Looking at the 1-99% discussion going on at this time, the first thing I realized was that this is a tangled web of dependencies en conditioned behaviors that is impossible to describe in one go. So I will haphazardly jump around and touch upon topics that I find. And I would like to start with the word on everybody’s lips: bankers. I warned you that this blog has no real organization…
The question that has been playing through my mind lately is: if it is proven that Wall Street actually runs the government, what are the implications?
Let’s start with our favorite: Goldman Sachs (my HTC phone has spelling help and will spell this name correctly, including capital G and S… isn’t this the type of influence we all look for?). Here’s what Wikipedia has to say (I left the notes links where they are):
“Personnel "revolving-door" with U.S. government
During 2008 Goldman Sachs received criticism for an apparent revolving door relationship, in which its employees and consultants have moved in and out of high level U.S. Government positions, creating the potential for conflicts of interest. Former Treasury Secretary Paulson was a former CEO of Goldman Sachs. Additional controversy attended the selection of former Goldman Sachs lobbyist Mark Patterson as chief of staff to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, despite President Barack Obama's campaign promise that he would limit the influence of lobbyists in his administration.[74] In February 2011, the Washington Examiner reported that Goldman Sachs was "the company from which Obama raised the most money in 2008" and that its "CEO Lloyd Blankfein has visited the White House 10 times."[75]”
Wait a minute: Goldman Sachs received criticism? Not the Bush government for allowing (let alone inviting) this? Not the Congress for allowing it? Where they (the People) aware? If not, why not? Same for Obama (believe me, great guy and done a lot for US): it’s great to make the promise to limit the influence of lobbyists, but that promise goes sour if it means you appoint the lobbyist’s stakeholders into your government. Now, maybe this was the offer you had to make in order to get the funds (from Goldman Sachs) to get elected and this was the choice you had to make. I am just not happy I did not have to make the choice. I am also happy I don’t have to work with Paulson, but that’s personal.
And we all know: if you want to dine with the devil you better bring a long spoon.
But this is then not about Obama or Democrats or GOP. This is about why they are even here.
If Wall Street campaign funding decides who will win, then the existing political parties have one function (and I quote somebody from Twitter): “they (i.e. Wall Street firm; BD) need a middle man when the shit goes down. They aren't going to jail.”
Had to think again about a tweet I have seen regularly over the past weeks: “number of bankers arrested for financial crimes: 0, number of people arrested for protesting those crimes >1000”
Not a single prosecution has come down from the U.S. Department of Justice for any of Wall Street’s casino capitalists. It seems that Justice and Police have also become infected (BD: this will need to be checked but was interested to find the same article twice).
And this will worry people, now that they are starting to find out, and are no longer living the good life. Do you remember Pinocchio? One of his adventures has him lured into a garden of plenty, no work just play, candy all over the place… and because he stays too long in that garden, he turns into a donkey and becomes property of a cruel brute who works him until he bleeds.
I guess this is where we now find ourselves. Were we dumb? Quite. Should we accept our current situation? Hell no. Fun thing about situations is that they can be changed. It won’t be easy with such a tangled web. A worldwide tangled web. Again, Wikipedia:
“Greece and European sovereign debt crisis
Goldman was criticized for its involvement in the 2010 European sovereign debt crisis. Goldman Sachs is reported to have systematically helped the Greek government mask the true facts concerning its national debt between the years 1998 and 2009.[76] In September 2009, Goldman Sachs, among others, created a special credit default swap (CDS) index to cover of high risk of Greece's national debt.[77] The interest-rates of Greek national bonds have soared to a very high level, leading the Greek economy very close to bankruptcy in March and May 2010 and again in June 2011.[78]”
You know, if I had done anything close like this, like trade illegally with money from my bank without telling my superior (wait, didn’t we have regulations for that? Oh no, dissolved to enable the trickle down economy…), I would have been lynched like Ghadaffi.
Sheesh, and I promised myself not to get worked up.
Back to the question: what are the implications of Banks running governments? And what should we do to get things back to a workable state?
I am looking forward to suggestions.
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