Archive for the Banks and Banking System Category

« Older Entries

Eu-rope Is Mal-rope (May 7, 2012)

Posted in Bankruptcy, Banks and Banking System, Debt/Deficits, Entitlements, Europe, Foreign Policy on May 7, 2012 by e-ssay.org

. . .

1          “Putin is put in, Sarkozy is put out.  The Dutch government is dissolved.  The Greeks have had it with not having it.  The Germans have had it with having to pay for others to have it.  The Spanish have no realistic recovery plan to have it all or even to have it half.”

2          “The have-nots and even the haves have had it.  The community described as ‘Socialist Europe’ is now moving to the right.  Restrictive immigration policies are always a harbinger of hate on the horizon.”

1          “Generosity emerges when individuals meet their needs and have adequate resources to share with others.  With diminishing resources and declining opportunities, Europeans with resources are protecting their piece of the crumbling pie.”

2          “After World War I, the victors imposed unworkable reparations on the Germans that were doomed to fail and set the stage for another war.  After World War II, the victors implemented the workable ‘Marshal Plan’ that destined the economies to succeed and set the stage for an exceptional peace.  The magnanimous approach was and is considered prudent, progressive, productive and profitable.  Today, the Germans have reverted to the World War I model in a doomed effort to end the financial war raging in Europe.”    

1          “After World War II, the Germans and the Japanese learned that it is easier to take by investment than by invasion, but that lesson is being lost.  Today, a nation’s debt is really little more than a default deferred.  The Europeans need to hit the ’ctr-alt-del’ button and build a better economy.”

2          “For some time, it has been just a matter of time.”

. . .

Bumper stickers of the week:

Eu-rope is Mal-rope . . . and on the ropes

Those who know the ropes realize that Eu-rope is on the ropes and at the end of their rope because they gave themselves too much rope and are now trying to rope in their excesses in a way that may only hang them all.  They are at the bitter end and are getting bitter.

Make work not war

A nation’s debt is really little more than a default deferred

In Heaven, the mechanics are German, the police are British, the chefs are French, the lovers are Italian and the entire place is organized and run by the Swiss.  In Hell, the police are German, the chefs are British, the mechanics are French, the lovers are Swiss and the entire place is organized and run by the Italians.  In Purgatory, the debtors are Spanish, Portuguese, Irish, Icelandic, Italian . . . . and the entire place is disorganized and run by the ECB, IMF, FRD and GS.

The Swiss are adequate lovers . . . really

Leave A Comment »

Proposition H8 And The Enduring Appeal Of Fear And Hate (February 13, 2012)

Posted in Abortion, Antitrust, Bailout/Bribe, Banks and Banking System, Civil Rights/Civil Liberties, Congress, Constitution, Courts, Crime/Punishment, Gay Politics, Judges, Less Government Regulation Series, Miscegenation, Supreme Court on February 13, 2012 by e-ssay.org

. . .

K          “In the early 1960s, a constitutional law textbook included a lengthy chapter collecting pivotal decisions challenging Jim Crow laws.  A library in this state, a grammar school in that state, a swimming pool in this state, a drinking fountain in that state.  The campaign was undertaken one institution, one jurisdiction, one decision at a time.  There were successes; there were failures; there were more successes than failures.  The Civil Rights Act of 1964 (CRA) changed the ground rules.  These outdated cases are of interest to historians today; they are moot asides for lawyers.  The whole chapter was expunged and a new chapter unfolded to detail the legal dispute du jour.”

J          “The unfolding chapter is reading like the old one.  America is gasping its way through the same spasms regarding gay marriages and gay rights.  The long-run outcome is clear, but the path is rocky.  Gay marriages and gay rights will be the norm and the law in thirty years.”

K          “Gay rights are the civil rights issue of this generation.  Instead of passing laws to protect civil rights such as the CRA, however, Congress passes unconstitutional screeds such as the Defense of Marriage Act of 1996 (DoMA).  Perverse group, the gang that legislates congress.”

