Unsurprisingly, yet another massive bailout may be “required”. And guess what? The next one won’t work any more than the previous five. Or is it six now?
Ben Bernanke, chairman of the US Federal Reserve, today admitted the Government may be forced to inject billions of extra dollars into the American economy after warning of a “protracted slowdown”. Speaking before the House of Representatives, Mr Bernanke suggested that the US required another “significant” fillip to help stimulate growth after Americans were granted $168 billion worth of tax rebates in May, to encourage spending and boost consumer confidence.
A new plan would come on top of the $700 billion bailout of the country’s ailing banking sector, which includes $250 billion in funding to buy shares in American lenders.
To steal an example someone here used previously, you can’t bail out a boat by drilling holes in the bottom. Well, I guess you can, the point is that you can’t do so successfully.