April 03, 2009

G20

Who are the G20?
The G20 is a group of twenty finance ministers and central bank governors from 19 of the world’s most wealthy economies and the European Union. These economies cover 80% of world trade and the countries themselves contain two thirds of the world’s population.
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“Capitalism isn’t in crisis, capitalism IS crisis!”-
If enough people take to the streets, the chasm that divides society will be illuminated-
Statement 3
“The current economic crisis has made capitalism more transparent then ever before. Finally the illusions are being stripped away. House prices may have tumbled but houses still stand tall, the price of food may have risen dramatically but the fields and hedge rows are still full of wonderful edible plants! We may no longer be able to afford ‘luxuries’ but today love and companionship is more real than ever.
We have been forced to unplug ourselves and have found that there is a whole world waiting for us. It’s time to kick capitalism whilst it’s down. The illusions they put before us have kept us working jobs we hate for too long, separated us from those that we love and are destroying the planet we rely upon to survive.
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Let’s smash the final illusion. Let’s tell them they don’t control our lives anymore!”

March 18, 2009

Not One Red Cent.

Geithner, are you out of your f*****g mind? You’re going to give AIG another $30 billion, b******t!!!
I want every red cent of tax payers’ money for bonuses paid back before you even think about giving out any more bailout.
If this is the best Liddy can do, send him packing and the rest of the executives that are getting these big bonuses.
I here Chine is looking for executives.
“We as a Congress are not defenseless.” So, Congress, when are you going to do something, beside talk talk talk?
Bloomberg:
Geithner Vows to Recoup AIG Bonuses as Lawmakers Express Fury
Geithner, who has come under fire from Congress over the AIG payments, said in a letter to lawmakers last night the government will recover the money by requiring it be repaid from company operations and deducting the amount from the next $30 billion in aid being provided to the insurer.

Millions lost their jobs; it’s an outrage that the people who somewhat caused this problem are now paying themselves bonuses.

New York-based AIG paid $165 million in executive bonuses after taking taxpayer-funded bailouts totaling $173 billion. AIG also budgeted $57 million in “retention” pay for employees who will be dismissed, according to a March 2 filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

“We will impose on AIG a contractual commitment to pay the Treasury from the operations of the company the amount of retention rewards just paid,” Geithner wrote. “In addition, we will deduct from the $30 billion in assistance an amount equal to the amount of those payments.”

The political heat generated by AIG bonuses indicates declining public and congressional support for shoring up beleaguered financial institutions with government funds, and may make it tougher for President Barack Obama’s administration to win approval for future bailouts.

Most appallingly, while millions of Americans struggle through this economy, those who have received the largest measure of taxpayer assistance from the Treasury Department have shown no restraint.

Senator Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat, said in a speech on the Senate floor that he, Reid and other lawmakers sent a letter to AIG’s Liddy asking executives to return the bonuses to their “rightful owners।” He said if the money isn’t refunded, Congress will pass laws to “tax these bonuses at a very high rate.”
Quoting out of context, read the full story: Click Here

March 17, 2009

Scolding the Bonus Babies

AIG, the insurance giant at the core of the financial meltdown, struck again over the weekend, disclosing that it would use some of its $170 billion in federal bailout money to reward its employees with $165 million in bonuses. And Obama was left looking like a pitiful giant as his aides explained that there was absolutely nothing they could do to stop the obscene payouts -- even though the government owns 80 percent of AIG.
But if the president wants to keep ahead of the public fury, he'll need to do more than share the concerns; he'll need to act on them. Now it's time to deliver.
Well said. He is the president for crying out loud, we the tax payers own most of AIG, if not the whole corpse. We have the power; he has the power if he has the balls to execute it. Nothing less than nationalizing, firing the oh-so-very "Talented" and breaking up the company will suffice. Do you have the balls Obama?
AIG needs to die. They are 13 trillion dollars in debt from credit default swaps; they have acknowledged paying 80 billion of that debt... We simply cannot afford to bring them back to life... the bankers, the insurers, the stockholders, the board of directors have to- must- lose their shirts and shuffle away in disgrace.
They are not talented, there f-students on a drinking binge.

February 23, 2009

Ouch

James Paulsen:
"We have had a loss in confidence because the government keeps changing its playbook, and when that happens investors don't want to put any capital into the market," said James Paulsen, chief investment strategist at Wells Capital Management in Minneapolis.

WestTexasBliss:
You just don’t get it do you Paulsen. Investors’ loss confidence because of the corruption and greed.

Investors' Hopes for Turnaround Dim as Markets Decline Further
As fears over the economic crisis continue to erode investors' confidence, markets at home and abroad are feeling the effects.

That's not a decline, that's falling off a cliff.

No end in sight

Economic data expected to be disheartening this week.

GDP expected to be revised lower to show biggest loss since 1982

Armstrong has just written a cheery essay called "The Coming Great Depression. Why Government Is Powerless". In it, Armstrong forecasts:

We are facing a Depression that will last 23-26 years. The response of government is going to seal our fate because they cannot learn from the past and will make the same mistakes that every politician has made before them.

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