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Oh. My. God. Obama Clueless
I'm with Simon Johnson here: how is it possible, at this late date, for Obama to be this clueless?
The lead story on Bloomberg right now contains excerpts from an interview with Business Week which tells us:
President Barack Obama said he doesn't "begrudge" the $17 million bonus awarded to JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon or the $9 million issued to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. CEO Lloyd Blankfein, noting that some athletes take home more pay.
The president, speaking in an interview, said in response to a question that while $17 million is "an extraordinary amount of money" for Main Street, "there are some baseball players who are making more than that and don't get to the World Series either, so I'm shocked by that as well."
"I know both those guys; they are very savvy businessmen," Obama said in the interview yesterday in the Oval Office with Bloomberg BusinessWeek, which will appear on newsstands Friday. "I, like most of the American people, don't begrudge people success or wealth. That is part of the free- market system."
Obama sought to combat perceptions that his administration is anti-business and trumpeted the influence corporate leaders have had on his economic policies. He plans to reiterate that message when he speaks to the Business Roundtable, which represents the heads of many of the biggest U.S. companies, on Feb. 24 in Washington.
Oh. My. God.
First of all, to my knowledge, irresponsible behavior by baseball players hasn't brought the world economy to the brink of collapse and cost millions of innocent Americans their jobs and/or houses.
And more specifically, not only has the financial industry has been bailed out with taxpayer commitments; it continues to rely on a taxpayer backstop for its stability. Don't take it from me, take it from the rating agencies:
The planned overhaul of US financial rules prompted Standard & Poor's to warn on Tuesday it might downgrade the credit ratings of Citigroup and Bank of America on concerns that the shake-up would make it less likely that the banks would be bailed out by US taxpayers if they ran into trouble again.
The point is that these bank executives are not free agents who are earning big bucks in fair competition; they run companies that are essentially wards of the state. There's good reason to feel outraged at the growing appearance that we're running a system of lemon socialism, in which losses are public but gains are private. And at the very least, you would think that Obama would understand the importance of acknowledging public anger over what's happening.
But no. If the Bloomberg story is to be believed, Obama thinks his key to electoral success is to trumpet "the influence corporate leaders have had on his economic policies."
We're doomed.
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228 Comments so far
Show AllOk So it is systemic then, right, something inherently wrong with the political economy of capitalism, is that what you are saying?
Oh. My. God, krugman just got it.
Krugman didn't just "get it." He just admitted it. He's known it all along.
Just more evidence in the facilitation of the transfer of wealth from the poor to the top 1%.
Okay, maybe you are correct.
Absolutely the most insightful and cutting excoriation of Obama and both 'Vichy' parties shilling for this corporate/financial/militarist EMPIRE, which now almost fully controls 'our' former country by hiding behind the facade of its two-party 'Vichy' sham of democratic government.
Andre Damon and Barry Grey of WSWS expose the worst of guileful Obama's treachery and deceit:
"These remarks expose the hypocrisy and cynicism of Obama’s scripted denunciations of Wall Street, invariably timed to coincide with signs of popular outrage against the banks and his administration’s role in plundering the treasury to cover their bad debts. They come in the context of reports that financial firms have shifted their political donations—which played a huge role in bankrolling Obama’s election campaign—to the Republicans."
"Obama’s remarks to Bloomberg BusinessWeek reflect the real relationship between Wall Street and his administration—already amply demonstrated in the record of his first year in office—and the political system as a whole, including both parties. They also expose Obama’s personal dishonesty, contempt for the American people, and servility toward the financial aristocracy."
full article:
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2010/feb2010/bank-f11.shtml
Alan MacDonald
Sanford, Maine
Not "clueless," aiding and abetting.
House of Cards by William Cohan - a tale of wretched excess on Wall Street. All you need to know.
It's just the Democratic party coming out of their closest: We really don't represent you, we represent big business and banks.
Get used to it. He's still got his supporters in a Cult of Personality that won't wear off until well after the damage is done to them and everybody else.
That's why most of us that have figured out the dems & reps are the United Corporate Party of the U.S.and have nothing to do with working FOR the people, voted for Ralph Nader or other third party candidates. Hope the others will wake up from their stupor as soldiers in the Obamanation to what an abomination his presidency really is. Can you say GWB presidency on steroids?
Didn't you guys realize the problem when Goldman Sachs was such a huge contributor to his campaign or when he had Larry Summers advising him and he appointed Timmy Geithner as Treasury Secty? Noooooo you all said, trust him, give him time, these guys have all the experience in the world.. Yea, as shysters. Sheesh.. What the hell were you thinkin'?
Wake up America. The democans and republicrats are owned by the wealthy elite with names like George Soros and Rupert Murdoch and they don't give a damn about you losing your job your house OR your civil liberties. In fact, they are the authors of your fate. How's that workin' for ya so far?
Very well stated Jersey Girl.
As you are aware (COTO) there are many people throughout "America" (two thirds) including the over two hundred here, at CD (some who's posts have been deleted surreptitiously?) who understand this vitriolic game, the contrived "transferring of wealth" being played out at the expense of "We the People" whilst the elite, who since jump street have rigged the game, are laughing merrily to their (off shore) banks.
Then there are the millions of credulous ignorant Americans, who could care less about the fascism and tyranny ruining their country, who are too busy gorging themselves with GMO's, watching their feckless inane programming waiting for the "change" promised, which thus far remains null and void. Bidness as usual, while America withers on vine.
