Comments | iamom: on the wealth gap in the US

iamom

on the wealth gap in the US

Mar 07, 2011 21:07

Michael Moore delivered this speech to the demonstrators in Wisconsin recently that I heard about from his e-mail newsletter. Regardless of what you think of the guy, it was an impassioned speech and I was touched by his emotion. (I didn't watch the whole thing, but you can see it here if you're interested ( Read more... )

current events, economy

Comments 4

marketing theater vyus March 8 2011, 03:39:16 UTC

if you factor in inflation, you'll find the middle class in the US is getting poorer. two income households to raise families where, 40 years ago, you only needed one ( ... )

Re: marketing theater vyus March 8 2011, 03:42:38 UTC

i just realized i messed up my 150:1 factor, so add a couple zeroes to that return # :) seriously, though, this is what the investment houses do.

Re: marketing theater iamom March 14 2011, 16:49:02 UTC

I can't believe I've never thought of that basic precept about borrowing to invest. What a great illustration. And what a great illustration of how 2008 happened; the Fed gives the banks tons of very low-interest cash to "incent investment," which they in turn invest like drunken sailors in all manner of speculative bullshit, and then when the bubble bursts the taxpayers step in because in essence, it was Federal money to begin with that was invested.

No proper accountability or regulation in place there. At the time, and in retrospect, I think the banks should have failed. And I also don't understand why none of those fuckers is in jail now, and why they're already pulling down insane bonuses again! Nothing has changed here...

Re: marketing theater vyus March 17 2011, 18:26:35 UTC

i agree. glass-steagall, which was repealed in 1999 under the clinton govt, effectively had put a boundary between investment banks and deposit banks. the repeal tore down that wall, and let deposit funds be used in speculatory investment.
side note: hank paulson, former goldman sachs CEO, who would later be appointed secretary of the treasury by bush and had a hand in the bailouts, was a key lobbyist to get that law repealed. Also, he helped dismantle an SEC oversight committee in 2004 that was supposed to monitor investment houses under too much leverage.

the banks could've/should've gone under. under FDIC law, most taxpayer funds were guaranteed, anyway, and i bet it would've been cheaper to pay taxpayers directly than support bank balance sheets.

these guys are evil.