tagged w/ TARP
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Portfolio ran an anonymous piece today by a self-described TARP wife lamenting how far she's fallen both socially and monetarily. The article only serves to further the notion that perhaps one of the few silver linings of this financial crisis is to burst the bubble of the TARP wives. Except her bubble hasn't really burst, just punctured with the air slowly leaking out. What's always astonishing about these Wall Street "look how much worse my life is" pieces is that they're written with the belief that people, besides their friends at the country club, will have any sympathy for them whatsoever.
For example, take this paragraph:
I haven't even looked at spring clothes; God forbid someone catches me out in something new. Keeping up with fashion seems somehow decadent in this new era, like getting Botox injections or catered dinners... If I buy a present for someone, I have the package sent to their home. I don't want to be spotted climbing into a taxi, laden with Bergdorf Goodman shopping bags.
One senses that the spring fashions she would consider are not from The Gap because, really, if your new pair of pants is going to cost less than $250, is there a point in getting new pants? And then there is the line about buying presents. The point this wife seems to be missing is that she can still afford to, and still does, buy presents for friends at Bergdorf's. The only thing that's changed is she's embarrassed to be seen with the bags. This is not a real problem.
The next paragraph is equally cringe-worthy and it's only the third paragraph:
As you can see, being a TARP wife means, in short, making decisions according to a complex algorithm: balancing the need to look like your world hasn't crumbled beneath you--let's not alarm the investors!--with the need to appear duly repentant for your subprime sins. It also means we're part of the community of more than 400 companies that have received government bailout funds, whose fall from grace has been swifter and harsher than any since Mao frog-marched intellectuals into China's countryside.
As tasteless these sentences are, they nicely sum up the disconnect between this wife and the real world. The "complex algorithm" by which she lives her life is not complicated all. Expending energy to determine how much less money you have to spend to satisfy the need "to appear duly repentant" is what we call one of those "good problems." Most of America lives their lives by the complex algorithm of balancing the need for rent, food, and the occasional night out to blow off some steam.Portfolio ran an anonymous piece today by a self-described TARP wife lamenting how far... more
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Confronted with the once-in-a-century opportunity to remake the financial system, the reformers in Washington have a choice: Succumb to the temptation of serving financial supermarkets or lift up community banks and street-level economies.
Enter Reverend Billy Talen, the New York-based street preacher, performer and activist who -- along with his flock, the Church of Life After Shopping -- believes government has a moral obligation to support communities before big banks.
David Weidner speaks with Rev Billy Talen, a self-ordained minister who preaches against the evils of consumerism is now running for mayor of New York City.
"I've been trying to drive people out of their institutions," Reverend Billy says. "Their institutions aren't working."
It's hard to imagine Timothy Geithner taking advice from an iconoclast dressed in a white suit, clerical collar and Elvis-inspired hair, but the Reverend Billy may be on to something.
In place of a system where big banks and corporations enter neighborhoods only to profit from them, Reverend Billy wants to empower small banks and credit unions that hold a stake in the communities they serve by offering incentives and making it harder for big finance to undercut local business.
It's hard to argue against the system he envisions.
Think for a moment about what community finance could mean for the nation: Neighborhood banks would lend to local businesses. Profits could stay in the community.
Simply knowing who your customers are and living near them could bring common sense -- the most basic and sound form of risk management -- back to banking.
Sure, it sounds kind of dreamy, but such systems are already in place in the neighborhoods large and small. Small businesses thrive, but they are often at the mercy of big banks who giveth and taketh credit according to shifts in economic cycles.
"The Wall Street experience is parallel and equal to the destruction of neighborhoods through chain stores," Reverend Billy says.
Basic economics are on the Reverend's side. For every dollar spent at a chain store, studies show only 50 cents stays in that community. By contrast, 90 cents of every dollar spent at a local business remains in the local economy.
"It's a little reductive, but people recognize there's a truth in it," Reverend Billy says. "Neighborhoods are economic powerhouses."
