Lou Dobbs just now on CNN states that the credit markets aren't frozen. So...

[chelsea0011]

what is the truth? We are being fed opinion from both sides masquerading as fact that the average American, all of us, can't make any decisions about what is what. I keep hearing anecdotal stories about credit being frozen and then others come on and say just the opposite. It's no wonder Americans are angry as hell.

[JonLP24]

1. I don't trust anything Lou Dobbs says even if he is right

[Two Americas]

12. lol

Thanks for the chuckle.

[JonLP24]

13. No problem

:hi:

[NMDemDist2]

2. there is credit for the big guys but it's VERY expensive. n/t

[Vinca]

3. Lou's just trying to rile up the uninformed masses. Ignore him. nt

[polichick]

4. They aren't frozen, just tighter. NPR interviewed business owners...

...they all still had credit lines, but the terms had changed (earlier payback) or the limit had shifted downward.

[Warpy]

5. If they're not frozen solid yet, they're at a glacial pace

and businesses that rely on a line of credit are starting to have problems.

Homeowners have had their HELOCs frozen.

Banks are starting to freeze credit cards.

I'm afraid for businesses and people who have been operating close to the edge (or over it), this is going to be a hell of a wakeup call.

[Two Americas]

18. the government steps in

The government becomes the lender and employer of last resort.

Farmers at one time couldn't afford land and the capital needed each year for operating expenses. The government stepped in and directly solved the problem, so we could all keep eating. Guaranteed loans, work projects, training, subsidies, improved infrastructure, and other supports.

The government did not tell the financial institutions to go hog wild investing in ag property, and then when loans went bad because of an orgy of greed and speculation, make good the losses of the financial institutions and let the framers be thrown off the land and the people go hungry.

The choice was this: protect the financial industry and lose farms or protect the farming industry from the financial industry and the free market. The government did not say that by protecting the financial industry from its own mistakes, that the farmers would somehow be magically helped by that. True, if the farmers had been unable to get credit, they would have gone under and we would have had dogs and cats living together and God knows what sort of meltdown.

Help the banks and destroy the farmers, or help the farmers and rein in the banks and do the job they are unwilling or unable to do. Easy choice. We face the same choice today.

We have solved these problems before, and the only thing standing in the way now is the pernicious and pervasive free market ideology that puts the cart before the horse and has everyone unable to understand or attack the problems directly.

[nradisic]

6. Why is he still breathing?

I put Lou Dobbs next to Cheney as one of my favorite scumbags...what a freaking lowlife...

[KharmaTrain]

7. Cause Lou Doobies Said So????

How does he know? Has he tried to borrow money for a payroll or mortgage a house today? He wouldn't have to worry...he gets a nice fat paycheck.

There's a definite credit crunch going on out there that is slowing down business...added along with high operating costs that won't happen overnight, but soon you'll see more and more stores either cutting back hours or going out of business altogether as they won't be able to stock shelves or keep the lights on. This "crisis" isn't the cause of this, but the "bail-out" was intended to help ease a crunch that has been going on for month now and at least keep things afloat through the holiday season.

Everyone is mad, but not all for the same reasons. We've got an economy that will continue to downslide and if you can afford to ride this mess out, more power to you, but those who wish for the economy to go crashing to hell should think about what this means with their own job or lifestyle...could you adjust and live on half as much as you have now?

[Burma Jones]

8. Lou is just smirking his way through this whole mess

If all you do is throw rocks, you ain't helping.....

[Suspicious]

9. A friend of mine just financed

a brand new car yesterday afternoon, and she said the dealership had several other customers driving away in new cars, as well. For what it's worth.

[NNN0LHI]

10. I think these anecdotal stories we keep hearing are all coming from Repigs

[judasdisney]

11. Warning -- bailout, now! now! now! -- WMD imminent danger -- bailout or die terror fear horror fear

NOW now NOW now NOW now NOW now NOW bailout NOW now terror now fear now horror now WMD now RAPE now DANGER now NOW now NOW

[loyalkydem]

14. if Lou Dobbs

says the sky is green would you believe him? I lost all respect for him since Keith called him out on his bullshit.

[OregonBlue]

15. Our local banks say they do not have a problem. We're talking about getting a consolidation loan

and they all have money.

[Suspicious]

16. In my neighborhood -

which is pretty much a working class, nice residential neighborhood, there were two houses for sale near me. Neither of them was on the market that long, and both of them recently sold (within the last month or so).

[spinbaby]

17. I don't think it's frozen

This morning on NPR they said that the rates that the banks are charging each other are higher because they no longer trust each other.

[Two Americas]

19. maybe they shouldn't trust

Maybe there is good reason for people to no longer trust swimming in waters in which so many sharks are circling.

So we rebuild trust. We start at the bottom. It requires public programs, because the private ones have failed.

Can I trust that I will have a job? Health care? A home? Will fair wages be paid for an honest day's work? Will I have any protection from con artists and scammers? Will I have a fair shot in the marketplace? Or is it rigged? Are my Representatives bought off by big money interests? Will my vote even count? That is where trust starts. That is where we need to start restoring it.

Why is anyone shocked that trust has broken down, and that this has led to people being unwilling to loan money? Who broke the trust? You and I? Or was it those with the most power and the most to gain, those who have profited wildly as they broke down trust, those who gamed the system and bought off the government officials? How do we solve it? By putting more trust in those who have proven themselves to be untrustworthy?

If I want to know who the robber is, I look first at the guy with all of that loot in his garage, not the guy who had his door broken down and has lost everything.

[Davis_X_Machina]

20. LIBOR's through the roof...

...and most credit cards are LIBOR + an increment. The central banks can push prime to zero -- it won't move LIBOR till banks can believe they can lend each other money and get it back.

Not frozen, but getting awfully slushy.