J          “In thirty years, the kids will dismiss the dispute as ‘weird’ or ‘bizarre’ or whatever the patois is at the time.  Until then, prejudice, hate and fear drives the fight.  The Ninth Circuit decision is another step in the long slog.  And now the outcome likely turns on Kennedy.  Someone observed that Kennedy observed that his gay clerks were . . . human.  He decided that they should be treated that way.”

K          “In Lawrence v. Texas.  Contrast the development of the law regarding gay rights with the development of the law involving abortion.  Last month marked thirty-nine years since the Supreme Court addressed abortion in Roe v. Wade.  Curious circumstances and decision.  The matter was decided not by the Warren Court but by the Burger Court.  Warren retired to go bass fishing or something in 1969.  The seven vote majority opinion was written by a Republican-appointed Justice (Blackmun) and was joined by three Nixon appointees (Burger, Powell, Blackmun), two Eisenhower (Stewart, Brennan), one FDR (Douglas), and one LBJ (Marshall) appointees.  Even with no Democratic-appointed justices at all, Roe would have become the law of the land solely on the votes of Republican-appointed justices.”

J          “Even with a clear precedent, challenges to abortion will still be caroming around the courts in thirty years.  Gay rights will be resolved.”

K          “We would all be better off if the government got out of the bedroom.”

. . .

[See the Ninth Circuit decision in Perry v. Brown at http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2012/02/07/1016696com.pdf.]

[See the “e-ssay” titled Less Government Regulation Series: Love and Marriage (May 19, 2008).]

[See the “e-ssay” titled Fire Your Attorney General (November 7, 2011) and review http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2012/02/mortgage-settlement-as-attorney-general-sellout-deal-is-not-done-and-final-version-guaranteed-to-be-worse-than-advertised.html.  The bankers murdered the body politic (and economic) with malice aforethought and all we could offer them is an overdue book fine.]

Bumper stickers of the week:

“All that Proposition 8 accomplished was to take away from same-sex couples the right to be granted marriage licenses and thus legally to use the designation of ‘marriage,’ which symbolizes state legitimization and societal recognition of their committed relationships.  Proposition 8 serves no purpose, and has no effect, other than to lessen the status and human dignity of gays and lesbians in California, and to officially reclassify their relationships and families as inferior to those of opposite-sex couples.  The Constitution simply does not allow for ‘laws of this sort.’”

Let freedom ring; let love rule

Good to have loved and lost; better to have loved and won

Happy Valentine’s Day

Leave A Comment »

The Kids (At The Fed) Are Not Alright (January 30, 2012)

Posted in Banks and Banking System, Bernanke, Federal Reserve, Greenspan, Kleptocracy, Prison/Criminology, Society on January 30, 2012 by e-ssay.org

. . .

K          “They sound like a bunch of seventh graders snapping their towels in the locker room and squealing at each other.”

J          “Seems that the model of adult life as ‘high school writ large’ has degenerated into ‘junior high school writ large.’”

K          “Civilization may be on the retrograde as our society slides into collapse.  Our national destiny may be heading toward a state of ‘kindergarten writ large.’  Too many of our politicians have problems ‘playing well with others.’  At least at the Fed, the clowns were all playing ‘Ring Around The Rosie’ with each other while disregarding the decline outside.”

J          “The Fed should be required to release transcripts every year rather than after five years.  What is transpiring and conspiring is too important to wait.”

K          “Years ago, the notion of ‘Groupthink’ was trendy.  The idea is that a group may be more concerned about maintaining harmony that developing a realistic perception of the situation they confront.  You wonder if even one of the Fed economists was writing internal e-mails warning of what was obvious to anyone who looked outside.”

J          “And got together after work with a friend over a beer and despaired about the situation.”

. . .

K          “Grab a sheet of paper and jot down the names of three individuals, trained as economists or not, who have a clue about what is going on in the economy.”

