This blog printed on 100% recycled electrons.
Class solidarity and national responsibility... novel concepts from Zbigniew Brzezinski:
"How many yachts can you own? How many homes can you own? How many planes can you own?"
"There has to be some demonstrable response to this sense of crisis today from the rich people rathere than have them hide or hire security guards or insist that they stay anonymous."
Instead of throwing our little tea parties in public parks and whining about raising taxes back to Clinton- or Reagan-era levels, maybe the proper place for Revolutionary re-enactments is the front lawns of the wealthy who used to recognize some obligation beyond their personal avarice. It's not Washington keeping your wages stagnant: it's the corporations.
The Year in Review, oh, and Merry Christmas!
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I used to be against Winter Wonderland at Falls Park but I have to admit,
the pics on my bike this year have been good, so I guess I am okay with the
city ...
12 hours ago
Yeah. I'd love to camp out on George Soros' front lawn in Bedford, NY, but you can't get anywhere near it because of the gates. I know. I used to live nearby (but on the other side of the Soros tracks). After all, he's one of those nasty speculators who is one of the richest people on the planet and is all the things that Brzezinski described.
ReplyDeleteThe point being...
As much as I despise Soros for his radical views, I don't begrudge him his immense wealth, because he apparently earned it legally. And last I heard, he hasn't asked for any government bailouts.
So the question is...Since when it is a crime to earn multiple houses and other signs of wealth?
I'll tell you...When we become a nation of whiners (Phil Gramm had it right).
Anything is possible for anybody in this country if you work at it.
But that's the problem. People don't want to get off their butts and do something. It's much easier to whine about what everybody else has, and talk about the "unfairness" of it.
Baloney.
If you are satisfied with you lot in life, great. If you aren't, fix it. In the meantime, don't degrade people who may want more --and earn it.
Is it really possible to "earn" a billion dollars in one year?
ReplyDeleteHow does one "earn" that kind of money--and what sorts of things must they do to "earn" it? And does "earning" that billion dollars legally mean it was also done morally? Since when does the legality of an action make it inherently just or right?
There seems to be some magical view that money and opportunity are unlimited for all (kind of how we used to think about fossil fuels). I think perhaps that was once the American Dream. And it is a dream.
Had you considered that perhaps the reason others need a bailout is precisely because Soros and people like him are sitting on so much of this country's wealth?
I know Flying Tomato works hard for her money—care to take back that hasty "whining" generalization, mbk?
ReplyDeleteEven if we accept that some of the wealthiest 1% have earned their millions honorably, remember: folks earned their money during World War II... and yet they recognized a higher duty and paid 94% in taxes on income over $200K. They continued paying 91% until the early 1960s. Imagine that: peace, prosperity, and huge income tax on the wealthy.
I see what you mean by the WWII thing, but the price of a McMansion (and many other signs of material wealth) was a lot different then.
ReplyDeleteAnd judging from Flying Tomato's comment, no, I wouldn't call that whining. I don't see a "woe is me...I hate all rich people" tone to it. I do respectfully disagree about opportunity not being unlimited.
And who gets to determine what is moral and what isn't when earning that billion dollars? (For example, Soros invested gazillions in the much-maligned Halliburton.)
All I can say is...if John McCain's (wife) has seven houses, and John Kerry's (wife) has more money than God, and Tom Daschle has a car and driver, good for them.
And when you stop painting those big, bad corporations with the same brush, I'll stop calling some people whiners.
He was trying to say at some point, more money and more material objects just don't mean anything. They must be terribly empty souls trying to fill themselves up with things that can't fulfill a person. People are suffering and they should care and give something back.
ReplyDeletembk: you didn't listen to Brzezinski. Most of these clowns didn't "earn" it by "making" anything or creating anything. Rather they amassed it through the illusion of manipulating derivatives, and other financial gimmickry. They created nothing of value - that's why their companies parade to Washington for bailouts to sustain their pseudo-crimes.
ReplyDeletembk: Whiner cheerleader Gramm is responsible for a disproportionate share of the current malfeasance. They system is rigged - worse than any Vegas casino. Note this from a contributor to Global Economic Analysis ["Mish" is the moderator]:
ReplyDelete"You can kiss Chrysler goodbye completely unless Fiat is dumb enough to take it over. Many Chrysler dealers are likely to blow up on this news. However, given there is too much auto capacity, Chrysler going under is an overall good thing. Those directly involved will not see it that way."
What mish projects is logical, but I still can't count Chrysler out when I look at the inside players. Chrysler is operated by Cerberus Capital Management. The CEO of Cerberus is John Snow, the former Secretary of the Treasury before Paulson. He also served on the board of NationsBank before it acquired Bank of America. Snow is the insider's insider.
Under Snow, Chrysler has already received $4 billion in taxpayer bailout money. It will receive another $6 billion. Snow is a champ when it comes to ripping off the taxpayers.
When Snow was CEO of CSX Transportation, he embarked on a cost cutting plan that consisted of deferring maintenance and safety measures. Under Snow's program, CSX was found guilty of violating the public trust and was fined $50 billion in punitive damages.
"On July 31, 1991, an Amtrak train on a CSX track in South Carolina killed (8) and injured (50) others when the last five cars of the train derailed and smashed into a freight train parked on an adjacent track. Paul Palank was one of the passengers killed. His family sued CSX (CSX Transportation Inc. v. Palank), charging that the accident had been caused by the railroad's negligence in maintaining the track."
CSX was able to stick AMTRAK with those fines. In other words, the taxpayers got stuck.
Snow hired Bob Nardelli as CEO of Chrysler. People remember that Nardelli ran Home Depot. What people tend to forget is that Nardelli was one of the gang of four that ran GE. We can guess how he ran GE, because GE was recently able to get $139 billion in debt backing from the USG."
To further realize just how rigged (corrupt) the system is check out this and watch the video:
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2009/03/geithners-plan-can-succeed.html
Then review these two articles from recent IMF economists:
http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200905/imf-advice
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/25/AR2009032502226.html
mbk: another on-target commentor on Global Economic Analysis:
ReplyDelete"I'm so proud of Dimon and the other bank CEO's showing the American people how to stand up like "big boys" and take their loss's without crying to mommy for help.
These Great American Financiers continue to display humility and frugality as they accept to work for mere multi-millions$/year, utilizing their private jets and helicopters only when there is real money to be skimmed.
I'm glad to hear the LAST thing these responsible American bankers would do is run their multi-billion $ companies into bankruptcy by entering into fraudulent/highly speculative financially engineered products with their bond/shareholders money because it would be against their fiduciary responsibilities.
We need more examples of greed to look up to. Respected men like Lewis, Fuld, Thain, Greenburg and Paulson.
I mean without men like this, where would we mark Greatness?"