The fall of Citigroup is a resonant political event–akin to the Republican Party’s failure to win reform of Social Security–only this time the bell tolls for the Democratic Party. The creation of Citigroup as an all-purpose financial supermarket and too-big-to-fail banking marvel was very much the accomplishment of Clinton Democrats. They enacted the law in the late 1990s that authorized this megabank monstrosity, with coaching from Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, Fed chairman Alan Greenspan and of course Sanford Weill, the creative genius who built Citi.
Now that this institution has slid into deep trouble and Rubin has been appointed emergency chairman to rescue it, Democrats inherit the stink. They made this mess possible. Will they now accept the meaning of Citigroup gone sour and begin to undo the damage? That is, undertake reform of the financial system in fundamental ways? I doubt it, though the message is obvious.
Just as the GOP dreamed for decades of dismantling Social Security, investment bankers campaigned for thirty years to repeal the Glass-Steagall Act, which separated commercial banking from its investment-house cousins. This was the New Deal achievement enacted in response to the double-dealing banking practices that contributed to the crash of 1929. Bankers pushed their depositors into buying the corporate stocks the bankers were hustling, among other malpractices. Wall Street hated the law but failed year after year to win repeal. The problem was always Democrats (since Republicans were sure supporters).
Bill Clinton delivered his “New Democrat” party, accompanied by lots of happy talk about magic words like “synergy” and how “modernization” would create a more stable (and profitable) financial system. It did the latter, for sure, but not the former.
Actually, the combination of insurance, investment banking and old-line commercial banks multiplied the conflicts of interest within banks, despite so-called “firewalls” supposed to keep these activities separate. Much like Enron, placing some deals in off-balance sheet entities did not insulate Citigroup from the losses in its swollen subprime housing lending. The bank has so far written off something like $15 billion and more to come.
Think of Citigroup’s rise and fall as another high-water mark for the conservative order. Like Social Security reform, it looked like a sure thing in politics. It was accompanied by the usual encouragement of lavish campaign contributions. On the downside, no one will remember having voted for it.
Reforming the deregulated financial system is another test for the new “New Democrats.” I expect it will take them a while–maybe years–to face up to the implications. This is a far more daunting challenge–substantively and politically–than reforming healthcare or restoring labor organizing rights. Other megabanks like JP Morgan Chase also exist and will argue they have none of Citigroup’s flaws. As investors (including pension funds) continue to lose billions in the deformed financial system, government will continue to worry more about the survival of these banking institutions that generate the losses. The megabanks are indeed “too big to fail” and, if that seems likely, Washington will come to their rescue in the name of protecting the soundness of the system. What a scam that is.
At least the unambiguous truth about “financial modernization” is now on the table for all to see. That should keep the Wall Street guys from whining for a while about the oppressive nature of bank regulation. The next reform era, when it does finally arrive, will head in the opposite direction–restoring public protections for the little guys against the greedy excesses of big hogs.
Greider is the author of the national bestsellers One World, Ready or Not, Secrets of the Temple and Who Will Tell The People.
Copyright © 2007 The Nation
All an act. One of them had to take a “hit” (he’ll be just fine) to dellude us into thinking they took responsibility for their actions, when in fact they really didn’t. The cried and wailed to the Government and Fed for another bailout, and got two- and keep getting bailed out. Meanwhile, again, it’s the public who suffers for their mismanagement.
Down with all the big investment banks! They have done absolutely NOTHING to make anyone’s life any better, except for the 5% they serve.
mastershake is correct about the bailouts. Unfortunately the MSM is framing the interest rate cuts as some sort of potential relief for the homeowners who are facing escalating mortgage interest rates, ie those having adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs).
Bernanke killed two birds with one stone by lowering interest rates twice. First, he minimized the amount of short-term megabank shit hitting the fan, and second he convinced the vulnerable ARM holders that they can use their credit cards freely during the holiday season with no worries that they will be living under a bridge when their interest rates escalate.
Unfortunately ARM interest rate escalation will not be affected by the interest rate cuts. Other than having to lay off a lot of grunts, the megabanks will do just fine.
The rubber band has been stretched to the point that it probably won’t break before Christmas, but duck and cover after that folks.
