[Winstonm]

http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/200...nger/index.html

Quote

The public rage we're finally seeing is long, long overdue, and appears to be the only force with both the ability and will to impose meaningful checks on continued kleptocratic pillaging and deep-seated corruption in virtually every branch of our establishment institutions.  The worst possible thing that could happen now is for this collective rage to subside and for the public to return to its long-standing state of blissful ignorance over what the establishment is actually doing.

[luke warm]

wolverine

[kenberg]

I don't spend much time in anger but to the extent I am angry at someone it is at our elected and appointed representatives. To put it briefly, the job description of an AIG employee does not include watching out for the nation. For our representatives, that is their job.

My eyes glaze over a bit when I start reading the details of credit default swaps. Toxic assets seems like a contradiction in terms. I don't much understand. But then I am not on the ***** Senate Finance Committee and I am not the ***** Secretary of the treasury. I am not the head of the ***** Federal Reserve or the ***** Securities and Exchange Commission.

Last week senators had a fun time seeing who could be the most irate and aggressive in questioning Liddy. My question to them is when they plan to get their own heads out of their own asses.

[Al_U_Card]

The real warning bell went off when, after several years of "doom-sayers" describing the illegitimacy of swaps and predicting that the housing bubble would soon burst, leading to fiscal armageddon.

Despite this "analysis" of easily garnered facts, when the ***** hit the fan, no reasoned argument was presented nor were any projections based on substantive factors offered. It was mostly "The sky is falling!" rhetoric and quick, covert, action to make sure that the bandits made out like, well...bandits.

Trying to re-inflate a burst balloon is futile. Inflation caused by gobs of cash injected into a failing economy will result in? INFLATION! And you thought that your deflated savings were over the worst.....at 20% inflation for 4 or 5 years....your $1 million nest-egg will keep you afloat for about 6 months.

This is the purpose of the exercise. Once you are dirt-poor, you will stand in line for bread and be too weak to protest the conditions imposed for your fiscal security and economic "recovery". Are we ever fu......

[kenberg]

Al_U_Card, on Mar 23 2009, 09:04 AM, said:

This is the purpose of the exercise. Once you are dirt-poor, you will stand in line for bread and be too weak to protest the conditions imposed for your fiscal security and economic "recovery".  Are we ever fu...... 

I do not believe that this is actually the purpose. I believe many bad things can be said about our representatives and perhaps against ourselves for allowing them to stay in power but I do not think that they have a conscious purpose of impoverishing me.

There have been some true crooks and scoundrels who have been elected but I think out troubles are more the result of being led by people who are not really up for the job they have taken on. I am getting really tires of these guys being surprised on an almost daily basis by events.

[Al_U_Card]

Likely you are right, Ken, but if it walks like a duck etc.

The banks just want profits and profitability. My own bank wants 1% added to my personal line of credit because credit is "more" expensive on the world markets!!!!

Eliminate PACs, every candidate for office gets the same funding no matter what. Let the voter decide (for once!)

[luke warm]

kenberg, on Mar 23 2009, 09:47 AM, said:

Al_U_Card, on Mar 23 2009, 09:04 AM, said:

This is the purpose of the exercise. Once you are dirt-poor, you will stand in line for bread and be too weak to protest the conditions imposed for your fiscal security and economic "recovery".  Are we ever fu...... 

I do not believe that this is actually the purpose. I believe many bad things can be said about our representatives and perhaps against ourselves for allowing them to stay in power but I do not think that they have a conscious purpose of impoverishing me.

