Naomi Klein: Wall St. Bailout Is A Trillion-$ Crime Scene - Why Aren't Dems Doing Anything About It?

[Hissyspit]

http://www.alternet.org/workplace/107000/wall_street%27s_bailout_is_a_trillion-dollar_crime_scene_--_why_aren%27t_the_dems_doing_something_about_it_

Wall Street's Bailout is a Trillion-Dollar Crime Scene -- Why Aren't the Dems Doing Something About It?

By Naomi Klein, The Nation. Posted November 14, 2008.

Washington's handling of the bailout is not merely incompetent. It may well be illegal.

The more details emerge, the clearer it becomes that Washington's handling of the Wall Street bailout is not merely incompetent. It is borderline criminal.

In a moment of high panic in late September, the U.S. Treasury unilaterally pushed through a radical change in how bank mergers are taxed -- a change long sought by the industry. Despite the fact that this move will deprive the government of as much as $140 billion in tax revenue, lawmakers found out only after the fact. According to the Washington Post, more than a dozen tax attorneys agree that "Treasury had no authority to issue the notice."

Of equally dubious legality are the equity deals Treasury has negotiated with many of the country's banks. According to Congressman Barney Frank, one of the architects of the legislation that enables the deals, "Any use of these funds for any purpose other than lending -- for bonuses, for severance pay, for dividends, for acquisitions of other institutions, etc. -- is a violation of the act." Yet this is exactly how the funds are being used.

Then there is the nearly $2 trillion the Federal Reserve has handed out in emergency loans. Incredibly, the Fed will not reveal which corporations have received these loans or what it has accepted as collateral. Bloomberg News believes that this secrecy violates the law and has filed a federal suit demanding full disclosure.

Despite all of this potential lawlessness, the Democrats are either openly defending the administration or refusing to intervene. "There is only one president at a time," we hear from Barack Obama. That's true. But every sweetheart deal the lame-duck Bush administration makes threatens to hobble Obama's ability to make good on his promise of change. To cite just one example, that $140 billion in missing tax revenue is almost the same sum as Obama's renewable energy program. Obama owes it to the people who elected him to call this what it is: an attempt to undermine the electoral process by stealth.

- snip -

I suspect that the real reason the Democrats are so far failing to act has less to do with presidential protocol than with fear: fear that the stock market, which has the temperament of an overindulged 2-year-old, will throw one of its world-shaking tantrums. Disclosing the truth about who is receiving federal loans, we are told, could cause the cranky market to bet against those banks. Question the legality of equity deals and the same thing will happen. Challenge the $140 billion tax giveaway and mergers could fall through. "None of us wants to be blamed for ruining these mergers and creating a new Great Depression," explained one unnamed Congressional aide.

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[truthisfreedom]

1. The New Great Depression is inevitable. What's happening at this moment is "dump the last of

the US Treasury into the corporate pockets."

We are witnesses to the greatest crime in history.

[malaise]

2. That is the absolute truth

That said it it not smart for the Dems to act now because Bush can still pardon people. The criminals should be arrested on January 21st.

[zbdent]

7. I doubt Bush will wait ...

remember, he's used the "pre-emptive pardon" before ...

[tom_paine]

4. I think you might be correct. n/t

[jedr]

5. yep, the Repubs have reached "Mission accomplished"

They have emptied the Treasury into their own pockets, destroyed the middle class and bankrupted the government ( good bye entitlement programs). Who says they're incompetent.

[Romulox]

6. Why did Chris Dodd, Barney Frank, Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi push so hard for the bailout then???

[depakid]

30. Because like leaders in all the other industrial nations

they understood the gravity of the situation, and would prefer that the world not fall into another Great Depression.

[tomp]

9. a crime enabled by democratic leadership....

....out of cowardice and political expediency. if you are not disgusted by the democratic party you are not paying attention.

[nolabels]

12. People installed by the establishment don't get blamed till total failure is obvious

The way history is written and taught in meme for the establishment form it's really kind of wonder how anything gets figured out. A perfect example of this


Neville Chamberlain

(snip)
Chamberlain flew to Munich to negotiate the agreement, and received an ecstatic reception upon his return to Britain on 30 September 1938. At Heston Aerodrome, west of London, he made the now famous "Peace for our time" speech and waved the Anglo-German Declaration to a delighted crowd. When Hitler invaded and seized the rest of Czechoslovakia in March 1939, Chamberlain felt betrayed by the breaking of the Munich Agreement and decided to take a much harder line against the Nazis, declaring war against Germany upon their invasion of Poland.

