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Fuck the bankers

Posted: Fri Jan 23, 2009 3:48 pm
by annarborgator
Don't know if this fits here or in the financial forum better...it's relevant to both....definitely airing a big grievance I have here:

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It is one thing when the best-paid people seem to be the smartest and the most accomplished. Those who make much less may not like it, but the differential seems understandable. It is another thing when those people are shown to have committed huge blunders that would have driven their companies out of business, and them into the unemployment line, but for government bailouts.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/23/business/23norris.html?_r=1

And of course, the drumbeat has begun in earnest for the nationalization of the entire banking system. What people don't realize is that if we nationalize, it will be done poorly and we will be left with zombie banks just like Japan. Look at the government's track record so far in handling this crisis--the ineptitude speaks for itself loud and clear. The market has spoken:

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And the market has told us: The banks have run themselves right out of business. They got waaaaaaaaaaaay too greedy, to the point where we have ZERO chance, IMO, to continue feeding the debt monster they created, even if we do nationalize them:

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(last 2 charts from Mish at http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/)

That level of debt simply isn't sustainable given current capacity and demand. The funny thing is our government has even been more responsible than the fraudulent banksters (who are stealing from us all), which is a laughable concept. Think about how we all see the national debt--we probably think it's a little crazy and damn sure risky as hell in the long run, at the very least. The national debt is 11.5 times higher than it was in 1975, which seems like a large expansion...but the total PRIVATE debt is 22 times higher than it was in 1975. So the banks have gone nearly TWICE as far pushing the envelope than the government. In short, they don't deserve to be saved. And even if we wanted to save them, they would be zombie banks for probably a minimum of 6-8 years, basically useless as financial institutions.

But let's go ahead and give them $350 billion more now...then in a few months, spend God knows how much nationalizing the whole damn corrupt, fraudulent system! : :)

Fuck the bankers

Posted: Fri Jan 23, 2009 3:53 pm
by a1bion
Now you know the real reason why Hank Paulson refused to say how exactly he was going to use the bailout money. He was letting his buddies like John Thain steal it.

Fuck the bankers

Posted: Fri Jan 23, 2009 3:58 pm
by IHateUGAlyDawgs
I have yet to meet the person who thinks this bailout was a great idea. I've heard theories bounced around that sound good (think I even posted one here), but I don't know anyone that buys them.

Let the motherfuckers fail. Sure it will hurt, but will be much better for the long term.

Fuck the bankers

Posted: Fri Jan 23, 2009 4:58 pm
by annarborgator
Now you know the real reason why Hank Paulson refused to say how exactly he was going to use the bailout money.  He was letting his buddies like John Thain steal it.
Sad but true:
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When John Thain became Merrill Lynch’s CEO in early 2008, he hired Michael S. Smith Design to revamp his office suite, spending approximately $1.22 million according to documents....

The following is a list of the items in his suite:

Area Rug $87,784
Mahogany Pedestal Table $25,713
19th Century Credenza $68,179
Pendant Light Furniture $19,751
4 Pairs of Curtains $28,091
Pair of Guest Chairs $87,784
George IV Chair $18,468
6 Wall Sconces $2,741
Parchment Waste Can $1,405
Roman Shade Fabric $10,967
Roman Shades $7,315
Coffee Table $5,852
Commode on Legs $35,115....

Thain also paid his driver $230,000 for one years work, which included the driver's $85,000 salary and bonus of $18,000, and another $128,000 in over-time pay, documents show. Drivers of top executives are often paid about half that amount.
http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2009/01/thain-forced-out-ny-attorney-general.html

At least the NY Atty Gen is investigating the Merrill bonuses...a bunch of folks should go to jail over this whole fiasco.

Fuck the bankers

Posted: Fri Jan 23, 2009 7:03 pm
by bluegrassg8r
It's surreal that the one time Darwinism should be enforced, it isn't, and an entire industry that should slide into penury is on our fucking dime.

Fuck the bankers

Posted: Mon Jan 26, 2009 2:37 pm
by annarborgator
Oh bloody fucking hell...these fucks.

Hey, we got $214M in TARP funds. What should we do?

Let's give out free ice cream!
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Photo Credit: Otishertz

Umpqua Bank received $214 million from TARP in mid-November.

They cut their dividend recently according to the Portland Business Journal:

Umpqua Bank parent Umpqua Holdings Inc., based in Portland, cut its quarterly dividend in December to 5 cents from prior payments of 19 cents per share.

At least we know what they are using the TARP money for: Free ice cream!
http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/2009/01/tarp-free-ice-cream.html

PUT THEM IN JAIL.

Fuck the bankers

Posted: Mon Jan 26, 2009 3:17 pm
by radbag
lol

if you can't beat 'em, join 'em

Fuck the bankers

Posted: Mon Jan 26, 2009 10:15 pm
by annarborgator
lol I hear ya bro. You see me...I'm becoming a fucking lawyer for chrissakes. O0

Fuck the bankers

Posted: Wed Jan 28, 2009 8:51 pm
by annarborgator
Yet another story that begs the refrain.....something REAL has to be done:
[quote]The FBI was aware for years of "pervasive and growing" fraud in the mortgage industry that eventually contributed to America's financial meltdown, but did not take definitive action to stop it.

"It is clear that we had good intelligence on the mortgage-fraud schemes, the corrupt attorneys, the corrupt appraisers, the insider schemes," said a recently retired, high FBI official. Another retired top FBI official confirmed that such intelligence went back to 2002.

The problem, according to the two FBI retirees and several other current and former bureau colleagues, is that the bureau was stretched so thin that no one noticed when those lenders began packaging bad mortgages into bad securities.

"We knew that the mortgage-brokerage industry was corrupt," the first of the retired FBI officials told the Seattle P-I. "Where we would have gotten a sense of what was really going on was the point where the mortgage was sold knowing that it was a piece of dung and it would be turned into a security. But the agents with the expertise had been diverted to counterterrorism."[/img]
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/397690_fbiweb28.html