Bloomberg News recently “sorted through more than 29,000 pages of previously secret documents and Fed spreadsheets detailing more than 21,000 loans to compile a database showing which companies got the emergency liquidity.” In their upward revision of the previous, widely-floated figure, Bloomberg found that the “Wall Street aristocracy” actually received $1.2 trillion in secret loans from the Federal government:
“These are all whopping numbers,” said Robert Litan, a former Justice Department official who in the 1990s served on a commission probing the causes of the savings and loan crisis. “You’re talking about the aristocracy of American finance going down the tubes without the federal money.”
No wonder so many of them appear to have redistributionist hearts of gold:
“New York Times columnists may kvell over Warren Buffett’s eagerness to be taxed at a higher rate, but most people suspect that it isn’t saintliness at work, but personal economic interest. The same interest that led Buffett, Bill Gates and other top billionaires to support Obama. There is nothing strange about the phenomenon of anti-capitalist capitalists. Capitalism is one way to make money. Socialism is another. The modern monopoly is as likely to rest on government regulation as on the naked marketplace. And the modern trust operates out of the White House and Capitol Hill.”
Daniel Greenfield’s “An Earthquake Comes to Washington” — the source of the above quote — here.
Shocker Kate, the Democrats involved with New York greedy..
Please tell me something I don’t know.
The wealthly elites own all politicians in Washington. The USA has long been a one-party state: BIG MONEY. That they call themselves Republicans or Democrats is irrelevant, they are all bought and owned, and only accountable to their wealthy masters.
That’s why it matters not one bit that Obama is in the White House or not. Nothing will change with his successor, be it Sarah Palin, Rick Perry or anyone else. They could resurrect Ronald Reagan, nothing will change.
I’m kvelling over your use of fealty.
Yup. It ain’t the evils of capitalism that brought the U.S. of A. to its knees.
And it’s not rampant socialism either.
It’s just a select bunch of glory-seeking, greedy bastards who need a slice of the same medicine that cured Marie Antoinette’s extravagance..
“to kvell” It sounds like some kind of Scandinavian recreational activity.
Scandie 1 “Hey Ingvar, wanna go kvelling on Sunday afternoon?”
Scandie 2 “Sure, but we’ll have to use your boat. And I’ll need to borrow skis off Ragnar again. Don’t forget your flares this time!”
“The wealthy elites own all politicians in Washington.” – GreenNeck (11:19)
Excessive government regulation and (upward) redistribution (à la Obama) reverses that formulation, i.e., turns the wealthy elites into (self-interested) *subjects* of the federal government, and therefore *supporters* of the bloated federal government.
When uber-wealthy capitalists (who used to oppose socialism) can get rich as a result of the policies of a putatively socialist government, it not only helps to entrench the power of the federal government but is at odds with the needs of regular folks for less taxation and less government interference in (small and medium sized) business.
Money is money; if it gets to the point where the uber-wealthy benefit from socialism, they’ll take the money.
Buffet is a pompous ass. Anyhow, any rational person wants to make as much money as possible, if they can use the force of government to give them a monopoly, or simply get handouts from government – that’s exactly what they’ll do. It’s so simple, yet the media is filled with people too dumb to see the basics. The people must demand small government and free markets – antithetical ideas to most politicians.
This have been going on for a very long time. Bankers bilking the public with the help, compliance or sheer stupidity and naivete of governments. Check out this fascinating documentary on this topic. HERE It is recent and very well done.
Why do our supposedly solid banks need to borrow billions from the US during this event. Bank of Nova Scotia borrowed $9.5 billion, at one point. It looks like they paid it off but you have to wonder how “indebted” they are for that support. Did the Canadian Federal Gov’t backstop the chartered banks too ?
I refer to a talk by Brendan O’Neil which was aired on the Australian Broadcasting Network which he said:
“Too many right-wing thinkers claim that a conspiratorial cabal of PC lunatics is ruining our lives, which conveniently absolves these right-wing and conservative thinkers of having to work out whatever happened to their morality and to their traditions. Where did they go? It is easier to claim that society has been taken over by crazy, lentil-eating, sandal-wearing feminists and annoying Greens. It is far harder to account for the demise of a way of life that had existed for hundreds of years.”
Audio & Transcript here: http://www.abc.net.au/rn/counterpoint/stories/2011/3296657.htm
Daniel Greenfield’s “An Earthquake Comes to Washington” fills in the blanks.
Nature’s providing fitting sound and lighting effects to the disaster that’s happening in the political and financial world.
Who says there’s no God?
Apropos of Warren Buffet, he just bought five billion bucks worth of Bank of America. That’s either insider knowledge or him paying back a favor, since BofA is the leakiest ship on the financial ocean right now.
… and at least nobody said “frell”. 🙂
These malfeasant acts are all indicators that, far from Washington adopting a roll as pseudo-Marxist redistributor of corporate wealth to the proletariat, it has developed into a criminal Kleptocracy which allows connected corporate cronies to raid the public treasury with state protection. If anything we are seeing a fascist Oligarchy forming in Washington which transcends party lines.
Old Roman documents on state craft refer to this stage in a regime’s devolution as “imperium meretrices” or “a government of whores” whose last act before collapsing a government and fleeing the country is to raid the treasury.
.
I think the explanation is easier than it seems. Most of us logically assume that those made rich and powerful by capitalism therefore support capitalism. In fact, I would contend that those made rich by capitalism support whatever they feel will keep them powerful and rich … and pretty much screw everybody else. “Hey, I’ve got mine, Jack, and I intend to keep it!”
Does anyone disagree?
I hear Obama is going to be made an honorary Indian chief. His Indian name will be “Crow Knee”…
Helen D, I’ve reposted your comment to the David Mamet thread.
/:>)