Despite his anticorporate stance, Reverend Billy, whose father is a small-town bank chairman, isn't bashing Wall Street right now. (However, he's previously led some disruptive and amusing protests against corporate retailers such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Walt Disney Co.)
The painful fallout of the financial meltdown has led him and his followers to preach centered calm over rage.
"There's not a Puritan attitude about it, there's a practical attitude about it," Reverend Billy says. "People want to know what they can do for their friends and for themselves. We're trying to help each other; share money, share energy, share homes."
It's unlikely that sharing is on the business plan at Citigroup Inc. or Goldman Sachs Group Inc., companies that Reverend Billy excoriates in his sermons. He says the steel and mirrored-glass buildings that house major banks are designed hide what happens inside.
Though colorful, Reverend Billy is no longer a fringe figure. Since he began preaching on the street corners in Times Square a decade ago, Reverend Billy and his anticonsumerism message have gained mainstream attention, thanks in part to his book and a world tour with the church's 40-member choir.
"Preaching is the landscape between talking and singing," Reverend Billy says. "It's like finding a saxophone in your chest."
His breakthrough came in 2007 with the release of "What Would Jesus Buy?", a documentary about church efforts to promote a shopping-free Christmas.
This year, he's running for New York City mayor on the Green Party ticket, campaigning on a community-first platform. CandidaConfronted with the once-in-a-century opportunity to remake the financial system, the... more
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asherp
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4 years ago
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Six months after accepting a financial lifeline from Washington, a newly profitable Goldman Sachs is pushing to return the billions of taxpayer dollars that it received in an effort to extricate itself from heightened government control.
Goldman, which rode out the final, tumultuous months of 2008 with the help of a federal rescue, reported strong quarterly profits on Monday and said that it would seek to raise money in the capital markets to repay the government.
If successful, Goldman would become the first major bank to return funds received under the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP. Such a step would probably enable Goldman — long one of the most lucrative places to work on Wall Street — to free itself from government-imposed restrictions on compensation.
Many analysts welcomed the news as the latest in a series of signs that the financial industry is stabilizing. But others warned of a looming divide between a handful of banks like Goldman, which may be strong enough to return their TARP money, and the many others that are too weak to go without government funds.
It is unclear how quickly Goldman, which was also a beneficiary of a separate government rescue of the American International Group, might be allowed to return the $10 billion it accepted last October.Six months after accepting a financial lifeline from Washington, a newly profitable... more
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Great to see someone in Washington asking Real questions regarding the economy...
We have it on record that Both Geithner and Bernanke are against a Global Currency.
We'll see how long it takes for the flip flop on this one once the largest investors in U.S. T-Bills has something to say ....
Amazing how when the topic of returning bailout money to the American Citizens, Rep. Bachmann is scolded by Rep Barney Frank for requesting an answer to the last question asked...
Rep. Frank takes more time explaining why he would not allow an answer than an actual answer would have taken.
I see who has Giethner and Bernanke's back...
Please watch video and discuss-Great to see someone in Washington asking Real questions regarding the economy...... more
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Clips from article:
By the end of 2009, two-thirds of the state's banks will be operating under cease-and-desist orders or other regulatory actions, Anaheim-based banking consultant Gary S. Findley predicts.
"There are more than 300 banks in California, and the reality is that more than a third of those are losing money," Trezza said.
What I gather from this is 1 in 3 banks are losing money and by the end of the year, 2 out of 3 banks will be in Failure mode in California.
And this is only California...
With approximately 8305 FDIC "insured" banks nationwide holding $14 trillion in assets the FDIC fund will not be able to handle a massive bank failure run.
Expect to see more TARPS and Son of TARPS in the near future.
I post this in hopes of opening the eyes of my fellow Citizens to the upcoming Dollar crisis.