The ‘too big to go broke’ banks have an obligation to fulfill to all the politicians they bought. That’s why they are ‘too big to go broke’.
“Reforming the deregulated financial system is another test for the new ‘New Democrats.’ I expect it will take them a while–maybe years–to face up to the implications.”
Oh, for Pete’s sake. ‘New Democrats’ actually facing up to something?! Get real. So-called deregulation is just another word for the brand of ‘freedom and democracy’ (a.k.a ‘The American Way’ (TM) or unbridled ‘free market’ capitalism) that provides the sponsorhip for both parties and is promoted by them in turn, both at home and abroad.
Here, courtesy of Mike Whitney ( http://www.counterpunch.org/whitney11062007.html ) is another way of expressing the reality of the situation:
[quote]The real reason that the subprime swindle mushroomed into an economy-busting monster is that the markets are no longer policed by any agency that believes in intervention. The pervasive “free market” ideology rejects the notion of supervision or oversight, and as a result, the markets have become increasingly opaque and unresponsive to rules that may assure their continued credibility or even their ability to function properly.
The “supply side” avatars of deregulation have transformed the world’s most vital and prosperous markets into a huckster’s shell-game. All regulatory accountability has vanished along with trillions of dollars in foreign investment. What’s left is a flea-market for dodgy loans, dubious over-leveraged equities and “securitized” Triple A-rated garbage.
Let’s hear it for the Reagan Revolution.[/quote]
Now, extrapolate that to the entirety of the system to which the US is inextricably wedded, politically as well as economically, and you may get some small glimpse into the underlying problems of that system. The chickens are coming home to roost — with a vengeance. Better hold on tight. You, unlike the ‘elite’ authors of the situation, are unlikely to find any safe haven to run to, and even they may be in for a few nasty surprises.
If the Democrats “caused” this mess, as alleged by the author with Bill Clinton evidently signing bad legislation passed though his late-90’s Republican Congress, why didn’t the wiser Bush Republicans just fix it for us when they had both The White House and the Congress?
The Democrats be stupid, weak, etc., etc., but if we now note that something like Glass-Steagal needs to be re-enacted (due to previous error) it will only be a strong majority of Democrats ever doing it. I mean, do you think Republicans are gonna do it?
Heh, anyone else starting to see Daniel David as a commercial break (always for the same useless product) between the actual postings? Anyways…
Thanks Arvy for the Mike Whitney link. I’ve been following this guy for the past 4 years or so, and he has been absolutely prescient in his descriptions of what the ARM/subprime fiasco would accomplish. I’ve been watching the financial news amazed at the way it seems like it came right from some script Mr. Whitney wrote.
Fortunately my wife and I saw the light regarding easy credit years ago, with only about $3,000 (it came so FAST though) in debt to pay for the lesson, which was paid off in a relatively short time. We rent, not own our home (that has it’s own set of dangers, not the least of which is potential homelessness at someone ELSE’s whim, or because of their, not my, mistakes) We got out of the game basically, paying for any products or services we require with actual money, not money we might have later.
No person (or group) is an island though, and we’re all going to feel the pinch, no matter how insulated we are. In general, though it WILL lead to some short-term hardships, a resetting of our faux economy will do this nation good by forcing us to take more realistic positions regarding our standards of living and our industrial methodology.
Too big to fail??? Why does that remind me of statements made by some shipbuilders that the Titanic was ‘unsinkable’? Of course when the Titanic went down it went alone. When Citigroup fails, I’ll bet it’ll take a few banks, and maybe a country or two, with them.
Anyone sitting in house right now with an overvalued mortgage, might want to consider getting out… like pretty damn soon. The house of cards is finally falling.
[quote]neomunk November 6th, 2007 2:26 pm — Heh, anyone else starting to see Daniel David as a commercial break (always for the same useless product) between the actual postings?[/quote]
One can’t help wondering at times. In this case, responding to indications that both parties share a common sponsorship with a question about why one of them hasn’t overturned the misdeeds of the other seems even more obtuse than usual.
But I guess we need dissenting voices, even if they don’t always add much useful insight.
