Not counting aggression and violence, mega banks have to be the most vile, obscene permutation in the Universe. Take J.P. Morgan Chase & Company, for instance, the largest bank in the USA with $2.4 trillion in assets...that's enough by itself to qualify as an obscenity. The bank recently was fined $13 BILLION in a civil suit by the Fed Gov't for fraud related to the mortgage meltdown. To be fair, 70%-80% of the wrongdoings were committed by Bear Stearns and Washington Mutual, which had been acquired by J.P. Morgan...which further proves my point about mega banks. Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, and several others were fined huge amounts as well...a few were over a billion dollars each. Here's the kicker--- no criminal prosecutions as yet, and they're all still in business.
$13 billion...are you kidding me? And they're still in business! I realize full well that the value of today's dollar is only about three cents as compared to the 1913 dollar, but still...something's amiss here. A mega corporation is worth $2.4 trillion, had an income in 2012 of $32 billion (or so), and is fined $13 billion. In my view, there's some criminality going on there. Those dollar figures are atrocious. Many countries don't have those numbers of dollars. Something is grossly wrong when that kind of inequality exists. Don't blame Capitalism...only SMALL businesses practice that in this country; the Big Boys & Girls have Gov't puppets as Cronies...a situation that true Capitalism abhors. Besides, pencils don't misspell words, and economic systems don't swindle people---individual people do that, and they do it under any system.
Many mega bankers are not the only criminals involved. Criminal politicians were and still are responsible for setting things up so that their Cronies in Mega Banking could/can scam investors and the public in general. Think: who tore down Glass-Steagall? As to the fairly recent financial regulatory "reform"---are you fracking kidding me...that's a complete joke, pure window dressing to mollify an already distracted public.
So, why is any of this history important today? Simply put, there are not sufficient restraints in place, nor has sufficient punishment been meted out, in order to prevent something similar from happening again...probably sooner than later. Do you really believe that the greedy Mega Bankers have "learned their lesson"? Please.
By the way, I heard a rumor in New Mexico that the Wall Street criminals involved in the monumental scam are all on the South American drug, Ibocaine...still. This would seem to make sense because Ibocaine causes one to lose integrity and become a scumbag. It also makes sense because the effects of the drug are very long-lasting. Not only that, but Ibocaine (I'm told) gives one an Imperial sense of one's own self, the feeling that there are the "small people", and then there's your group. One of my investigators is looking into rumored use of the drug on Capitol Hill.
Here's another great documentary: "Gonzo".
Just my opinion.
Dr. Gonzo
Friday, December 27, 2013
Wednesday, December 25, 2013
Part 2: Paying Homage to Gonzo
The other day in the grocery store, I watched as the lady just ahead of me paid an incredibly high total for her goods with a credit card. Shortly thereafter, that brought to mind the largest scam in the history of the USA.
When the Fed Gov't bailed out the speculative banks (and AIG, et.al.) a few years ago, I suspect that the public in general missed the biggest part of that scam. But before I get into that portion of the story, let's consider the following. [If this weren't so tragic, it would be comical beyond belief.]
Here's what happened. The richest one-tenth of one percent of the people in this country, through speculative banking, did this:
1. created bizarre financial instruments such as credit default swaps which were supposed to guarantee or "insure" investments; [Technically, they weren't "insurance policies", so no money reserves were required to back them up.]
2. created mortgage-backed securities, lied about their quality, and sold them to investors on a grand scale...along with the bogus credit default swaps.
As we all know, the whole scam went bust when subprime mortgages defaulted in large numbers. But they were just the trigger of the crisis. The underlying causes were: the lying about the quality of the mortgage-backed securities; and the phony credit default swaps which were backed by zero reserves. Then the investment banks told the Fed Gov't that they were "too big to fail", and the Gov't sold that lie to the public. Next came the $787 billion bailout. Unfortunately, that was just a small part of the scam.
The main ripoff was the following. The Gov't made approximately $13 TRILLION in loans available to those banks...at far less than one percent interest. They were the same banks that were the richest in the country, fraudulently sold shabby products, gambled it all...lost...and then had the Gov't bail them out AND loan them huge amounts of money at almost zero percent interest.
