Its my Right to be Left of the Center

They want more. Well, too damn bad I say, let the damn bank collapse then. Gawd this crap is jacking my jaw, would they rather get nothing? From the NYT:

The sweetened offer is intended to win over stockholders who vowed to fight the original fire-sale deal, struck only a week ago at the behest of the Federal Reserve and Treasury Department.

Under the terms being discussed, JPMorgan would pay $10 a share in stock for Bear, up from its initial offer of $2 a share — a figure that represented a mere one-fifteenth of Bear's going market price.

Greed..its such a nasty thing. It will blind people to the truth. And the truth of the matter is that Bear Stearns shareholders are going to get the sharp end of the stick..one way or another.

I would be happy if our tax dollars stayed out of JPMorgan's hands. To hell with Bear Stearns shareholders, it sucks to be them but its really not our problem. Corporate Bailouts are not the job of the federal government for Christs sake!

Bear Stearns has gone from $159 a share down to $2 in a years time. It puts into perspective why their shareholders are highly peeved..but still..why should our country's tax dollars save them? We have to put food on our tables, buy medications and put gas in our cars. WaPo has some interesting numbers for the average Joe and Jill American:

By the end of 2007, 36 percent of consumers' disposable income went to food, energy and medical care, a bigger chunk of income than at any time since records were first kept in 1960, according to Merrill Lynch.

Less trash is being set on the curbs of Mesa, Ariz., where surging home foreclosures are leaving more houses empty. That means fewer homeowners paying the city $22.60 a month for pickup. And William Brown, the city's solid-waste management director, says people aren't throwing out as many appliances and bulk items, like furniture. They're sticking with what they have.

Nearly 9 million households now have upside-down mortgages, and for the first time ever, aggregate mortgage debt is bigger than the total value of homeowner equity--bigger by $836 billion, according to research by Merrill Lynch.

Simply put..we, as a nation, can't afford to bail out Bear Stearns..or any other Corporation. They should be left to twist in the wind, and sink or swim on their own merits...just like the American taxpayers who are struggling make ends meet right here and now.

UPDATE: It's a go..the new offer is for $10 bucks a share. Of course that news sent Bear Stearns stock upwards..even though it has billions in debt at this point, of which the federal government will be responsible for $29 Billion of it..with OUR tax dollars. Fucking outrageous!

Tags: Bear Stearns, Corporate Bailout, JPMorgan