I agree with leobixby. We had a perfectly good banking system in place when there was a division between savings banks and commercial banks and what on earth was the purpose in letting banks sell investment instruments? I agree wholeheartedly with leobixby when he says “They have done absolutely NOTHING to make anyone’s life any better, except for the 5% they serve.”
when will greider and other authors get it that publishing on paper only is old stuff.
To neumonk,
Now there is no difference what so ever between the Domocrats and Republicans. They act as duopoly. Both of them are owned and controlled
by big business/Money.
Daniel David is nothing but a huckster and a shill for the Democratic party. No matter what is the subject of discussing is, he alway buds in and praises the Democrats?? Sound like a broken record.
Skippyagogo, “too big to fail” is a phrase that originated, as far as I know, in the softening-up P.R. period before the taxpayer-funded 1970s Chrysler bailout. The hook was that letting such a huge business fail because of its own mismanagement would unfairly punish thousands of families (as if that were the government’s, let alone Chrysler’s, main concern.)
Arvy and Atexan:
Yep, the message is always a variation on the same theme: Better than the Republicans(TM)
A quick poll of the opinions here though will show you that the people who are too bright to be suckered in by such a ruse are in the majority; at least here this forum those who can see through the (relatively simplistic) propaganda are the more numerous. I think it has something to do with Common Dream’s abnormally high signal-to-noise ratio pertaining to the articles they offer. What I mean to say is that Common Dreams offers articles that put on display most of the more important factors of world politics.
This well chosen selection of REAL NEWS draws an intelligent crowd, people who understand cause and effect. As long as we don’t let any obvious propaganda here stand unchallenged, there’s virtually no chance that said propaganda will take root. I said it in a different thread, and I’ll say it here: this place gives me HOPE. SO MANY people HERE can see what I (using all of my available intellect) have come to believe is true, that being the continued fascistification (heh) of the Western world, primarily the U.S., and are at LEAST speaking out against it. I’m fairly certain that the vocal are also the minority in the ‘fed up’ group. This again, gives me hope.
So thank you again brothers and sisters. Read on, THINK on, write on.
Right on.
I’m very disturbed to see ad hominem attacks against posters–on Daniel David in this case–on this web site. Attack the arguments, not the man or woman. Rush Limbaugh should be able to post on this site without suffering direct personal attacks, no matter how well deserved.
ugh,
don’t let limbaugh know about this site, although I agree with you miltiantliberal. Limbaugh wouldn’t make it because he lacks “real” intellect and or “actual” experience (hence his addiction to medication perhaps.)
We are all here ranting and raving because no matter what drummer we march to, and how absurd it may sometimes sound, it don’t seem to matter to the gentle audience. I’m sure that’s what allows us to feel at ease about expressing ourselves, at least I’m speaking for myself.
It would be pretty difficult if we tried to write and we felt restricted about what we had to say, I’m sure most of us have had to endure that form of restriction from time to time in various situations. And it’s in the posting here on these subjects that we have the chance to learn, if only by whatever kind of reaction we receive. Eventually that has an effect on how we think perhaps? Even Daniel?
this is more a post about the freedom of expression we should have here than on you Daniel.
Mike Whitney has been calling it right along because he understands the simple truth in the esoteric complexity of proliferating new “financial instruments” that Alan Greenspan encouraged….
……the financial wizards were not content to get their stuff exploiting the public in the traditional way, there was real money to be made in conning each other.
You’re a Citibank red suspenders guy who dreams of financial perpetual motion machines, so you create a new class of borrowers by cultivating fields considered fallow back in the days of regulation, the fields of bad risk credit that began to seem miraculously fertile after deregulation. You sell the American dreamers ARMs and other scams. (Greenspan described this as a species of altruism, ie, giving everyone a chance to own a home) Then you take this funky paper and you mix it together with other mortgage debt that doesn’t smell so bad and you label it a “collateralized debt obligation” or CDO.
You have created a new “instrument”, a “security”, almost as good as a municipal bond, you say, only really sexy. You market these CDO’s to the members of your own class, the only ones who might have some understanding of the nature of the new instrument.
No one really understood it, of course, least of all Mr. red suspenders MBA, because the money mania is an irrational exuberance based on the “new physics” of the deregulated free market.