J          “. . .  How about two?”

K          “Two will do.”

J          “. . .  I am working on it.  . . .  How about one?”

K          “One is a start.”

J          “. . .  Can I have until tomorrow?”

K          “Take your time.  Larry Summers’ statement about women in scientific disciplines may be 180 degrees from the truth.”

J          “Summers is reliable because he is reliably wrong especially about the ‘dismal science.’”

K          “The only individuals who have a clue in our society about our economic circumstances are women – Brooksley Born, Sheila Bair, Elizabeth Warren, Yves Smith, Nicole Foss, Gretchen Morgenson, Terry Gross, Christine Lagarde, etc.”

J          “That is because women care.  When you think about it, the forte of our fellow males is starting wars and filling prisons.  When you get right down to it, the males who start the wars should fill our prisons.”

K          “Talent is a mix of a tutored and sage intellect, personal and intellectual integrity, and good old-fashioned courage.  America simply does not have talent at the top.  The élite is not élite.  And the current feeder system of universities, foundations and fellowships is designed to ferret out the same charlatans and promote them into positions of power in America.”

. . .

[See the article and comments in “The Washington Post” discussing the delusions at the Federal Reserve Bank six years ago at http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/greenspan-image-tarnished-by-newly-released-documents/2012/01/12/gIQAvh0mtP_story.html.]

[See the “Frontline” program titled “The Warning” discussing the shenanigans of Greenspan, Summers, Rubin and their ilk and the courage of Brooksley Born at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/warning/.]

[See the “e-ssay” uploaded exactly six years ago to the minute titled "Greenspan’s Legacy – Apres moi, Le Meltdown (January 30, 2006)."]

Bumper stickers of the week:

The nerds won, but not the smart or courageous ones.

What clothes is the Emperor not wearing today?

Plus ca change . . .

Leave A Comment »

Losing Faith: MF Global and Kodak (January 9, 2012)

Posted in Bankruptcy, Banks and Banking System, Economics, Housing, Judges on January 9, 2012 by e-ssay.org

. . .

K          “With each passing day, the American dream is being stolen from more and more proverbial hard-working and law-abiding Americans.  When enough ordinary Americans lose their few investments, there will not be enough Americans who are invested in America.”

J          “MF Global and Jon Corzine stole money and did the American thing.  They fraudulently filed Chapter 7 of Title 11, the Bankruptcy Code, as a securities dealer rather than a commodities broker to provide powerful creditors access to the company’s cash before its ordinary citizen clients.”

K          “The picture at Kodak is not pretty.  The retirees will discover that the pensions they worked a lifetime to build are vaporized or at least reduced in a moment via Section 365 of Title 11.  Even the Bankruptcy Code is economically and morally bankrupt.”

J          “And distorted and prostituted at every opportunity by bankruptcy lawyers and judges.  For so many other ordinary Americans, their house is a cage, a prison and a leg-hold trap.  The owners are drowning and can neither fight nor flee, neither tread water nor swim away.  Housing prices still must drop substantially to achieve market clearing prices.”

K          “If everyone acknowledged the real market value of houses, the house of cards would collapse.  Big Banks and most homeowners would be forced to admit that everyone is hopelessly insolvent.  Local governments would not be able to raise enough tax revenue unless they raised the mill rate to a crippling percentage of purported market value.  The only way for the Republic to survive the day is to nourish a collective national delusion that everything really is alright.”

J          “Is it better to nourish a collective national delusion?”

. . .

Bumper sticker of the week:

When you ain’t got nothin’, you ain’t got nothin’ to lose.

Leave A Comment »

Standing Up In America (December 5, 2012)

Posted in "Fiat ______", Bailout/Bribe, Banks and Banking System, Courts, Credit Unions, Crime/Punishment, Kleptocracy, Law, Locke Gary, Perjury/Dishonesty, Politics on December 5, 2011 by e-ssay.org

. . .

