Anyone watch Bill Moyers and William Grieder on PBS ?

[kentuck]

They were discussing the sub-prime mortgages and the bailout of Fannie and Freddie. It was very instructive in language even a simple man could understand. Basically, Grieder thought it incredible that the Congress was so quick to bail them out without any preconditions whatsoever. More or less, guaranteed to buy all the stock from the stockholders - a no-lose situation. Also, he said we should nationalize these banks that were so reckless and the stockholders should have to eat their losses.

[elleng]

1. Saw some of it;

very interesting, especially his views on the 'history' of our current situation.

As I'd begun to think, at some point we lost our moral compass or something that caused most of us, including business and government, to behave honorably. SO the Federal Reserve became an institution for bankers etc. and not for we the people. I think I'm restating his position accurately. Will try to watch a rerun.

Grieder writes for The Nation.

[SoCalDem]

2. yep. I see that Greider guy on all the time on MSNBC & CNN

oh wait... nevermind..

we get CRAMER!!!!!! :puke:

[Warpy]

3. Fannie and Freddie need some reforms

but they're still worth saving.

I'd prefer this particular Congress didn't write the reforms. There are still too many GOPs to combine with Blue Dogs and turn the whole thing into a giant poison pill that will eventually destroy them, not reform them.

[kentuck]

4. Greider said they should be returned to original purpose...

Which was to help banks and institutions with providing mortgages for more homes. But the law changed sometime in the '90's (Phil Gramm?) and it should be reformed. He explained it fairly thoroughly if you get a chance to see it?

[DemReadingDU]

5. Greider: Wall Street's Great Deflation

Wall Street's Great Deflation
posted by William Greider on 07/14/2008 @ 12:38pm

Phil Gramm, the senator-banker who until recently advised John McCain's campaign, did get it right about a "nation of whiners," but he misidentified the faint-hearted. It's not the people or even the politicians. It is Wall Street--the financial titans and big-money bankers, the most important investors and worldwide creditors who are scared witless by events. These folks are in full-flight panic and screaming for mercy from Washington, Their cries were answered by the massive federal bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac, the endangered mortgage companies.

When the monied interests whined, they made themselves heard by dumping the stocks of these two quasi-public private corporations, threatening to collapse the two financial firms like the investor "run" that wiped out Bear Stearns in March. The real distress of the banks and brokerages and major investors is that they cannot unload the rotten mortgage securities packaged by Fannie Mae and banks sold worldwide. Wall Street's preferred solution: dump the bad paper on the rest of us, the unwitting American taxpayers.

The Bush crowd, always so reluctant to support federal aid for mere people, stepped up to the challenge and did as it was told. Treasury Secretary Paulson (ex-Goldman Sachs) and his sidekick, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, announced their bailout plan on Sunday to prevent another disastrous selloff on Monday when markets opened. Like the first-stage rescue of Wall Street's largest investment firms in March, this bold stroke was said to benefit all of us. The whole kingdom of American high finance would tumble down if government failed to act or made the financial guys pay for their own reckless delusions. Instead, dump the losses on the people.

more...
http://www.thenation.com/blogs/notion/336722/