The great maestro, King Lizard himself, speaking ex cathedra before a fawning congress, bestowed his blessing and the entire suspendered class breathed a sigh of relief. If the Greenspan understood it and pronounced it good, then put the peddle to the metal and multiply those CDO’s!
Meanwhile, Rosie Menendez, who was convinced she would win the lottery by the time her ARM would reset from $600/month to $1200/month, had to move in with her cousin when she did not win the lottery and lost her 3 bdrm house.
By now, it is becoming apparent to Citibank and the suspendered class that finance is not a world unto itself, that money is just a daydream if it is not linked to genuine productive activity, ie, Rosie Menendez serving you your burger and fries. Money does not actually make money, it never did and never will.
That is the bullshit the suspendered class mistakes for nourishment, always has and always will until some one shuts down their casino of lies.
That won’t happen. Greider won’t admit we’ve come to the end of days. He thinks reform when only revolution will suffice.
He thinks Rosie Menendez and her ilk will bail out the suspendered class because Citibank is too big to fail. Congress will try, but the dollar won’t carry the load. The fact is Citibank is too big to survive. Citibank is the problem. It should be symbolically interred next to Milton Friedman.
The really BIG story in market news today is that the monolines are officially in total melt down. The monolines insure banks against defaults on all those CDO’s and other derivitives plays and is a TRILLION DOLLAR nightmare. This is a direct link to the take-down of even the municipal bond sector. This is a breach of 3rd line defenses and the best (Worst) indicator yet of the magnitude of the US AND GLOBAL economic melt down.
I’d also like to take this opportunity to officially announce that: Allen Greenspan is the Paraclete of MAMMON*ography.
cruxpuppy:
a very nice chuckle
thank you
ken
‘n hang in there daniel–
life is “but”
a learning
experience
Next stop, you’ll be hearing names usually reserved for the seldom mentioned, austere, sacrosanct levels of our economy. J.P.Morgan Chase, for instance, is very, very quietly holding back, hunkered-down in the shadows, not releasing the extent of their econo-skinning, in hopes beyond reality, that the fan will be able to miraculously blow all that ton of shit back before it actually hit said fan. The fact is, if and when the curtain gets pulled back on ol’ J.P., the world will see that there is the single largest cache of CDO garbage the world has never known. Then you may, (or may not) hear about the megolithically sacrosanct*est of them all, Mellon bank of New York, with it’s 20 trillion dollar asset line being attack as if by Parana.
One exception to J.P. Morgan Chase’s doomed future is this: J.P. Morgan Chase controls the gold market. Today, the value of one ounce of gold hit $850. If you, some day soon, see that the gold market has, for some trumped-up reason, just taken a big, out-of-the-blue hit, loosing say 2 to 2.5%, you’ll know that J.P. has just “skimmed” that market and retired that corresponding amount of debt off of it’s derivitives losses. just watch!!!!
And isn’t it funny, Preston Digitator, that it was JP Morgan, iconic facsimile of the incorporation of the US, who with his cronies, engineered the Federal Reserve, and that this Frankenstein has turned on its creator by manipulating this global economic debacle into being? It’s ironic. These fools never seem to consider that self-interest and the common good are actually one and the same and that the survival of the fittest depends upon the survival of the weakest, otherwise who will the fittest have for lunch?
Do you really think JP Morgan Chase has enough gold to cover its losses?
Personally, I think these mavens are quietly planning a switch to the Amero. They wrecked the dollar and are set to kick it aside onto the ash heap of history. There ain’t going to be no stinking reform! When the national casinos go bust, go global!
I’m in favor of the freedom of expression thing here, and I don’t mind at all being the favorite target for criticism. By the way, back to the original question.
Does anyone think Republicans are gonna fix the banking and CDO mess for us in 2009? Is anyone willing to even speculate what ought to be done, and who would be willing possibly to do it?
Not to worry. Bob Rubin will show up on Hillary Clinton’s doorstep, hat in hand and political contributions at the ready, and a bailout will be orchestrated. It’s all being choreographed now.
