My veiled reference was at Goldman Sachs traders---who have been proven to have been betting against products they were selling, with most still earning their nice little bonuses. However, plenty of other crooks left with their head held high. Dodd-Frank has an executive clawback clause that most likely won't ever be implemented, but it's hilarious how you can contrast Germans who are demanding that their bankers return 850,000 euro salaries, while Joe Cassano drove AIG to the ground and left with $280 million+. Stronger regulation, an insistence that since Main Street saved Wall Street's ass, they better follow the rules, and jail terms would be nice. Dodd-Frank is a watered down Glass-Stegall at best, and now it looks like it is already losing teeth.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were victims of shoddy private underwriting schemes started by shadow banks, and other institutions that totally screwed people by leveraging asymmetric information to the max. The race to the bottom in terms of standards for financial products led to ridiculously complex products being offered to, one can only assume, trick people into thinking they were making a good deal by private dealers, and a corresponding loosening of standards for public sector GSEs.
Neither does Congress, what the hell do you expect. http://thenewamerican.com/economy/e...ress-lacks-education-in-business-or-economics This is why clusterf**ked schemes like 9-9-9 aren't laughed to the ground.
They have a much better idea than Peter Schiff does or ever will because they live in it, and he doesn't. Notice how he keeps asking questions about how much HE should have to pay, what HE should do with his business; but he can hardly be bothered to actually listen to the people he's talking to/at.
What economy does Peter Schiff 'live in'? Not sure what 'live in' is suppose to mean. He responds directly to their answers. ex: Schiff: how much should I have to pay? Guy: As much as everyone else Schiff: Well that would be a huge tax cut for me. And of course he is asking how much HE should pay. He is the 1%, they aren't. The debate is over how much the 1% should pay.
An email from a friend -- Another march with Occupy Wall Street, this time for health care equality. We went from Liberty Park (Zuccotti) to where St. Vincents used to be. It will be turned into condos and make tons of money for the management company. The NYPD were amazing, courteous, jovial and professional. Thanks Guys.
I'll give that CEO credit. He's playing on what the public doesn't know and completely misunderstands. It doesn't matter how much you pay, its how much you have. The fact that the 1% controls 90% of the nation's wealth is the problem.
What is the point for saying the point that Wall Street is the wrong target? Obviously it is part of the problem. More important the role Wall Street money played in the repeal of Glass Seagal and other regulations that caused the crash, and their bail out at tax payer's expense while the 99% had the mortgages go under aND 401(K)S gutted is enraging. The use of Wall Street use is symobolic as a key example of the role money plays in suborning government. One of the strengths of the movement is that at this point it to not get bogged down on details. Everyone knows the broad outlines of the problems. Whatever specifics they raise will be attacked by the best counter arguments available to be purchased from think tanks, pr agencies, focus groups tested and then fed to the masses through Fox, talk radio and repeated over and over again. Being at the beginning a movement of moral outrage and not confined to specific points even worse specific pieces of legislation that Wall Street, the banks, the K street lobbyists can attack and Obama can negotiate with himself on is a plus.
A pattern that seems to be forming with OWS is joining in solidarity with other protests around the city that needs a voice to power, where ever it exists. Teachers protesting city hall The closing of a church/hospital for office space There’s always someone who needs a larger voice.
Occupy Wall Street is winning and changing the narrative. I couldn't believe that tonight ABC national news had a story in which they had confirmed that the upper 1% has had their income grow about three times as the rest of us. They talked about how 95% of the middle class no longer feel like the can get ahead. They had Robert Reich on about this. I watch ABC Nightly News partly to see how the mainstream wants us to be informed. NO WAY THIS STORY WOULD BE HAVE BEEN DONE A FEW MONTHS AGO!! Way to go OWS.
There has always been someone who can have the larger voice by money or force. But now information is free, the mass of it can't always be controlled. Like Gutenberg times a billion.
Ows is freaking the tea party and GOP out. They are irrationally attacking it and are definitely afraid of this turning 2012 in a bloodbath for republicans. Ironically by attacking the movement In a reactive manner they are just playing into dems hands by attacking a movement that has the sympathy of American. Worst move ever. They just look out of touch and in cahoots with wall street
The point and purpose of the nation is a better life for our children. The threat to that is palpable. Be with us or be with them.