Let's imagine this--- I interview Hank Paulson, Ben Bernanke, and several prominent economists, and they all agree... "Yes, obviously it was a scam. If those few banks had failed, the economy would not have collapsed. Things would have gotten bad, but with adjustments, the market would have corrected itself. Smaller banks would have filled in the gaps. We should have let them fail and made the $13 trillion in loans (at less than 1% interest) available to American housholds. They borrow money every single day with credit cards...at anywhere from 9% to 22% interest. Imagine what it would do for Main Street and the economy if every household had a $15,000 loan at less than 1% interest, instead of a credit card balance of thousands at, say, 12-15% interest."
Not only was the financial bailout and loan program a scam, but the money was not used as intended. Originally, the Gov't was going to buy up all the "toxic assets"; instead, the money was simply given to the banks to do with as they pleased. They made more bets. There are still approximately one quadrillion dollars worth of credit default swaps out there...guaranteeing nothing.
So, as I sit here sipping Wild Turkey and shooting through my window at a target outside, I wonder: why does the Gov't loan money to super-rich banks at almost zero percent interest instead of to households?...and, why do we commoners put up with mega banks at all? There are plenty of smaller, local banks that would love to have our business. I suggest we boycott the big boys. Immediately. Let them eat credit default swaps.
By the way, I heartily recommend the movie, Where the Buffalo Roam... and the documentary film, Buy the Ticket, Take the Ride. Gonzo galore.
Just my opinion.
Dr. Gonzo
When the Fed Gov't bailed out the speculative banks (and AIG, et.al.) a few years ago, I suspect that the public in general missed the biggest part of that scam. But before I get into that portion of the story, let's consider the following. [If this weren't so tragic, it would be comical beyond belief.]
Here's what happened. The richest one-tenth of one percent of the people in this country, through speculative banking, did this:
1. created bizarre financial instruments such as credit default swaps which were supposed to guarantee or "insure" investments; [Technically, they weren't "insurance policies", so no money reserves were required to back them up.]
2. created mortgage-backed securities, lied about their quality, and sold them to investors on a grand scale...along with the bogus credit default swaps.
As we all know, the whole scam went bust when subprime mortgages defaulted in large numbers. But they were just the trigger of the crisis. The underlying causes were: the lying about the quality of the mortgage-backed securities; and the phony credit default swaps which were backed by zero reserves. Then the investment banks told the Fed Gov't that they were "too big to fail", and the Gov't sold that lie to the public. Next came the $787 billion bailout. Unfortunately, that was just a small part of the scam.
The main ripoff was the following. The Gov't made approximately $13 TRILLION in loans available to those banks...at far less than one percent interest. They were the same banks that were the richest in the country, fraudulently sold shabby products, gambled it all...lost...and then had the Gov't bail them out AND loan them huge amounts of money at almost zero percent interest.
Let's imagine this--- I interview Hank Paulson, Ben Bernanke, and several prominent economists, and they all agree... "Yes, obviously it was a scam. If those few banks had failed, the economy would not have collapsed. Things would have gotten bad, but with adjustments, the market would have corrected itself. Smaller banks would have filled in the gaps. We should have let them fail and made the $13 trillion in loans (at less than 1% interest) available to American housholds. They borrow money every single day with credit cards...at anywhere from 9% to 22% interest. Imagine what it would do for Main Street and the economy if every household had a $15,000 loan at less than 1% interest, instead of a credit card balance of thousands at, say, 12-15% interest."
Not only was the financial bailout and loan program a scam, but the money was not used as intended. Originally, the Gov't was going to buy up all the "toxic assets"; instead, the money was simply given to the banks to do with as they pleased. They made more bets. There are still approximately one quadrillion dollars worth of credit default swaps out there...guaranteeing nothing.
So, as I sit here sipping Wild Turkey and shooting through my window at a target outside, I wonder: why does the Gov't loan money to super-rich banks at almost zero percent interest instead of to households?...and, why do we commoners put up with mega banks at all? There are plenty of smaller, local banks that would love to have our business. I suggest we boycott the big boys. Immediately. Let them eat credit default swaps.