All good points CP. The biblical line about “what so ever you do to the least of these” has never seemed more prescient than today and in regards to this terribly flawed gaggle of auspicious buffoons. Do these mega-banks really believe (especially at this stage of the melt-down) that hiding their losses will stop the implosion in its tracks???That’s one thing that has always fed my sardonic distain for any and all official-dum(b), and that is when they go to such juvenile lengths to cover their incompetence and just add to the consequences in every way, especially in magnifying their stupidity and woeful failure to achieve even a modicum of maturity……wtf, is that one of the qualifications for “my service to the Public”? The idea of the Amero is intriguing, but I don’t think this is all part of that grand-wizzards-behind the curtain scheme….not at this time. It may have been planned as the end game if the house of crap economy had held together to it’s planned conclusion….for credibly hoisting the US to Empire status by such masterful economic brilliance. But alas, when we have technicians trying to pass themselves off as true craftsmen of world fiscal policy….you get a mountain of smoldering dung….and that will be the way the rest of the world accords us now….and rightfully so. This should doom any further delusions of Empiric grandeur for ohhhh, say 3 generations……if anyone is still around.
I dunno, Preston D, the Europeans got to the euro because they were sick of nationalism and wanted to compete, but we may get to the amero because we have to and expand our national identity by devouring weaker neighbors in the process. The US is itself too big to fail and the worthless dollar is supported internationally by virtue of that fact. If it can no longer dollarize ME oil, it can amerize Canadian and Mexican oil, of which there is a sufficiency. It is not so much the vain grandiosity of “true craftsmen of world fiscal policy” as it is the ad hoc decisions of a powerful thug. Rome lasted quite some time with powerful thugs at the helm making it up as they went along… It is not beautiful thoughts ringing with the pure tones of reason, but ugly deeds that put thuggery on center stage…the amero is not quantum physics…Al Capone would have understood it perfectly.
DanielDavid, you asked “and who would be willing to possibly do it.?”
I truly believe Kucinich is the only candidate that can pull the world out of it’s pending doom. I truly believe that his grasp and respect for the constitution and it’s inherent demands to run this country by upholding the law…..THE PEOPLES LAW, is seriously our last chance at correction. He’s no superman in any respect…… he just happened to latch onto, and inculcate the validity of what is the essential core of what makes America, America…..no mystery, no magic, no need for slight of hand, smoke, mirrors, deception…..just simply UPHOLD THE CONSTITUTION. In so doing, he is comfortable with any and all contingencies, feel no threat, no intimidation, no delusions, and can easily project that comfort in his convictions. What does it say about how far we, as a nation have strayed from what made us who we are, when the only guy who truly GETS IT, is treated as an outsider??????
Good points CP, especially regarding Canadian and Mexican reserves. It appeared that when the Europeans decided they’d quit fartin’ around and make currency exchanges more amicable, we the ever conniving, guilt-laden, sky-is-falling, US, felt intimidated to such an extent that we started acting and reacting in a paranoid charge up San Empires hill. Hell, the Europeans didn’t want that job, they’ve got better (mature) sense. That’s always our problem, instead of letting market forces take it’s course, we’re always trying to manipulate, and coax, and fudge things in our PARANOID favor……the rest of the world looks at us and wonders when the hell we’ll ever graduate out of diapers.
Hey CP, I really liked that line, and it’s reasoning:
“The US is itself too big to fail and the worthless dollar is supported internationally by virtue of that fact. If it can no longer dollarize ME oil, it can amerize Canadian and Mexican oil, of which there is a sufficiency.” I can see you’ve done some serious home-work. I think the problem will be that those ‘covert’ derivatives ane gonna bite alot of butts, but none worse than US. And the rest of the world may ….well, let’s don’t go there. but at that point….all bets are off (just like in the economy)
“I truly believe Kucinich is the only candidate…” etc./etc.
Assuming that’s the case (as I do, btw), why not just leave the poor-guy in Congress — where at least he won’t be targeted/assassinated in the near-future? [You need to be cautious in ‘what you wish-for’…by 9/11, the US could have had a President Lieberman — just “food for thought”]
They’ll simply just print more money. Of course Milk and Gas will be 6 bucks a gallon. Not to worry though all those new billionaires who created this mess will get by. As for the rest of us it’s going to be one long cold winter.