L          “We now learn that while he was Secretary of Treasury, Henry Paulson tipped off some of his hedge fund buddies of the Fannie Mae bailout.  Everyone in power is quick to proclaim that his statements and actions are not illegal and declare that nothing can be done.  His statements and actions are illegal, but those in power refuse to enforce Title 18, the criminal provisions of the United States Code, because they do not want to bring charges against their compatriots in power even their competitors in the other party.”      

O         “They cop out and refuse to send the cops out.  Because otherwise someone could bring charges against them some day.  The Great Ruling Class Truce.  And no one asks any follow-up questions or demands answers.”

L          “However, a federal judge in New York, Jed S. Rakoff, took a stand from his seat on the bench and rejected a settlement between the Big Banks and the SEC that would have let the Big Banks substantially off the hook.” 

O         “I read a blurb that the state attorney general in Massachusetts, Martha Coakley, took a stand and demanded that the Big Banks follow standards.  The lawsuit may put the Big Banks on the hook.”

L          “And in developments overseas, America’s standard-bearer in China, Gary Locke, is America’s stand-up guy in China.”

. . .

[Henry Paulson:  http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-11-29/how-henry-paulson-gave-hedge-funds-advance-word-of-2008-fannie-mae-rescue.html]

[Jed S. Rakoff:  http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2011/11/28/142856070/judge-blocks-citigroup-sec-settlement]

[Martha Coakley:  http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/massachusetts-attorney-general-sues-big-banks-over-foreclosure-practices/2011/12/01/gIQAgwnUIO_story.html.  See the “e-ssay” titled Fire Your Attorney General (November 7, 2011)]

[Gary Locke:  http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/gary-locke-is-star-in-china-as-first-us-ambassador-of-chinese-ancestry/2011/11/28/gIQA703DEO_story.html?hpid=z2.  See the “Category” denoted “Locke, Gary”]

Bumper stickers of the week:

America Is Exceptional / When America’s Exceptional

Take a stand

Take a few fiat dollars out of your credit union and put them in your pocket for safe keeping.

Leave A Comment »

Boycott Big Banks – Vote Your Dollars (November 21, 2011)

Posted in Bailout/Bribe, Banks and Banking System, Boycott Series, Civil Rights/Civil Liberties, Credit Unions, Guns, Occupy Movement on November 21, 2011 by e-ssay.org

. . .

X          “The money you withdraw from a Big Bank and deposit in a credit union does not matter to the Big Bank.  The Big Banks get free money from the Federal Reserve.  The Federal Reserve has already given away more than 16 Trillion with no Congressional approval and no prospect of every receiving any of the money.  However, when you withdraw your money from a Big Bank, you are surrendering your serfdom and asserting your freedom.  The Big Bank can no longer fleece you.  All the little fees are little fleas that pester and annoy and destroy you.  The Big Banks are five and ten dollaring you to death.”

Y          “When I moved my money to my local credit union, I was already in the lobby when I thought about applying for a car loan.  They offered the best rate.”

X          “Never borrow money from a Big Bank; only borrow money from a credit union or community bank.  When too many Americans did not deserve credit, the Big Banks and their surrogates fooled them and forced credit on them.  Now when a few deserving Americans desire and deserve credit, the Big Banks are unwilling to lend.  A credit union is willing to loan.”

Y          “The brochure says that I may even be able to apply for a home improvement loan.”

. . .

[See Senator Bernie Sanders at http://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=9e2a4ea8-6e73-4be2-a753-62060dcbb3c3]

[See the “e-ssay” titled “O’Bama Arming Industry (November 22, 2010).”  The benchmark price of .22s in November is $21.99.]

