Reassures ânattering nabobs of negativityâ
CHICAGO, IL – With the U.S. economy seemingly disintegrating right before our eyes, President-elect Barack Obama is anxious to get his new team to work on the problem. Obama has selected the âbest and the brightest,â many of whom have served under Clinton in the past and have been âintimately involvedâ in riding the economy âto hell in a handbasketâ as one aide put it, who wished to remain anonymous.
âNeither bankruptcy nor forced reorganization is the right prescription for these troubled mega-corporations,â said Tim Geithner, Obamaâs pick for Treasury Secretary, adding, âthey need our help to maintain their way of life.â
âNow, weâve asked that the auto companies come up with a plan to save themselves,â said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, DâNV, âweâre not just going to hand over 35 billion dollars with no plan, thatâs crazy talk.â Asked about bank bailouts, he said, âAs far as Citibank goes, weâre ready to dump another 300 billion on them right now.â
Pressed for details, Reid was brief. âCitibank already has a plan, and weâre satisfied with it,â he said. According to a top Citibank executive, that plan consists of layoffs, incantations, strident pleas and throwing themselves on the kind mercies of Hank Paulson.
Even after accepting hundreds of billions in bailout funds, Citibank and other banks still hold hundreds of billions in toxic paper. âNo problem,â said Geithner, âweâve got new technologies for cleaning up toxic waste â did you know that certain forms of bacteria can eat that stuff and produce clean water? Amazing.â
However, despite Geithnerâs upbeat appraisal of the situation, many top economists are forecasting gloom and doom. âThings are not looking good,â said two-time Nobel-prize winner and former chief economist of the World Bank, Joseph Stiglitz, adding, âif we donât empty our wallets right now for these poor CEOs, bankers and speculators, weâre all toast.â
But Obama continued to insist that there is hope. âWe must remain optimistic, as we look to the future and work together to build trust once again,â he said, toting a duffle bag as he walked out of his own bank, after withdrawing everything he had in it. âIâm confident we can turn it around, after all, the U.S. is simply too big to fail. Iâm sure the Chinese feel the same way, and they have the added incentive of needing to keep their biggest asset â us â afloat.â
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