The bailout, meaning the continuing marriage and merging of government and corporations, is the inevitable next step in an evolutionary process of empowered moneyed interests finding unique and creative ways to bilk everyone else. Matt Taibi writes this silver-tongued piece in Rolling Stone:
"That same year, as the subprime crisis was exploding [2007], the Government Accountability Office criticized the OTS, noting a "disparity between the size of the agency and the diverse firms it oversees." Among other things, the GAO report noted that the entire OTS had only one insurance specialist on staff — and this despite the fact that it was the primary regulator for the world's largest insurer!
"There's this notion that the regulators couldn't do anything to stop AIG," says a government official who was present during the bailout. "That's bullshit. What you have to understand is that these regulators have ultimate power. They can send you a letter and say, 'You don't exist anymore,' and that's basically that. They don't even really need due process. The OTS could have said, 'We're going to pull your charter; we're going to pull your license; we're going to sue you.' And getting sued by your primary regulator is the kiss of death."
I recommend reading it in full.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Of Course It Wasn't True
All that BS about reducing the deficit in four years. Did you believe a word of it? Even principled Democrats say it's nonsense.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad said on Thursday he expects federal deficit spending will be about $1.6 trillion greater over the next ten years than President Barack Obama's budget plan forecast
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