Please read article at link and discuss-Clips from article:
By the end of 2009, two-thirds of the state's banks will be... more
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Meet the bankers and brokers responsible for the financial crisis - and the officials who let them get away with it. The ensemble cast includes: "The Enabler," "The Ideologue," "Mr. Too Big," and "The Maestro" Read all at the link.Meet the bankers and brokers responsible for the financial crisis - and the officials... more
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The Obama administration took a fresh shot at ending a national paralysis in lending Monday, teaming up with investors to buy bad bank assets and ease credit for hard-pressed consumers and businesses.The Obama administration took a fresh shot at ending a national paralysis in lending... more
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According to Bloomberg, "President George W. Bush’s administration 'specifically contemplated' paying bonuses to American International Group Inc. employees in its November agreement to provide federal bailout funds to the insurance giant, the inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Program said today."
"The TARP contract between AIG and Treasury 'specifically contemplated the payment of bonuses and retention payments to AIG employees, including AIG’s senior partners,'" the inspector said in the financial news network's article.
The US government owns 80 percent of AIG.According to Bloomberg, "President George W. Bush’s administration... more
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Goldman Sachs is about to start lending money to its own executives because the financial crisis has left them short of cash.
In an indication that some have seen their personal wealth shrivel in recent months, Goldman is offering to lend money to around 1,000 staffers. The New York Times reported today that the bank is prepared to provide loans worth anything from a few thousand to hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The money is being offered because some Goldman employees face cash calls on their investments in some of the bank's own funds. These financial vehicles have invested in real estate and private equity and their value has plunged as the US economy has contracted. Employees who have invested in the funds are contractually obliged to put up more money if required – and the relatively meagre bonuses paid out in 2008 means some are struggling to meet their obligations.
Sources who spoke to the New York Times indicated that the loans were specifically aimed at assisting employees to meet their fund obligations and could not be used for other purposes. Goldman Sachs has not commented except to confirm the existence of the loan programme.
During the boom years, Goldman was famous for its remuneration policies, which were lavish even by the gilded standards of Wall Street. But much of this money appears to have gone back into its investment funds.
One former Goldman partner told the New York Times that a significant number of the bank's partners are now worth less than $5m (£3.6m) each, despite having enjoyed years of multimillion dollar bonuses.
Goldman was forced to give up its treasured investment-bank status last year, so that it could receive emergency funds from the Federal Reserve.
It is also one of many Wall Street firms to receive billions of dollars through the US banking bailout. These companies have been heavily criticised for continuing to pay bonuses for work done in 2008, a year punctuated by massive losses and writedowns across the banking sector.Goldman Sachs is about to start lending money to its own executives because the... more
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Obama coughed during his speech and joked, "Excuse me. I'm choked up with anger here."
Responding to a populist firestorm over the news that AIG planned to pay out millions in bonuses to many of the executives viewed to be responsible for the firm's near-collapse in 2008, President Obama announced he has directed Treasury Sec. Timothy Geithner to "pursue every legal avenue to block these bonuses" in embargoed remarks obtained by RAW STORY.
Noting the substantial sums AIG has received from the federal government, Obama said late Monday morning Geithner should use that leverage in pursuing a block of the bonuses.
"This is a corporation that finds itself in financial distress due to recklessness and greed," said Obama. "Under these circumstances, it’s hard to understand how derivative traders at AIG warranted any bonuses, much less $165 million in extra pay. How do they justify this outrage to the taxpayers who are keeping the company afloat?"Obama coughed during his speech and joked, "Excuse me. I'm choked up with... more
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In efforts to stabilize troubled banks, the Treasury Department overpaid those institutions by nearly $80 billion, the head of a bailout oversight panel told lawmakers Thursday.
Elizabeth Warren, who chairs the congressional panel overseeing the Troubled Asset Relief Program, said Treasury officials chose not to risk-adjust the government’s investments in troubled banks, instead paying “a uniform price” regardless of each bank’s health. As a result, she estimates, taxpayers have spent $254 billion on capital investments worth just $176 billion — a difference of roughly $78 billion.
-File this one under: "Oh, my F*cking God", "Holy F*cking Sh*t" or "You have got to be kidding me."In efforts to stabilize troubled banks, the Treasury Department overpaid those... more
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Investment bankers racked up $100,000s in prostitution charges
Visa, Mastercard or American Express? Or maybe a credit card from JP Morgan Chase?
