and our political system as we know it.
 
Just out of curiosity, but why the end of our political system? The Constitution would have still been in force. Congress would still have members as would there still be a President in the White House and a Judiciary in the Supreme Court.
 
I imagine that if our financial system collapsed, things would have changed after stuff settled down again, so probably something would have changed politically.

Just my guess.
 
Just out of curiosity, but why the end of our political system? The Constitution would have still been in force. Congress would still have members as would there still be a President in the White House and a Judiciary in the Supreme Court.

I think the trick is enforcement.
 
Shame it didn't happen if you ask me.

Earth needs Resetting.
 
@JH: Eh, possibly. In any case it is interesting. I guess I should be getting off my screaming box about stupid stimulant packages though. Didn't realize we were that close to oblivion.
 
So has the house of cards been reinforced with some cardboard, some string, and some Elmer's? Where do you think we stand now, JHill?
 
Yes, but i value the world over my own "way of life"

So if a majority of the world population’s way of life is negatively impacted by a global economic collapse – how is that good for the world?
 
Economic growth = environmental destruction
 
Economic growth = environmental destruction

Some of the most degraded places are also the poorest. I think that people need a certain level of wealth before they can be convinced to set aside property for ecological consideration and take the long view towards the environment.
 
Economic growth = environmental destruction

Oh yeah, we totally didnt kill off the MEgafauna in 10000 BC times.

Oh, yeah, we did.

You're flat wrong here.
Oh and to tother dude, Elmer's and duct tape
 
Seems to me that when times are tough, people prefer to take the quick and dirty routes that are worse for the environment. Coal is "cheap," no?

This crisis is a good example, where we're worried about a failing economy and so we escalate all the things that we knew were going to hurt the environment, in order to save the economy.
 
So JH, with what's now known, did Congress act as it had to?
 
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