We can't fight alone against the "Monster".
Time to "Wake Up!" America, indeed!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpuyXdKx9Ws
There is no record of this article being published by the New York Times during the past week on any given day. I wonder why.
If you click on the link at the top of the article (a standard CD feature) it will take you to: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/01/business/01scene.html
Voila! Published by the NYT.
Yes, I see what you mean. HOWEVER, my point was that it wasn't published in the newspaper itself. The article or writing in question was merely part of Mr. Krugman's BLOG and not an actual opinion piece in the OPINION section.
Obama is not as clueless as you think. This is just a slip of tongue. Obama knows that we are furious. So what? He just made the mistake of saying that it doesn't bother him. He doesn't begrudge those savvy financial guys who know how to manipulate the market and get government to cover for their mistakes, heck-- these are his classmates-- he admires their skill. And they admire him too, how well he used smoke and mirrors to feign like he was for the people and then when push came to shove defend his class--mates. Hell, Obama and his cronies don't begrudge each other anything. They must be proud of what they have gotten away with. That pride was probably why it slipped out of Obama in a statement to the press. sometimes its hard to hold all that pride and self satisfaction in.. Whose going to notice-- he's said other things equally outrageous and gotten away with it and I'm sure he feels he can get away with this statement, or talk his way out of it. Whose making a fuss about it anyway-- those stupid "f--king retards" in the progressive movement who don't understand the way things really work in Washington, those stupid "f---king retards" who think that elites with privileges to loot the treasury and lie to the rest of us are not a necessary parts of the government. "Let them be angry." says Obama to himself, "We can handle them."
Same old tune, new verse. All of those in Washington are part of the problem and are particpants in the largest swindle in human history.
Charlie Jackson
Texans for Peace
http://www.texansforpeace.org
It's just a bunch of ass kissing and now that the wanna be's have their spot in government, they'll say whatever they have to to stay in.
Obviouly, some people don't read much Krugman, or they'd get that he is far far far from clueless.
Government is made up of money people or legal people, and they know how to get it, keep it, steal it, and be the whores they are. It's just a shame that our new 'change things' president discovered he likes the whoring part as much as the next guy. Money corrupts to power that corrupts the heart and soul of the best of them.
My goodness, actually "rewarding" success? What in hell was he thinking? We all know that rich people must have gotten all that money illegally off the backs of the working poor.
We have to put things right. That money belongs to to the poor black unwed mother...with a 70% illegitimacy rate, lord knows they need all the money they can get. After all, they're just victims of those rich bastards.
I'm with you guys. Penalizing success and rewarding bad behavior is the way to go.
That is so not what is being suggested and I hope you are being just real sarcastic. When CEOs of insurance companies bag 10's of millions a year from people paying premiums, and then they don't get their medical bills paid for some reason or another...how is that fair? Why do you have to lump everyone in the rich bitch bag or the poor black bag? There are plenty of rich black people, plenty of poor white people, and way too many dumb asses who take every line like it's their money, their company; hope you watched the Hooter guy, now there's a boss who earns his pay and also realizes what the hell is going on in the corners of his company. A few CEOs are like that, too many don't care. Why are you posters being so black and white here?
What Ayn Rand's followers don't take into account is that there are lots of ways to get capital without being a 'producer'. The scions of Wall Street aren't Howard Roark, they are just scam artists writ large. Wealth is not evidence of production, yet her followers treat wealth as if it conveys some moral authority. It doesn't.
Now I'm not trying to imply that Wolverine114 is a follower of Ayn Rand. The snarky racist line puts this comic book hero wannabe more in the ranks of 'Drug Rush' Limbaugh's ditto-heads. The people who tell Rush what to say are the Rand devotees.
The failure of the system is the public ownership options. If your company goes public, to raise capital, you lose your company and your soul. Others can bet on whether your company will make money or not, competitions can be created that are false, and sometimes a competior will own you and turn it into a bet for more capital. They'll even do it with life saving devices like dialysis machines and the drugs needed to operate the process. It is a thieves program, not unlike drug lords and bought off police forces. None of NONE OF the stockholders who are crying to the government, the ones who got the bail out money, are working people, they sit back in front of their computers all day and cut throats left and right. Why are we supporting them? Why is the "foul play on the rich" being called. They are blood sucking whore bastards and it's time to shut them the hell up.
I remember hearing george stepanopoulis on his little ABC show laughing about the "biggest transfer of wealth in history" when the collapse hit in 2008, under Bush II. Yeah, transferred right out of the sweat equity on average American's homes, raised taxes on middle class workers, directly out of our pensions, visibly lowered wages and benefits, and massive cost increases on basic living expenses. These are high dollar pickpockets, not innocenct rich people who made their money from making toothpicks. This Depression/recession was preordained and preengineered by these "sweet, little rich guys". Don't blame Obama, it started with Reagan, Bush I, Clinton, and Bush II put the nail in the coffin of the middle class. Buy locally made products from small businesses, join small community banks or credit unions, don't use your credit cards, don't take out loans, find common ground with your neighbors, get off your coroporately-supplied addictions (IE: cigarettes, junkfood, Buttwieper beer), take back your community from the mega-corporations, vote for progressive candidates.
You're right about that. This did all begin with Reagan.
It is indeed a "system of lemon socialism, in which losses are public but gains are private". Any system is like this. You should learn how to bee free and not interested about "the system' that exists only as a concept.
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