By the way, I heartily recommend the movie, Where the Buffalo Roam... and the documentary film, Buy the Ticket, Take the Ride. Gonzo galore.
Just my opinion.
Dr. Gonzo
Monday, December 23, 2013
Shifting Gears: Paying Homage to Gonzo, Part 1
The U.N. announced today that it's sending a Peace Keeping force to Texas. This action was prompted primarily by the following. A portion of the mini-series documentary (produced by Ken Burns), The West, describes how Mexicans and American Indians were mistreated and their lands stolen by Texans in the 1800s. In a cameo appearance in the film, the former Texas Governor, Ann Richards, had this to say (paraphrased) in her sickenly sweet, Texas drawl: "It is very unfortunate when things like that happen, but [when people say "but", nothing is important except whatever follows] that's what happens whenever people are conquered.". Such a statement, of course, begs for an answer to this: is that what supposedly honorable, God-fearing people do to others? And this: is conquering people something that Americans should have done?
In a related story, the U.N. (made into a totally anachronistic body by the Corporatocracy) further announced that after it was done in Texas, it would proceed to each of the other forty-nine States in order to seek redress on behalf of the American Indians. The Secretary-General, Kofi Obama (no relation), intimated to this reporter that he feared the whole exercise would be to no avail. "Basically, we've been castrated by Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan Chase, CitiGroup, Bank of America, and AIG [part of the Oligarchy].", he said. "How so?", I asked. "Well," he replied, "their wholly-owned subsidiary, your Fed Gov't, is---at their direction---way behind on U.N. dues payments. That puts us in a financial bind."
In another related story, the State of Texas (which generally believes itself to be a separate country, not subject to most U.S. laws) is preparing for the U.N. invasion by constructing a 15-feet-high, electrified fence around its entire border. I spoke with the Head of the Texas Dept. of Public Safety and asked, "What about U.N. helicopters and/or paratroopers?". He replied, "Oh, they can't afford those.". He went on, "Besides, even if they get in, we'll do them like we do the Fed EPA: just ignore them. There's not a damned thing they can do about it.".
I recalled the brief time that I had lived in Texas, and thought, yes, that's pretty much what Texas does---if it doesn't like something from a higher authority, it simply ignores it. The municipal water in the small town in which I lived did not meet EPA water quality standards (according to the town's own report). The explanation given in the Annual Water Quality Report was this (paraphrased): all water is contaminated to some degree. The report went on: we're working to correct the situation, but your water is safe by State Standards. The report was exactly the same a year later. Meanwhile, just to be safe, I drank bottled water.
Just my opinion.
Dr. Gonzo
In a related story, the U.N. (made into a totally anachronistic body by the Corporatocracy) further announced that after it was done in Texas, it would proceed to each of the other forty-nine States in order to seek redress on behalf of the American Indians. The Secretary-General, Kofi Obama (no relation), intimated to this reporter that he feared the whole exercise would be to no avail. "Basically, we've been castrated by Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan Chase, CitiGroup, Bank of America, and AIG [part of the Oligarchy].", he said. "How so?", I asked. "Well," he replied, "their wholly-owned subsidiary, your Fed Gov't, is---at their direction---way behind on U.N. dues payments. That puts us in a financial bind."
In another related story, the State of Texas (which generally believes itself to be a separate country, not subject to most U.S. laws) is preparing for the U.N. invasion by constructing a 15-feet-high, electrified fence around its entire border. I spoke with the Head of the Texas Dept. of Public Safety and asked, "What about U.N. helicopters and/or paratroopers?". He replied, "Oh, they can't afford those.". He went on, "Besides, even if they get in, we'll do them like we do the Fed EPA: just ignore them. There's not a damned thing they can do about it.".
I recalled the brief time that I had lived in Texas, and thought, yes, that's pretty much what Texas does---if it doesn't like something from a higher authority, it simply ignores it. The municipal water in the small town in which I lived did not meet EPA water quality standards (according to the town's own report). The explanation given in the Annual Water Quality Report was this (paraphrased): all water is contaminated to some degree. The report went on: we're working to correct the situation, but your water is safe by State Standards. The report was exactly the same a year later. Meanwhile, just to be safe, I drank bottled water.
Just my opinion.
Dr. Gonzo
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