Bumper stickers of the week:

The spray seen ’round the world – UC Davis, 11/18/11

The pen is not mightier than the sword, but the video camera may be as moving

A video is worth ten thousand words

Banks got bailed out; people got sold out

Boycott Big Banks; Support Credit Unions

Lend To Credit Unions; Borrow From Credit Unions

Vote Your Dollars

http://www.occupycafe.org/

http://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-9th-circuit/1332957.html

Leave A Comment »

An “Occupy Primer” (November 14, 2011)

Posted in Bailout/Bribe, Banks and Banking System, Economics, Kleptocracy, Law, Occupy Movement on November 14, 2011 by e-ssay.org

. . .

?          “The Bonus Marchers sought what?”

!           “Bonuses owed to them by the government.”

?          “The civil rights advocates sought what?”

!           “Civil rights.”

?          “The women’s rights proponents sought what?”

!           “Women’s rights.”

?          “Those who sought to end the war in Vietnam sought what?”

!           “To end the war in Vietnam.”

?          “Those in the Occupy Movement seek what?”

!           “Simple.  They seek to end a game that is rigged at every step against everyone except a very small elite.  They seek to change a political and financial and legal and schooling scheme that is corrupt and decadent from top to bottom and from right to left.  They seek a build a future but suspect that there is not one.  They seek to replace the current vacuous kleptocracy with a viable democracy.  They seek to start a discussion and a dialogue among equals in an outdoor Academy to supplant the lies foisted on them from those in power.  That type of stuff.”

?!         “They want a fair chance.  I get it.”

. . .

[See the "e-ssays" titled Occupy America (October 10, 2011) and Occupy America: The “Bonus March/Chicago Police Riot/Kent State” Of 2011? (October 17, 2011)]

[See the “e-ssay” titled America Recycles Day, November 15 (November 15, 2010) and celebrate “America Recycles Day” tomorrow by doing something.]

Bumper stickers of the week:

We are the 99.9%

Occupy Jenkins Hill; Occupy Capitol Hill

Occupy [our small burg]

(Neoclassical) Economics – “The Dismal Religion”

(Neoclassical) Economics – “The Delusional Religion”

I won’t believe that a corporation is a person until Texas executes one

Leave A Comment »

Fire Your Attorney General (November 7, 2011)

Posted in Banks and Banking System, Courts, Crime/Punishment, Health Care, Kleptocracy, Law, O'Bama, Occupy Movement on November 7, 2011 by e-ssay.org

. . .

U          “A state attorney general represents the people of the state in legal matters.  The attorney general is your attorney representing you as a citizen.  What are all these state attorneys general doing maintaining frivolous litigation against Romney – O’Bama Care?  They are tying up the courts and wasting tax dollars.”

V          “Their acts of commission are matched by their acts of omission.  Too many attorneys general are ready to give immunity to banks for all their crimes and fraud rather than doing their job and taking the banksters to court.  We need to fire the state attorney general before he can do more harm.”

U          “In my state, do we need to fire her or will she do her duty?”

V           “Do we need to fire the Attorney General?”

. . .

[See Gretchen Morgenson, “A Deal That Wouldn’t Sting,” The New York Times, October 29, 2011 at http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/30/business/a-foreclosure-settlement-that-wouldnt-sting.html?]

[On Saturday, good citizens withdrew their funds from national banks and deposited them in credit unions and community banks as part of “National Bank Transfer Day.”  See the "e-ssay" titled “Boycott Big Banks (February 1, 2010)” and the "e-ssay" titled "Carefully Courting “Romney – O’Bama Care” Through The Courts (August 15, 2011).”]

[Wall, Berlin - 8-13-1961 - 11-9-1989]

Bumper stickers of the week:

Boycott Big Banks

Divest nationally; invest locally   

Fire your attorney general

Leave A Comment »

Occupy America: The “Bonus March/Chicago Police Riot/Kent State” Of 2011? (October 17, 2011)

Posted in Banks and Banking System, Boycott Series, Economics, First Amendment, Journalism, Kleptocracy, Newspapers, Occupy Movement, Politics, Society on October 17, 2011 by e-ssay.org

. . .

a          “They will only tolerate it as long as they regard it as harmless.  When they regard it as a threat to their domination, they will do harm.”