I don't know if this has been posted but this.. this is absolutely ridiculous The Police issued the following in response to a question: Q. Did the Police deploy rubber bullets, flash-bag grenades? A. No, the loud noises that were heard originated from M-80 explosives thrown at Police by protesters. In addition, Police fired approximately four bean bag rounds at protesters to stop them from throwing dangerous objects at the officer. <iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/OZLyUK0t0vQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> The Police have been caught in a lie and that video is extremely worrying BTW the guy shot is a military vet who served two tours in Iraq and is in critical condition
I haven't been in the Bay Area long enough yet to understand local issues yet, but somebody made a good point out here regarding Oakland. They said, in effect, the city of Oakland has been complaining for decades about an under-funded police force being incapable of tackling crime effectively (Oakland's reputation precedes itself in my mind). However, money and manpower can be found to violently react against a peaceful protest while violent crime still pervades the city. This will certainly intensify the recall effort against Mayor Jean Quan.
It is not worrying. This is what happens when a large group of people ignores the police's orders. If I ignore cops I expect to get my ass kicked. Especially if I am in a mob. He's a criminal too. OWS: 81.3% white 1.3% black Could all of you posters who like to call every one else racist, explain why OWS is not racist?
It is interesting to see the fear in the right wing over OWS. See poor talanover. Here's a link to an article entitled. "What the Right Fears Most About Wall Street". http://www.addictinginfo.org/2011/10/23/what-the-right-fears-most-about-occupy-wall-street/ Some exerpts. October 23, 2011 The Tea Party movement is an abject lesson in how to subvert a genuinely grassroots cause and turn a nation upside down in the process. Voter angst over how the nation was being run became a national phenomenon, thanks to an awful lot of Benjamin Franklins being thrown around. The efforts – not to mention deep pockets – of the Koch Brothers and Dick Armey’s Freedom Works acted like miracle grow to the simmering tensions that existed deep within a restless electorate. The result was a movement that long ago outgrew any semblance of grassroots identity. It has now become, for all intents and purposes, the driving force of the Republican Party and now dominates the political landscape of the nation. Despite claims to the contrary, the Right knew full well that the Frankenstein monster they had created was as genuine as a Canadian dollar at a flea-market But there was one problem with their master scheme. While peddling their drivel to a gullible electorate, they were never quite able to seize upon a genuine populist theme that could thrive without the aid of all those millions of corporate dollars. Without Fox News and most of the A.M. dial to constantly stir up the pot, the fledgling Astroturf movement would’ve faded months ago, and they know that full well. What the Right never counted on was that the real rage that existed out there had been untapped, yet was quietly simmering away with the venom of a snake looking for an ankle to bite. Whatever else you may want to call the “Occupy Wall Street” movement – and for the record I still don’t know quite what to make of it a month in – know this much: this truly grassroots movement is not phony, nor does it appear to be some left-wing counterpart to the Tea Party. While Labor has lent a helping hand, they are not driving this bus. Indeed, this rather diverse and unpredictable movement looks about as organized as a tailgating party before a football game. But deep within that diverse and disorganized group lies a seething contempt for what has transpired not only on Wall Street and the financial institutions but for the seeming complicity of a Washington political establishment that, as far as they were concerned, cared more for millionaires than for every day working people. ... This is the populist rage the Democrats couldn’t or wouldn’t tap into when it could’ve been there’s for the taking back in ’09. Maybe they don’t represent the 99% that they purport to, but they sure as hell represent a majority of the population. And, far from petering out, they seem to be spreading like wildfire. From a tiny throng near the World Trade Center they have sprung up in dozens of cities throughout the country and, now, hundreds of cities across the world. These people are tapping into an energy that is as old as dirt and, despite what the Right may be saying about them, their angst appears to be resonating among the general public. They are as unpredictable as they are committed. And that’s what the Right fears most about this movement. It’s genuine, growing and, for the moment at least, beyond co-opting. Furthermore, this truly grassroots movement is connecting in a visceral way with independents that even the Tea Party couldn’t and that spells trouble for the people at News Corp. If they can manage to organize themselves around a central theme and stick to it, this could be the biggest phenomenon to hit American politics since the days of Martin Luther King, Jr. Of course that’s a tall order. There are many stumbling blocks that lie ahead for Occupy Wall Street, not the least of which is the approaching winter, which in New York can be quite brutal. Then there’s this little thing called money. Like it or not, without some kind of funding, it will be almost impossible to sustain the momentum they have gained the last thirty plus days. While contributions are continuing to pour in, it may not be enough. And then there’s staying power. How long will these people hang in when the elements turn harsh and public opinion begins to wane? Say what you will about the Koch brothers, it’s amazing what a few million dollars can do to overcome a host of obstacles and fix a multitude of sins.