PrestonDigitator November 6th, 2007 7:40 “…monolines are officially in total melt down. The monolines insure banks against defaults on all those CDO’s and other derivatives plays and is a TRILLION DOLLAR nightmare…”
Actually, a 471 trillion dollar nightmare..the real size of the world financial derivatives market…mostly unhedged and exposed either way long or short…Warren Buffet and Addison Wiggin have been warning about this explosive cocktail for years…
With the US dollar in the toilet, Gold at $840 and Oil bumping it’s head on $100 all bad nasty little Economic Policies [SIC] of Bu$hco and his merry band on incompetents are COMING HOME TO ROOST BIG TIME…
PS: One clue to this disaster; War expenditures are ultimately destructive to any economy in the LONG TERM..something Bu$h failed to study, understand or comprehend at university….Perhaps he was too busy getting pissed up and drugged out…
All good input mat,jxh,&simon, Hey didn’t any of yozguyz like that title,”Paraclete of MAMMON*ography’? I had to sit on that for 36 hours, burning a whole in my pocket, before I had an applicable chance to use it. lol. Oh, and did you notice that Tuesday the market jumped up 137 points based on mostly bad fundamentals?? The market-wizard-behind-the-curtain always gets news 12 to 24 hours before we do, and jacks up the market, knowing that the next day, it’ll have to go down……it’s done so consistently that it’s become a given. gdbarnacles.
Similar to the unsuccessful parasite that kills its host — as opposed to the successful parasite which works to help the host stay alive, thereby prolonging its own life — large international corporations have reached the point where they are a pernicious infection, a flesh-eating bacteria that is killing the greatest consumer market the world has ever seen, the United States. By failing repeatedly to help the host sustain financial health by exporting its jobs, poisoning its environment, devaluing its dollar, lowering its tax base, and selling unregulated nearly-useless investment instruments to its public, they are assuring an economic collapse of Great Depression proportions, one that will sweep most of them under in its wake.
Some of the more giddy ‘free marketeers’ are pursuing this comic formula: Asia and the Pacific Rim nations will soon develop economically to the point where they can absorb the billions of dollars of electronic toys, luxury cars, light trucks, overpriced homes, and other pricey paraphernalia that are a hallmark of the modern American consumer. That’s just plain crazy. With even the highest-paid Indians and Chinese earning only about $30-40K per annum, versus their American cousins who were pulling down $70,000 to $100,000 for the same work, it’s going to be generations before those societies will be able to afford the lifestyle of the average middle-class American.
In the meantime, the biggest losers in this game, aside from America and Europe, will be the large multi-national corporations who became so mindlessly aggressive in their lust for profits that they murdered their host.
As I’ve posted on other threads at Common Dreams, the only ‘up’ side of the national economic collapse I’m convinced is coming before the next election — a depression worse than the 1930s — is that it will provide a strong antibiotic to rid us of the worst of the overgrown and unfriendly corporate parasites that have been leeching the life blood from our system. As in the 1930s, Congress will be forced to reimpose tight regulations on the corprocracy and the investment classes, if they want to stay in office — if they even hope to have a stable country to represent.
In the aftermath, the only evidence of the existence of Citigroup and its ilk will be displayed in museums, right next to the Tyrannosaurus Rex bones, another voracious predator rendered extinct by a sudden change in the climate.
“You market these CDO’s to the members of your own class, the only ones who might have some understanding of the nature of the new instrument.”
Cruxpuppy, while I agree with most of your analysis, this point is not quite accurate; CDO’s and other similar shaky ‘high-yield’ investment paper were invented to be pitched to dentists in Dubuque, nurses in Wichita, retirees in Pompano Beach, and small business owners in Scottsdale, as well as to pension funds — people with get-rich-quick dollar signs in their eyes blocking their common sense. The Wall Street savvy wouldn’t touch this tainted stuff; it was hyped to bring in bucks from the gullible and not-well-informed small and mid-level investor, the Chuck Schwab-Etrade crowd. If you’ve seen the film “Boiler Room” you have an idea of what I mean.
