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THE COST OF THE CRISIS….The latest international bailout news:

Hungary has been granted a multi-billion dollar rescue package by the IMF, the EU and the World Bank. The deal, worth $25bn (£15.6bn;19.6 euro), is intended to help Hungary cope with the ongoing effects of the world financial crisis.

Given the numbers that we’ve all gotten used to lately, I know this doesn’t like all that much. But it’s over 10% of Hungary’s GDP. Meanwhile, BBC Business Editor Robert Peston estimates that taxpayers around the globe have spent (so far!) about $8 trillion to shore up the world’s banks. That’s more than 10% of total global GDP.

Given that, it seems likely that when it’s all said and done, the U.S. is also going to spend 10% of GDP or more to bail out the financial industry here. That would be somewhere in the neighborhood of $1.5-2 trillion — double or triple what we’ve allocated so far. That fits the data I presented a couple of weeks ago, and it’s also about what Paul Krugman thinks is possible. Buckle up.

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BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

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