Monday, August 31, 2009

On the Financial Crisis
All You Need to Know


Watch CBS Videos Online
More here: http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=5274961n

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Kroft seems at pains NOT to mention the politicians behind this insane bullshit, so here's that stuff from the comments at the above link and which checks with what I recall about it without making any further research into it right now:

I watched how you connected the dots, the mess we have with people losing their homes and the financial meltdown that was caused by "Legislation of Congress in 2000, the Commodity Futures Trading Modernization act" that opened the door to CDS's and Derivatives. The "Side Betting" that put our country at the greatest financial risk since the Great Depression. I noticed that you did NOT mention the man behind it, Phil Gramm, who introduced the bill, look a Wikipedia about Phil Gramm, aka "Foreclosure Phil". The Modernization bill, along with the repeal of the Glass Steagal Act of 1933 with the Gramm-Leach-Biley law of 1999. Pushed through by the Republican Controlled Congress, supported by Democrats and signed by Bill Clinton, and of course Alan Greenspan are the supporting architects and a Lot of their friends made "Billions" from moving money around and skimming from every working, notice the term working, man, woman, and child in America. I noticed that you DID NOT interview US Senators like Grassley and Hatch and other US Senators that were in office in 1999 and 2000, who pushed for and voted for the Modernization Act. They are running for cover, and judging by the smoke screen they are not really wanting to talk about how they "Screwed the American People" with the Modernization Act that permitted "side betting" and "having insurance on someone else's life(business or mortgage) hoping they will die" as with CDS's and Derivatives in home mortgages that were built around Fraud.

Let's be clear, because they ought not to be able to have it both ways. All of these asshats, politicians and financial gurus alike, are:

1. Genius types, smartest people in the room, too big to fail, and perfectly deserving of all of their bonuses. And therefore, all equally deserving of metal connecting bracelets and prison cells to call home because they absolutely knew what they were doing.

2. Ignorant know-nothings that should still be dealt with harshly because they had the effective "fiduciary responsibility" to know better and therefore also to behave better.

3. I suppose some kind of middle ground between those poles is possible, but is there really anything that let's any of them off the hook?

This shit was illegal and then made legal again. If you rob someone on the street corner you go to prison. Rob someone via Wall Street financial instruments and you receive a house in the Hamptons, hookers, cocaine and a golden parachute with which to float away.

There is no law.