Wall Street CEOs, lawyers, bankers and media executives chalked up thousands of dollars in prostitution charges on their corporate credit cards -- swiping their cards for $2,000 an hour prostitutes, according to a New York madam who pleaded guilty last year.
Kristin Davis, the madam in question, went public to ABC News this week; ABC will be broadcasting her interview Friday at 10 pm. Davis says she has a list of 9,800 clients, many of whom she says New York prosecutors deliberately avoided when taking her case, even though she offered them her annotated client list.Investment bankers racked up $100,000s in prostitution charges
Visa, Mastercard or... more
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The U.S. Treasury looks to have overpaid financial institutions to the tune of $78 billion in carrying out capital injections last year, the head of a congressional oversight panel for the government's $700 billion bailout program told lawmakers on Thursday.
Elizabeth Warren, a Harvard law professor, said her group estimated the Treasury paid $254 billion in 2008 in return for stocks and warrants worth about $176 billion under the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP.
This smells like more corrupt leadership? More Bush Administration Corruption Charges?The U.S. Treasury looks to have overpaid financial institutions to the tune of $78... more
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Kepano
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4 years ago
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The very word secrecy is repugnant in a free and open society and we are as a people, inherently and historically opposed to secret societies, to secret oaths and to secret proceedings for we are opposed around the world by a monolithic and ruthless conspiracy and relies primarily on covet means for expanding it's share of influence. On infiltration instead of invasion, in subversion instead of elections, in intimidation instead of free choice. It is a system which has conscripted.....The very word secrecy is repugnant in a free and open society and we are as a people,... more
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taps65
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4 years ago
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Today, we need more Thomas Paines and a few other good men like him as our freedoms and wealth have been stripped away at an ever increasing pace by a government which has long ago become unresponsive to serving the citizens and serves the monied elite with unconstitutional policy, laws, codes and decrees. As we see our freedoms sacrificed in the name of security and our wealth sacrificed to bail out those who created the financial crisis it should be abundantly clear that our government has become unresponsive to the citizens and long ago lost sight of the vision and intent of our founders.Today, we need more Thomas Paines and a few other good men like him as our freedoms... more
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taps65
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4 years ago
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by Robert F. Kennedy April 1968.
Our Senator has spoken, heed his words and rise up for the love of our fellowman, our country and the world. May God Bless you all.by Robert F. Kennedy April 1968.
Our Senator has spoken, heed his words and rise... more
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taps65
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4 years ago
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Your bullet brought down a man. Your bullet ended a life. Your bullet gave birth to a voice much louder in death as it was in life. A voice that brought forth a movement that shall have stopped this bullet from ever being made.Your bullet brought down a man. Your bullet ended a life. Your bullet gave birth to a... more
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taps65
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Cartoon in the New Yorker: A gun-toting man with large dark glasses, large hat pulled down, stands in front of a bank teller, who is reading a demand note. It says, “Give me all the money in my account.”
A Ponzi scheme is a form of pyramid scheme in which earlier investors are paid with the money of later investors rather than from real profits. The perpetuation of the scheme requires an ever-increasing flow of money from investors in order to keep it going.Cartoon in the New Yorker: A gun-toting man with large dark glasses, large hat pulled... more
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taps65
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4 years ago
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Nowadays, every homeowner should have an arsenal to protect them from evil. An arsenal that does not require bullets or bombs. This is the weapon that destroys mass corruption. You don't have to buy it, you already have it. It just needs to be activated.
Just like the best things in life.... it's free.Nowadays, every homeowner should have an arsenal to protect them from evil. An arsenal... more
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taps65
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4 years ago
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Rise up and bear knowledge. Make yourself responsible. Stop blaming and start change within yourself. The foundation of our future generation depend on the truth we lay down today.
Resurrect these dying words:
And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country.
My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.
Finally, whether you are citizens of America or citizens of the world, ask of us the same high standards of strength and sacrifice which we ask of you. With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God's work must truly be our own.Rise up and bear knowledge. Make yourself responsible. Stop blaming and start change... more
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taps65
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