November 08, 2008
Don't you just hate those welfare cheats
My favorite irony (of the moment, there are so many, such as the Bush/Cheney/GOP modus operandi of putting “Party” members over all important policy decisions which is/was the chief evil of Communism) is that there are still hordes of voters that vote for the GOP because they hate having a perceived group of poor shiftless welfare persons having access to their tax dollars.
Meanwhile every eight years or so the banking elite go on a tear and wipe out the financial industry’s capital base. Usually the banks replace their capital by upping car loan rates and mortgage rates but between the savings and loan debacle and our present derivatives catastrophe a trillion dollars of the voter’s money has vanished ….giving bonuses to the guys who screw them over and over again. A trillion freeking dollars.
Labels: Bernanke, bonus excess, Bush, ceo salaries, ponzi banking, welfare cheating
October 30, 2008
Greenspan should feel the shame of his inaction
He said, "Where do you think we should be looking for future profits, we'd like to have of our equity 'at play.'
I was flattered that he should court my opinion. I also remember thinking, "Half your equity at play, what are you, nuts?"
The bank is no more in existence.
The thinking that taking increasing risk in order to increase bonuses brought the system down. Paying people to book trades and make risky loans without waiting for repayment or profits to be realized created a bonus atmosphere versus a profit atmosphere.
Greenspan absolutely had to fully know of these issues.
For personal or political reasons he let the GOP/big bank's horsepucky 'no regulation' mantra rule global financial markets to the gross neglect of the world's individual depositors and pension holders, both average folks and the very wealthy.
His legacy from his time at the helm is cowardice and abject failure. I hope he can feel shame; lots of it, unregulated.
Labels: Bernanke, bonus excess, ceo excess, Greenspan, Wall Street
April 04, 2008
"Leverage" An off off Wall Steet Drama
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"Who's knocking on our door ?" the CFO of a huge investment bank asked.
"Why it's the government Banking Auditor. It's his day of the week to ask us to mark our assets to market."
"Are we in shape for his visit?"
"Uhm, Yes and no. Sorta good news, bad news."
"What's the good news?"
"We've done the math and we figure our remaining mortgages on the books, good and bad, are worth $43 billion, so we're okay."
"What's the bad news?"
"Uhm, well, nobody will buy any mortgage paper at the moment and some righteous auditors have been saying, no valid quotes, no value."
"That's absurd. That would mean we have negative equity."
"Shhh! He's leaving. Bernanke's got him on the phone."
Labels: bankrupt, Bernanke, cmo, collaterized mortgages, leverage, sub prime
January 17, 2008
Bush and Bernanke push corporate socialism
Now Bernacke and Bush recommend a stimulus to replace the missing equity capital in the financial system. How can this not be called socialism? Or is socialistic tinkering with the system to protect the rich called a stimulus package while providing health care is oh so unAmerican.
The nation's debt has skyrocketed from six to nine trillion dollars under Bushco and as a legacy for his last year he will oversee spending a couple hundred billion dollars we don't have to bail out his cronies.
Meanwhile a useful scorecard to watch is that the Pound and the Euro continue to soar against the dollar even while Europe provides a social net for the health and retirement of their workers.
We get to inject billions into the economy in an act of corporate socialism; Wall Street takes out $57billion and yet helping the poor with medical bills and heating costs remains a danger to the American psyche.
As they say: "Go figure."
Labels: Bernanke, Bush, corporate bailout, deficit, Europe wins, socialism, stimulus