A          “Another inevitable repeat of history.  But when the Chicago police rioted in ’68 outside the Democratic National Convention and beat and tear gassed the populace, at least they only used night sticks and tear gas as weapons.”

a          “There are videos you can download to your tube with a few clicks.  You can see that the police even beat the press.  Back then, the press got it and got in the way and got it from the police.”

A          “Today, the authorities are armed with far more dangerous armaments and arsenals.  Even toll booth operators and beach patrols sport their own SWAT (Special Weapons And Tactics) Teams equipped with grenade launchers and flame throwers.  In an old black and white tv show, Barney Fife, a deputy sheriff in a small North Carolina town, carried one bullet, probably a .38, in his shirt pocket and was required to ask Andy, the sheriff, before he could even chamber it.  Different times.”

a          “Not many police officers realize that the kids are trying to protect the police union while the governor is trying to kill it.  When the federal government begins providing Homeland Security grants to allow local libraries to acquire armed drones, will anyone care or comment.”

A          “Not to worry, they are closing the libraries.  It might be Oak Park, it might be Oakland, it might occur on some other park or land that will become part of our national lore.”

a          “Even if the kids keep their heads, the authorities are going to bust them.  The problem is that one person may make a threatening comment that will provide the police with a pretext.  An undercover police officer could make a threatening comment to one of his colleagues and provide the pretext for a police riot.”

A          “A few young Boomers got their heads busted and then when older busted a booming economy.  Now the Boomers will bust some concerned youngsters’ heads – the youngsters who must endure the long bust but will never experience a lingering boom.”

. . .

[See the “e-ssay” titled “Ohio – Not Forgettin’ Ohio; The Battleground State Battles On (May 2, 2005)” and the "e-ssay" titled "The Residue of Unrelenting Fear: PTSD Afflicts The Populace (August 28, 2006)."]

Bumper stickers of the week:

Do you want the kids to be activists or pacifists?

Occupy Mayberry, R.F.D.

Kids (and older kids) who know and care are doing something

The kids are alright

“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.” – John F. Kennedy

Leave A Comment »

Occupy America (October 10, 2011)

Posted in Banks and Banking System, Boycott Series, Economics, First Amendment, Journalism, Kleptocracy, Newspapers, Occupy Movement, Politics, Society on October 10, 2011 by e-ssay.org

. . .

A         “Commentators are having a hard time because there isn’t one spokesperson to interview nor one manifesto to mine.”

a          “Most commentators don’t understand what has happened in America over the last decade, so I don’t expect them to understand what is going on today.  I am aware enough to know that something’s clearly wrong, yet it is hard to describe.  What I do know is that I don’t have a future.”

A         “It’s simple and obvious.  The ruling class is strip mining the middle class.  And then accusing those who dare to point out the obvious truth that the astute observer is instigating class warfare.”

a          “They are clearcutting the kids.  They are not allowing a college grad let alone the ordinary Joe to immanentize the eschaton, although they are immanentizing the eschaton in a big way at my expense.  I really don’t have much hope of improvement or advancement.”

A         “Listen carefully.  That may be the big difference this time – an underlying absence of hope and a more pronounced sense of desperation.” 

a          “Hope died a few years ago.  Hope is so 2008.  Yet what do you have if you don’t have hope.”

A         “When hope totally disappears, an individual who can’t take it often takes one of three paths.  At the extreme, he takes his life, takes someone else’s life, or takes someone else’s life and then takes his life.”

a          “Someone sure took the life of the American Dream.”

. . .

[See the “e-ssay” titled “Boycott Big Banks (February 1, 2010)."]

Bumper stickers of the week:

Occupy Wall Street; Occupy Our America

You don’t need a sportscaster to know which way the ball bounces.

Leave A Comment »

« Older Entries
Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.