A FRONTLINE documentary titled “The Untouchables” aired on PBS stations last night. The focus on the financial system meltdown of over four years ago may have been eye-opening to anyone who hasn’t been paying attention to the financial services industry but, for the rest of us who have a Wall Street-sized chip on our shoulders, the excellent documentary served to heighten our disgust at the fact that no bankers were jailed for crumbling the U.S.… [Read more]
They’re opportunists. That’s how they’ve made their fortunes. Being an opportunist isn’t necessarily a bad thing if it means being willing and able to see an opportunity and take advantage of it by maximising its benefits. But in this case, being an opportunist is not a good thing. Not that they ever stopped, but it seems those “greedy bastards” are at it again.… [Read more]
Back in July, CNBC.com reported that former Citigroup chairman and CEO Sanford ‘Sandy’ Weill was calling for additional Wall Stret reforms that would break up the major Wall Street banks. At a time when the regulation of the financial industry is playing a major role in the presidential campaign debate, Weill’s comments aren’t likely to be viewed in a positive light by the GOP candidate, Mitt Romney, who has repeatedly called for the Dodd-Frank financial reforms to be repealed.… [Read more]
Rage Against the Machine rocks! And Tom Morello just earned himself more fans than ever. In case you’re not aware, Mr. Morello, a well-known activist who just happens to be a Grammy award-winning guitarist, is not too happy with Paul Ryan.
For good reason…
Mr. Morello is in full support of a ‘Robin Hood Tax‘…not exactly Paul “I-wanna-make-the-1%-richer” Ryan’s cuppa tea.… [Read more]
There’s an interesting article on cnbc.com: Why Corporate Fraud Is So Rampant: Wall Street’s Cop by Preet Bharara, United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York.
A quick recap of the article:
… To the apparent surprise of many in the room, I observed publicly that insider trading appeared to be rampant…. has permeated numerous industries, sectors, and geographical regions…… most educated, successful, and moneyed professionals in the country put their companies — not to mention their own liberty — at risk by engaging in flagrant and foolhardy illegal conduct…
The author then proposes solutions that are simply not going to work.… [Read more]
Jamie Dimon, CEO of megabank JP Morgan Chase, has a bit of a problem on his hands. No, his problem isn’t as monumental as deciding whether one’s fortune should be spent on adding an elevatored-garage to a beachfront home, nor is it as burdensome as determining how many lobbyists are needed to find congressional members willing to sell their souls.… [Read more]
Let’s turn back the clock to that very special time in 2008 when the economy nearly collapsed. What lovely memories. Lehmann Brothers, AIG, Skank of America, and ShittyBank almost succeeded in making the dollar as valuable as pinkish Monopoly money. People were freaking out. Wall Street was freaking out. Congress was freaking out. It was a total freak fest.… [Read more]
On Election Day of 1984, I was a seven year old girl excited to have a day off from school. My mother, thirty years older, was a mixture of emotions. She was looking very forward to reporting to her polling place, my elementary school, and voting for the all but certain loser – Walter Mondale. She was also nervous.… [Read more]
Sometimes the best approach to moving forward is to take time to look back in order to see what we’ve come through and what, if any, lessons we’ve learned. While economists say that America’s economy is pulling itself out of the economic downturn, with the global economy still on shaky ground it is clear that America still a long way to go to achieve across-the-board economic stability.… [Read more]
Five hours of gentle sipping on gin and tonics, can make an excited man. It can also make angry men watching the excitement even angrier. Some could call that reaction judgmental.
Judgy McJudge-Alot sat staring at Happy McHapystance yesterday evening after a long, arduous day of business negotiations. Both men have VIP status in the world (probably even more so in their minds).… [Read more]
The Democrats have a platform that says they’re committed to making it easier for Americans to save for retirement on their own. What does the Republican platform say other than ‘SCREW YOU, YOU’RE ON YOUR OWN? Well, of course we all have to save on our own; many corporations kicked us to the curb ages ago when they decided that pension funds… Read more…
While preparing my morning coffee and instant oatmeal, I overheard a conversation between three twenty-something colleagues of mine. They were discussing Occupy Wall Street outside a conference room that just happened to be named Wall Street. The takeaways from this three-way chat were as follows:
According to government statistics, approximately seven million people in the U.S. are unemployed. For too many, that means scraping by on unemployment insurance.
Federal unemployment insurance is called an ‘entitlement’ program; some politicians who use the word entitlement convey the image of a class of people who feel entitled to receive funds without having done anything to earn it. … [Read more]
The word is out: The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) settled with Citigroup for $285 million. In yet another case of fraud by a ‘too-big-to-fail’ bank, investors lost millions as the result of being misled — this time, about mortgage bonds. In the settlement, Citigroup doesn’t admit or deny the allegation that they behaved badly and/or did anything wrong by betting against the very mortgage securities they convinced their investors to buy.… [Read more]
Them belly full but we hungry… A hungry mob is an angry mob
~ *Bob Marley, ‘Them Belly Full’
Powerful words – and they’re something that those at the top of the socio-political pyramid should think about. Personally, I am waiting for the day when those who don’t have ‘a full belly’, i.e., the poor and ever-declining middle-class, finally become truly angry. … [Read more]