There have been some true crooks and scoundrels who have been elected but I think out troubles are more the result of being led by people who are not really up for the job they have taken on. I am getting really tires of these guys being surprised on an almost daily basis by events.

their #1 priority has been, for years now, getting reelected... there are very few real states(wo)men left, and when one raises his head he's slapped down by extremists on both sides (i.e. lieberman)

[helene_t]

Winstonm, on Mar 21 2009, 07:27 PM, said:

http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/200...nger/index.html

Quote

The public rage we're finally seeing is long, long overdue, and appears to be the only force with both the ability and will to impose meaningful checks on continued kleptocratic pillaging and deep-seated corruption in virtually every branch of our establishment institutions.  The worst possible thing that could happen now is for this collective rage to subside and for the public to return to its long-standing state of blissful ignorance over what the establishment is actually doing.

The situation in the Netherlands in the beginning of the millennium comes to mind.

People suddenly (for no apparent reason afaik) wake up and started complaining about the politicians. This stimulated politicians to become much pore populist. Many stopped talking about real issues and focused on other politicians incompetence instead. A horde of unknown politicians, chosen for their skills in complaining about other politicians but otherwise with zip proven merits, were elected into office. They turned out to be much more incompetent and corrupt than anything the country had seen for a long time. A country that had been known for efficient administration was turned into a banana-kingdom almost overnight and is still struggling to recover.

Ideally, those of us who know something about the financial system try to say something constructive. Those of us (includng me) who don't: shut up and listen. Or just shut up.

[shintaro]

Here in blighty with our portion of the 'Banking' crisis our politicians are also jumping on the 'Corrupt' bandwagon; perhaps they will not do anything to stop these 'Bankers' as they are thinking of themselves in nice little 'consultancy' positions when they get kicked out of parliament

[Winstonm]

Quote

their #1 priority has been, for years now, getting reelected... there are very few real states(wo)men left, and when one raises his head he's slapped down by extremists on both sides (i.e. lieberman)

I concur completely.

I did find it interesting that Greenwald actually talked about the elitist class who has come to hold virtually all the political power in our country.

Myself, I am not so surprised because I learned long ago that in any bureaucracy, to rule all you have to do is get a few like-minded people into key positions of power - from that position everything else will follow.

[kfay]

luke warm, on Mar 21 2009, 05:31 PM, said:

wolverines are awesome

agree with lukewarm

[Lobowolf]

kfay, on Mar 23 2009, 10:26 PM, said:

agree with lukewarm

There's something you don't see every day in the ol' Water Cooler.

[luke warm]

Lobowolf, on Mar 24 2009, 04:53 PM, said:

kfay, on Mar 23 2009, 10:26 PM, said:

agree with lukewarm

There's something you don't see every day in the ol' Water Cooler.

heheh... maybe cause he misquoted me?

[Winstonm]

The NY Post is reporting that two of the biggest banks, ones in serious trouble, are using the bailout money to buy more of the same toxic assets that got them into trouble in the first place - and paying above market price for it.

“

Quote

As Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner orchestrated a plan to help the nation’s largest banks purge themselves of toxic mortgage assets, Citigroup and Bank of America have been aggressively scooping up those same securities in the secondary market, sources told The Post. . . But the banks’ purchase of so-called AAA-rated mortgage-backed securities, including some that use alt-A and option ARM as collateral, is raising eyebrows among even the most seasoned traders. Alt-A and option ARM loans have widely been seen as the next mortgage type to see increases in defaults.

One Wall Street trader told The Post that what’s been most puzzling about the purchases is how aggressive both banks have been in their buying, sometimes paying higher prices than competing bidders are willing to pay.

Recently, securities rated AAA have changed hands for roughly 30 cents on the dollar, and most of the buyers have been hedge funds acting opportunistically on a bet that prices will rise over time. However, sources said Citi and BofA have trumped those bids . . .”

At what point do we the taxpayers simply say, No Mas?

[luke warm]

Winstonm, on Mar 26 2009, 07:30 AM, said:

At what point do we the taxpayers simply say, No Mas?

the taxpayers were saying that all along, they just weren't speaking the language of "throw the bums out"... we the people are notoriously schizo (and stupid) when it comes to being against something but for the ones we send to congress to vote on that something