Paulson Takes His Cue From Nigerian Scam Artists

Almost everyone with an email box has received spam messages that offer too-good-to-be-true proposals that "guarantee" millions in profit. All you have to do is send a small amount of money to Mr. So and so from xxx bank and you are on you way to living like a millionaire. I feel bad for the few unfortunate suckers that actually believe that garbage and lose money. Of course, it'll be nowhere near as devastating if Congress believes the junk that just showed up in their inbox.

From RawStory:

Dear American:

I need to ask you to support an urgent secret business relationship with a transfer of funds of great magnitude.

I am Ministry of the Treasury of the Republic of America. My country has had crisis that has caused the need for large transfer of funds of 800 billion dollars US. If you would assist me in this transfer, it would be most profitable to you.

I am working with Mr. Phil Gram, lobbyist for UBS, who will be my replacement as Ministry of the Treasury in January. As a Senator, you may know him as the leader of the American banking deregulation movement in the 1990s. This transactin is 100% safe.

This is a matter of great urgency. We need a blank check. We need the funds as quickly as possible. We cannot directly transfer these funds in the names of our close friends because we are constantly under surveillance. My family lawyer advised me that I should look for a reliable and trustworthy person who will act as a next of kin so the funds can be transferred.

Please reply with all of your bank account, IRA and college fund account numbers and those of your children and grandchildren to wallstreetbailout@treasury.gov so that we may transfer your commission for this transaction. After I receive that information, I will respond with detailed information about safeguards that will be used to protect the funds.

Yours Faithfully Minister of Treasury Paulson

Those of us that use our cerebral cortex would hit the delete button instantly, yet Congress is actually taking its time on this crap. If they are seriously that dumb, I'm going to draft my own Nigerian letter, stash a billion or two in my bank account and retire to some place tropical. This bailout/giveaway/scam has no business being on the table for discussion.

Congress should get a group of real, independent economist and draft a proposal that will put the American people first and the bankers who put us in this mess dead last, where they belong. Actually, they probably belong in jail. I wouldn't mind some of my taxpayer dollars going to keep them in lockup, far from being able to influence the financial markets.