You would think we'd be in the midst of the Second American Revolution. The Wall Street terrorists are at it again. Not content with melting down the entire global financial system by greedingly gambling with shareholder money, this time they're screwing all of us by doing the same thing over again with taxpayer money. Take Goldman Sachs --- please!
The revolving door between Goldman and our elected representatives is lubricated with a brand new substance called collusion. One minute you're working for Goldman Sachs, the next finds you in the highest echelons of the Executive Branch of the Federal Government. Then back you go as a lobbyist for the same infamous Wall Street firm.
When Henry Paulson was CEO of Goldman Sachs, his company was selling over-the-counter to anyone and everyone in the world while his own traders were going short the same derivatives that Goldman was peddling and knew were worthless. Paulson's reward was to become Secretary of the U.S. Treasury. The man ought to be in jail.
As Treasury Secretary he let Lehman Brothers fail. After all, they were a significant competition to Goldman Sachs. But when Lehman's derivatives started blowing up all over the world, Henry had to bail out all of the big banks, including his own former institution, Goldman Sachs. Then AIG, the insurance company, now better known as a hedge fund, had to be bailed out because its derivatives were even more toxic and had metastasized even more than those of Lehman Brothers, and also because AIG owed Goldman $13 billion. By bailing out AIG, Paulson effectively and surreptitiously did the same for his beloved company.
Now that the banks were "flush" again, thanks to $12 trillion from the taxpayers, whose collective altruism was offered against their will, the banks began the game again. Congress allowed them to revalue their worthless garbage assets to whatever price they would like to fantasize they might be worth. Then the banks upped the leverage back up to 30 to 1, enabling their trading desks to relive the old old days, this time gambling with our money. Not a bad business when you know in advance head GS wins, tails the rest of us lose.
While Americans are losing their jobs, many of them falling through the cracks and living in tents or on the streets, Goldman Sachs are setting aside 18.4 billion dollars in bonuses for its employees ($700,000 per person). It is the largest bonus package in the 140-year history of the firm. How does that make you feel?
The bink banks' earnings are all lies. Their financial condition is as precarious as ever, and another day of reckoning waits in the wings.
Is there another "silent majority" loose in the land? Has laryngitis become the real pandemic? How else to explain why the citizenry will not even speak out, much less take to the streets. Conspiracy capitalism continues to render Americans impotent, comatose and without any representation. Is there anyone out there? Anyone? Anyone?
08/02/2009
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