U.S.Banks Betting on Greek Collapse

Well now, the banks are at it again. It was reported today that Goldman Sacks, among others, placed bets that Greece will default on their debts, perhaps precipitating a more widespred financial meltdown througout the world. Not only only has Goldman placed bets itself on this tragedy occuring, but they have created an investment vehicle for other investors to utilize so that they can also make the same bets Goldman has made. One must realize that in placing these bets, Golman and others are placing undue pressure on the Greek financial system, thus creating additional and unnecessary problems for Greece. Wasn't Goldman one of the banks the U.S. Treasury bailed out? Yes, it was, and here it is doing its best to precipitate the collapse of the Greek financial system. It is time for the U.S. Government to step in and prohibit this type of activity; if it is unsuccessful in this endeavor, consideration should be given to nationalizing our banking system in order to provide financial stability not only here in the U.S., but elsewhere in the world..

reBlog from Chad: Appeal To Reason, edited by C. Tunis

I found this fascinating quote today:

The Republicans seem to be happy to do nothing in both houses of congress, nothing but thwart any moves by the Democrats to push through productive legislation, legislation sorely needed to address many diverse issues and problems facing this country. How did we get to the point that a super-majority in the Senate is required in order to pass legislation? Is this a democracy? Apparently not, for the Republican party, the party of the well-heeled minority, do not wish to see Reagan-era legislation, legislation dear to their interests, dismantled..So, the Republican party does nothing but use every parlamentary manoeuver available to them to halt any legislative progress. Recently the Supreme Court gave a nod to their interests by allowing unlimited spending by corporations, a Supreme Court, needless to say, controlled by the conservative right..Republicans seem to believe that by halting progress on legislation, they will be contributing to the downfall of the Democrats in the fall, for the Democrats are the 'party-in-power', and in their view, will continue to be blamed by the voters for having done nothing to produce and pass constructive legislation in Washington..Well, perhaps the voters are not as dumb as the Republicans seem to believe, and those same voters may very well serve harsh punishment on the Republicans, as well as the Democrats, come this fall..Chad, Appeal To Reason, edited by C. Tunis, Feb 2010

You should read the whole article.

Blame the Democrats, no, blame the Republicans....

The Republicans seem to be happy to do nothing in both houses of congress, nothing but thwart any moves by the Democrats to push through productive legislation, legislation sorely needed to address many diverse issues and problems facing this country. How did we get to the point that a super-majority in the Senate is required in order to pass legislation? Is this a democracy? Apparently not, for the Republican party, the party of the well-heeled minority, do not wish to see Reagan-era legislation, legislation dear to their interests, dismantled..So, the Republican party does nothing but use every parlamentary manoeuver available to them to halt any legislative progress. Recently the Supreme Court gave a nod to their interests by allowing unlimited spending by corporations, a Supreme Court, needless to say, controlled by the conservative right..Republicans seem to believe that by halting progress on legislation, they will be contributing to the downfall of the Democrats in the fall, for the Democrats are the 'party-in-power', and in their view, will continue to be blamed by the voters for having done nothing to produce and pass constructive legislation in Washington..Well, perhaps the voters are not as dumb as the Republicans seem to believe, and those same voters may very well serve harsh punishment on the Republicans, as well as the Democrats, come this fall..

Bonuses to Bankers?

Today begins the parade of announcements in connection with bonuses to be paid to bankers, those wonderful souls who just one year ago very nearly put our economy into another severe depression, rivaling the '30's.. Just one bank - Chase - today announced bonuses running into the billions of dollars. Bonuses for what? Having benefited from being able to thrive (and survive) as a result of the government's having provided them with the resources to avoid bankruptcy, then reap the benefits of a government-supported survival enabling the banks to reap windfall profits - profits that would not exist without government support. Something is wrong with this picture. The NY Times today reported that the bank-induced near-collapse of our economy last year will cost taxpayers close to $2 trillion dollars..It is clear that nothing has (or will) change on Wall Street until the politicians in Washington see fit to enact legislation regulating excessive bonuses to an industry that is itself highly-regulated (or is suppose to be)..