Arvy, thanks for the Mike Whitney link; as you say, he’s been prescient over the years and, if our government had any brains, rational thinkers such as Whitney would be making economic policy rather than wealthy ‘free market’ blowhards like Alan Greenspan and Ben Bernanke.
Mr. Greider, this movie has been funded and approved for production… and wide release… for some time.
The screenplay was originally drafted by our “privatized” overlords - those big shot bankers - back in 1913.
Like all pirates have always done business, the rules were made up as events unfolded since then.
Maybe we should just bankrupt ALL the big gamblers… who “produce” little of anything actually valuable… for contribution to the physical economy… other than more counterfeit dollars… on “cooked up” paperless databases.
Then let’s work towards abolishing the Fed and place the banks in receivership.
This will keep the lawyers busy… prosecuting all the crooks… for years to come.
Doctors will find the only thing valuable they can contribute is drug dealer scripts, house calls, and visits to local emergency rooms when biz slows down.
Accountants and the need for writers, restaurant personnel, and retail mall staff will be rendered obsolete.
These events will also hold our representatives’ feet to the fire of a desperate “we, the people” for a change, as they’ll be too busy ensuring a soft landing for those they purportedly represent… amidst the turmoil of an ongoing nationwide collapse.
And let’s forget about reforming the IRS - it should simply be shut down. While we’re at it, let’s lay off about 10 million people or so dependent upon the federal government for their paychecks too. They contribute mostly nothing.
On the other hand… why bother? Even money will be worthless by this time.
But Ron Paul should lead this effort; not Kucinich, or any other presidential candidate. He’s seen this train wreck a-coming for some time now. And besides, Kucinich and Ron can work together on emergency legislation to keep us all “safe”… by Constitutional standards.
Sound money. Sound economy. Sounds good to me!
With lots of entertaining “perp walks” to see, daily gun battles in the streets, and the grocery stores running out of staples - if the TV still works, the printing presses still operate, and the stores even stay open - we’ll all have plenty of time to amuse ourselves just staying alive.
Next, let’s bring our troops home to help shore up national defense by redeploying them to state militias - so as to better round up all the thieves, con artists and swindlers… of which there are many all around us… in and out of government.
Why worry about Korea and Latin America going communist? Isn’t that kind of the same place our country is headed? Led by the “fascisti” running the show for our friends, the central bankers?
[Search: communitarianism, communitarian law]
Like Bush the Decider, I say, “Bring it on!”
Both he and Cheney will be quickly and safely strapped to water boards awaiting their court-martials by then…
… So life will be good… and getting better all the time.
Oh, and BTW, who needs Citigroup,pray tell?
The more multi-national corporations that can fail… well, shouldn’t we just admit it - it’s all for the best!?!
As an employee of CITIGROUP I find offense to most of what has been said here generalizations from those at the top to those of us who do make a positive difference in our clients lives…those men and women who worked all their lives and retire with less then the BIG BUCKS you seems to think it takes to get attention by a CITIGROUP employee. I work in a small community of 150,000 in a Smith Barney branch that has a couple of clients with over 5 million dollars but most of our clients have $250,000 - a million…and oh by the way my largest client who does have 4 million with me is a local SMALL farmer.
Sure corporations LIKE GOVERNMENTS can act in their own self interests but please do not think for one minute that my clients are in any way invested in the junk that caused this banking crash. SOME OF US DO GOOD WORK!!! dlz
Excuse me, Zubsin, but any local farmer who invests $4 million a year can hardly be termed ’small’ by any stretch of the imagination.
And your clients who wander in with ‘$250-a million’ to sink in the market are also are not representative of the average American.
I think you’ve been sniffing the rarified fumes of Citigroup for a little too long and have lost touch with Main Street.
While you may very well make a ‘positive difference’ in your elite clients’ lives, it sounds as though they could survive just fine by putting their money in a bank account and living off the interest. Of course, that’s until the unregulated, out of control banks fail.
What plans have you for your next job, once the whole pyramid scheme collapses into the gutter?
Apparently RSJ you have no idea about investing and small farmers. Not 4 million a year…that is what he sold his farm for AND not 250 million, can you read…two hundred and fifty thousand. Geez pay attention. dlz