Well, good grief! We don’t expect these guys to go to a Scout Camp, do we? :lol:
Sonsabitches!
My freakin IRA took a direct hit and is still takin hits.
Give me ten minutes with my Soprano buddies in a room with these assholes!!!
I found this part interesting.
“Waxman questioned both former CEOs about a former AIG auditor who claimed he had been blocked from reviewing the books of a London-based division that has since been blamed for a large share of the company’s downfall.”
London based division blamed for the downfall.
They keep telling us the US sub-prime mortgage crisis is to blame for everything. Does not appear to be the case in this $85 billion bail out.
Ralph
Ralph,
One of the news articles I read said the mortgage crisis was just as bad in England as it is here… May be the MSM’s do not want you know it is world wide, you know “it is all our fault”… The news is saying banks every where are getting bail outs from their governments… GM is closing down all of it’s euro plants, say “good by” Opel…
The reason it is Worldwide is because the USA sub Prime lenders bundled up the mortgages and onsold them around the World.
They were aided in their deception by the ratings agencies such as Moodys and Standard & Poors, who told lies toconvince the gullible to buy buy buy!!!
They even sold them to local government councils here in OZ for crying out loud.
Not to be outdone the crooks running the banks in other countries then jumped on the bandwagon to join the other snouts in the trough.
Now we have privatisation of profits and socialisation of losses. …and to coin a phrase from a movie. “It is not right and I am as mad as heeck. …and getting madder”.
Tony,
Yep, but the “system” itself is “fundamentally strong”; errrrr it would be with a modicum of real supervision. That runs counter to deregulation at any cost - the actual cost will be tremendously high! - and just doesn’t fit into the world view that anyone can make bundles of money without anything productive being part of it.
Had a good chuckle the other day reading the G&M, some guy going on (in the business section) about the collapse of the Canadian commodities picture in large part being the fault of the Swiss bankers. At the first sign of the sh… hitting the fan the order was “Sell”.
TonyWalsham said:Welfare for the Wealthy. Ralph
Now we have privatisation of profits and socialisation of losses. .....and to coin a phrase from a movie. "It is not right and I am as mad as heeck. .......and getting madder".
HJ.
What we are wtnessing is th total collapse of the Free Market system.
We might ask why?
Because the bad guys have been running it for too long and all their sins are now coming home to roost.
How to fix it?
Not possible until the whole rotten mess is cleaned up.
Starting with getting rid of the bad guys and that starts at the lowest possible level.
Us.
As long as we turn a blind eye to any form of corruption the plague will still be with us.
Then you work your way up the chain.
Right up to the top.
The very top.
TonyWalsham said:Tony, you actually raise a rather good point. How is it that people are screaming bloody murder about the bigwigs and their dodgey bookkeeping, but it IS generally viewed as OK to "fudge" your income tax return to get a measly couple hundred back you aren't really entitled to? It's both fraud, the only real difference is in the degree, and the perpetrator. If a LITTLE fraud is OK, but a lot isn't then where is the line? Or is the "line" really just a matter of who's doing the screwing and to whom?
HJ. How to fix it? Not possible until the whole rotten mess is cleaned up. Starting with getting rid of the bad guys and that starts at the lowest possible level. Us. As long as we turn a blind eye to any form of corruption the plague will still be with us. Then you work your way up the chain. Right up to the top. The very top.
Kind of like the pollies who bring home pork to somebody else’s hometown are part of the deficit problem, but the ones who bring home pork to yours are part of the economic solution… go figure.
Mik.
I always aim to tell the truth.
I don’t cheat on my taxes or business expenses.
I do know the difference between right and wrong.
I don’t need to be told how to behave by the God botherers. But each to his own. Just not for me.
I don’t look for handouts but I do believe that Society is responsible for the less fortunate. Not by giving them money to waste on non essentials. But by looking after them when they can’t look after themselves.
I try and carry those principles over to my business.
I make my stuff the right way. Properly.
I don’t sell much because I can’t compete with low cost labour countries.
I don’t cheat people and I don’t want to be cheated.
Sure the bottom end of the market will fall out, but not the top end.
I will survive because even during depressions, and make no mistake that is what we are heading towards, there are always some people who appreciate old fashioned stuff that works and is value for money.
Some of the oldest hobby businesses around were started during the last real depression.
From the Notebook of Lazarus Long
"People who go broke in a big way never miss any meals. It is the poor jerk who is shy a half slug who must tighten his belt. "
Saw on the news last night.
Congress called the two ex-CEOs on the carpet.
Both got a 22 million severance package.
1 humble looking fellow said he will give his back.
The other, arrogant, used car salesman looking type SOB said no. And he said it like he meant to say to congress, "Go F&*^%$ yourself. What a bastard!
A pie in the face just wouldn’t have been good enough. The fist comes close.
Actually, the real problem isn’t people who fudge a bit on their taxes. It’s the idiots who cry to Uncle Sam ‘cause the bad ol’ banks won’t give loans to people who can’t afford them. These same clods then cry to Uncle Sam when the fecal matter hits the fan.
I heard on the radio a great analogy to all this, the discussion was about the regulation of the rules and restrictions that allowed these brokers to run amok, a caller said
“What did you expect to happen when you take a way the oversight process? Here’s an idea, lets “deregulate” the rules at a prison and see how long it takes before the place burns down, …crooks are crooks, even the kind that wear business suits”
The caller was spot on, you take away regulation, oversight, and enforcement, and the buckaneers are eventually going to try and ride roughshod all over the place. No one seams to remember the S&L debacle back in the 90’s which was also the end result of the deregulation of that industry, resulting in the pirates burning the place to the ground.
Its truely amazing how short many peoples collective memories are while the money is rolling in, they only see the cliff after they’ve driven off of it.
What cliff?
Thudso, when do we, as responsible people stand up and shout OUT ENOUGH…I’m in retail sales and work strictly on commission…wanna know what my October check is gonna be?..from here afterward…you’re looking at it…