Goldman Buys Their Own Stock at $220 and Sells It Seven Months Later at $120. Great Idea -- Let's Put Them In Charge of the Treasury!

Great article. It'd be funny if it wasn't so sad. Hold on tight. It's going to be quite a ride. People everywhere are afraid about a number of different things, seemingly with good reason. Consider alternatives and the possibility that your life truly can be in your own hands . www.LikeSoup.com

How do you trust and reward the same people over and over again with more money. A bail out? If The price of gas goes up people cut back, If the cost of housing is too high then people cannot buy. You cannot prop up financial instutions it just rewards the foolish and guilty. Let the free market decide get government out! No Bail outs period! John

Isabel G, The Gov't created this mess in the first place. The problem is, the gov't doesn't produce anything. No cars, food, clothes, homes, bikes, tires, oil, electricity, medicines, computers, appliances, etc., are produced by the gov't. So when the gov't "helps" it has to take it from someone else first. And when it is taken from someone else first, then it can't be used to produce even more homes, cars, food, etc. I can't share anything I don't have. Now if I produce more than I need and share it, that is noble. But if I steal from someone else who produced it, that is evil. I encourage you to read Milton Friedman about how centralized power (in the Fed Reserve Bank) actually contributed/caused the Great Depression. Whereas banking crises occurred previous to the one in 1929, however, in each previous occurance it was handled by a free market without deep recession/depression. There were other subsequent missteps by the gov't during the Great Depression that lengthened and worsened it as well. The problems in our current crisis will be worsened through gov't intrusion, because the gov't is actually investing in failure. It's like the gov't takes your money and invests it in horse buggies after some guy named Henry Ford invents assembly line automobile production and produces cars cheaper and faster than previously thought possible. Whenever you centralize power you put all of your eggs in one basket. When it is decentralized, it is diversified. There is a reason why communism can't work. Central planning = lack of diversication = lack of freedom = lack of innovation = lack of reinvestment into successful economic improvements. Printing more money and artifically inflating the money supply and then giving it to those who foolishly lost it will cause the few dollars in the poor person's pocket to be worth even less. Now how is that noble or good? It actually makes the plight of the poor worse, makes home ownership less affordable, and harder for the poor/working poor to save. Inflation is the horrible and little recognized enemy of the poor, not to mention the rest of us. Gov't spending via money printing = additional taxation in the form of inflated prices. Nobody got a vote on that one either.

Willard is a weaselly Darwinian who thinks that govenrment should step aside and let people starve in the streets rather than fend off a coming depression. How many times does he (and for that matter Cavuto) play the same tired song each and every week. Fox Business would gain a heck of a lot more credibility if we heard more from Liz Clayman than from the nincompoop idealogues infesting the place.

"Let's put Goldman in charge of Treasury"...I thought they were - essentially.

Argentina went through an economic collapse just a few years ago. Some may say we are on that road. Below there is a play by bribe to play rundown of what happened and how it is there now. http://ferfal.blogspot.com/

Somebody needs to remind Paulson and company... "a man looks in the abyss,there's nothing staring back at him. At that time a man finds his character - and that is what keeps him out of the abyss..." If you want to know what to do about the bailout b.s. and your dissatisfaction with it, you START by sending a message to the "deaf, dumb, and blind kid" congress by voting out ALL reps and sens that voted in favor of the bailout. This is the beginning. Next, tell the new congress that we do not want our great grand-children paying us another stimulus. These are short-term musts. Long term, we must focus attention to the Ron Paul/Chuck Baldwin types that have radical ideas like...oh, I don't know...governing the country according to THE CONSTITUTION!!! You will continue to be sick and tired of being sick and tired of government immersing itself in every facet of your life if we fail to get away from demopublican/republicrat platforms - which happen to be the same - save the world and print more money we do not have so it can be spent.

"Cody is a thorn in the side of the establishment. I like him, but the establishment surely cannot like what he is saying…so, does anyone want to make a wager on how long he will be employed by Fox? I say he will not have a show any longer within months…any guesses?" He'll receive a raise long before his show is cancelled. With the media it's all about ratings and traffic and throw in a little shameless shelf promotion along the way, my book, my fund, my web site, my blog. His approach has generated some buzz, whether it's genuine or not, let's hope it is. It's all self serving in nature. Cody is branding himself. Because he talks about his family I tend to believe it's unintentional branding. Hopefully it's not a case of it's all just entertainment.

It’s easy with the dude, he’s receiving awards for Chinese relations, hence his buddies got what they wanted and his retirement is now back in order. He’s gone soon and we’re left with the dead wood. Our government has become so corrupt it's embarrasing. But we can't give up. Cody, keep it rolling out bro, it’s a showdown for the cowboy of the modern day. I’m aware that renters and savers is in reference to your current situation, but speak for the other groups like the diligent conservative home purchaser and saver. Regarding the Happy Hour Apple love fest. Love Apple, but nothing says recession necessities like a $699 dollar iphone (not including overpriced service provider.) Just wondering if you could help my friends so their kids can enjoy a great Christmas? They’re currently over leveraged on the previous version of the iphone and with a 620 credit rating and student loan debt up to their eyeballs, no one will loan them the money to buy the new version. Would that classify as community service? The iphone is a luxury item that a large percentage of the population could never justify purchasing. It just dawned on me, they’ll be ok, and the government will buy it for them. Don’t you just love the continuous bailouts? You’ve just got to love the stimulus packages.

[...] she answered the question. Once again, I have to applaud Cody Wlllard, for telling it like it is - Goldman Buys Their Own Stock at $220 and Sells It Seven Months Later at $120. Great Idea

Share buybacks are comparable to forecasting what the weather will be like tomorrow by flipping a coin. I read a long time ago that share buybacks on average forecast a lower stock price. Therefore, consider this panic buying as a good opportunity to sell. The management would be better served increase the asset column on the balance sheet or decrease the debt column. No reasonable investor minds having a margin of safety on the books in case the cash flow is threatened or if the short-term debt market is under pressure. Someday old fashion principles might come back into vogue instead of these mad scientists and their financial engineering instruments. The market participants are smart enough to know what price they want to pay for a stock. Management acting like they are smarter are pompous.

Cody - as more often than not, I am in total agreement with you..but as another person stated, what can we do about it? I think there is such a disconnect between elected officials and the general public, that many have just written off DC as another special interest - interest only in themselves. The sad part about politics today is that regardless of your beliefs, in order to be electable by a national party, you have to forfeit some of your ideals and become part of the system. Kindof a catch-22. (if not prior), by the time a person becomes a senator they have 'debts' to be paid and backs to scratch. I don't profess to have any answers, just sad observations..much like yours.

So, Cody. Whatcha gonna do about it? Other than complain that is. Got a plan?