Charlie Rose

tartufe  02/12/2009 11:10 PM Report

Wall Street as Faber states was complicit in the sub-prime greed. Big banks are duplicit as well and not letting the them fail (particularly Citigroup et al) is guaranteeing the moral hazard and sends the wrong message - both here and abroad. Our predators corrupted the world system - with impunity, thus leaving open that it probably will again, thereby destroying any chance of restoring confidence. Here and abroad.

The big banks and hedge funds are the primary holders and initiators of the gimmicky financial instruments (a la Credit Default Swaps, Securitised Debt etc), and consequently the very ones that created the fiasco and thus should likewise be very ones that suffer its consequences.

The network of the nations (less than mega or big) lesser banks can and should handle letters of credit and commercial paper associated with moving commodities and shipments. The honorable part of banking in short.

Credit card banking on the other hand practiced primarily by the mega-banks (again Citigroup et al) have a history of duplicitous political collusion of lobbying through advantageous and enabling confiscatory legislation: making health and unemployment related bankruptcies more difficult, overriding states usury laws, interest increases for missed payments (anywhere), repeal of Glass-Steagall, on and on. (Think Citigroup’s Sandy Weill, Robert Rubin et al) An oligarchy of vampires. Their laissez faire (true) capitalistic natural demise would be cathartic and a cleansing purge of an egregious culture consumed with an entitlement greed so outsized it capsized the world’s economy.

And ancillary resulting stimulus if their failure would result in their inability to collect on their predatory, confiscatory credit card rate - 30% up to 300+%.

And we’re rewarding them with bailouts, with doubtless ineffectual oversight. The rampant corruption will be monumental, a la Halliburton, Black Water, on and on . . . .

PBS "NOW" cited cities that are suing the big banks and subprime mortgagers. CAUTIONARY ALERT! A FEDERAL LAW WILL SOON BE PASSED MAKING IT ILLEGAL TO SUE FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS. MAKING THE POLITICAL-FINANCIAL OLIGARCHIC COMPLICITY A COMPLETE AND CLOSED CIRCLE.

Finally, if the cost of the bailout is estimated in trillions to avert trillions of cost to the economy, where’s the advantage? It’s a wash! Other than the elite financial wise-guys that got us here to begin with are bailed out at our and our progeny’s expense - in taxes and banana republic-style inflation.

Democracy for sale is a democracy in peril. Venality and political whoredom has won.

tartufe  12/10/2008 05:20 PM Report

To regain the world's confidence in the US financial system, systematic and thorough investigations of all potential perpetrators of this pandemic misery should be undertaken. Without such no one can be assured it wont happen again. Bailouts will assure it and without meaningful trials, fines and incarceration as an offset the moral hazard will return.

In this regard Robert Rubin and Citigroup are culpable and prime players in initiating the enabling legislation from repeal of Glass-Steagall, and overriding of states usury laws, to championing more stringent bankruptcy a la the infirm and unemployed ad nauseam.

Excerpt NY Times entitled "Where was the wise man?" Where indeed.: "Early in 2005, Citigroup’s board asked the C.E.O., Mr. Prince, and several top lieutenants to develop a growth strategy for its fixed-income business. Mr. Rubin peppered colleagues with questions as they formulated the plan, according to current and former Citigroup employees. With Citigroup falling behind Wall Street rivals like Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs, Mr. Rubin pushed for the bank to increase its activity in high-growth areas like structured credit.

He also encouraged Mr. Prince to raise the bank’s tolerance for risk, provided it also upgraded oversight. Then, according to current and former employees, he helped sell the proposal to his fellow directors.

On the surface, this appeared to be a sensible strategy. In hindsight, the timing could not have been worse: Citigroup was bulking up in mortgage-linked securities in 2006, not long before that market cratered."

Ostensibly Rubin and Citi broke no laws. He had them changed to avoid that. He only violated laws of common decency, equity and fair play. But that's OK in a predatory state. But do they buy that in Brazil? France? Congo?

In the US the prisons are full of druggers and petty thieves. A $700 heist of a convenience store puts you in the calaboose. A $0.7 trillion heist via hi-jacked legislation gets you accolades and a golden parachute. If hell is merely wishful thinking by us prey, where does retributive redemption come riding in on a gleaming manicured white charger to vanquish the predators?

Why isn't he in jail? Or someone? Is our culture / society so sick that they can manipulate the system so blatantly with impunity? Is there no court of moral turpitude that would have merit in civil law? So abusive and flagrant! Maybe we can do an OJ on him and lock him up in perpetuity for a parking ticket. He's not a nice man and I hope his yacht is springing a leak.

My emotive blogging made me forget the premise. Oh yeah, Amaral could you have him extradited to Brazil on 'crimes against humanity' down there and around the world?

This is for all those living under a bridge tonight because of Citigroup and Rubin et al. And they don't even know who to be angry at.

B. Meighan  12/18/2007 09:51 PM Report

Robert Rubin demonstrates the underlying perils beneath the financial economy in the US and how the Wall Street community is mute on the real economy ,ie Main Street.