The repeated failures of the Baldwin government to deal with rising Nazi power are often laid, historically, on the doorstep of Chamberlain, since he presided over the final collapse of European affairs, resisted acting on military information, lied to the House of Commons about Nazi military strength, shunted out opposition which, correctly, warned of the need to prepare – and above all, failed to use the months profitably to ready for the oncoming conflict. However, it is also true that by the time of his premiership, dealing with the Nazi Party in Germany was an order of magnitude more difficult. Germany had begun general conscription previously, and had already amassed an air arm. Chamberlain, caught between the bleak finances of the depression era and his own abhorrence of war – and a Kriegsherr who would not be denied a war – gave ground and entered history as a political scapegoat for what was a more general failure of political will and vision which had begun with the Treaty of Versailles in 1919.

The policy of keeping the peace had broad support; had the Commons wanted a more aggressive prime minister, Winston Churchill would have been the obvious choice. Even after the outbreak of war, it was not clear that the invasion of Poland need lead to a general conflict. What convicted Chamberlain in the eyes of many commentators and historians was not the policy itself, but his manner of carrying it out and the failure to hedge his bets. Many of his contemporaries viewed him as stubborn and unwilling to accept criticism, an opinion backed up by his dismissal of cabinet ministers who disagreed with him on foreign policy. If accurate, this assessment of his personality would explain why Chamberlain strove to remain on friendly terms with the Third Reich long after many of his colleagues became convinced that Hitler could not be restrained.
(snip)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neville_Chamberlain

[tomp]

29. all our leaders are installed by the establishment.

the democratic party is the establishment.

i think what is more important is that the establishment never blames itself as a whole. it may seek scapegoats historically (and then ignore their own historical pronouncements), but obama is not going after bush, clinton did not go after bush, neither ford nor carter went after nixon. it's an historical joke and neither the american people, nor even many of the bright lights of du ever get it.

[liberalla]

28. 'The Great Bush Depression'

'The Bush Depression' (nothing great about it)...

This is one thing he deserves credit for, and so we name it after him.
The connection should be between *Bush* & *Depression*.

The Bush Depression

The Bush Depression

The Bush Depression

[Romulox]

3. It's much worse than that. Dems like Chris Dodd and Barney Frank are complicit

in these crimes.

[girl gone mad]

15. Dodd belongs in jail. n/t

[bdamomma]

8. these thugs should not get away with their crimes.

we have been financially shocked and awed.

[wroberts189]

10. This is so depressing. eom

[Solly Mack]

11. K&R

[mirror wall]

13. This shit is so amazingly insane.

What in the everloving FUCK. Seriously. The Democrat's complicity in this is absolutely sickening. It's shit like this that makes me think that we basically have a one party system in this country that plays the electorate off against each other based on social issues (which are important, but pale in comparison to this kind of bullshit which is ruining not only the financial prospects of our generation, but that of our children and their children after them). I really hope that hopey gets his damn ass in gear when he takes over. That's my only prayer. But with every new Clintonian dinosaur he sticks into his transition staff and actual staff, that hope gets just a little dimmer.

Man. There just aren't words. This is not a laughing matter. People are losing their homes and jobs at alarming rates and all these fuckers can do is play games with fear, stealing money that could go towards making America a first world country again.

[slipslidingaway]

14. Hearing now on cspan1 n/t

[Kurovski]

16. I saw part of that. It looks as though none of the money went to do anything

but reward "incompetence". But how can you be "incompetent" when you are successfully bilking a treasury of all that loot?

No help for mortgage holders, nothing is stimulating or even propping up the economy.

Some rather pissed-off congress folk in attendance.

[slipslidingaway]

21. Agree, except that there could be a few more pissed-off

people :)

[Lumpsum]

17. Mmm. I love Naomi.

:loveya:

[EmeraldCityGrl]

18. Is it naive to believe the Dems have not wanted to

show their hand until power is fully relinquished to them? Any tip off that the Dems are not going to "play ball" could make an already desperate situation worse.

"When transferring power from a functional, trustworthy regime, everyone favors a smooth transition. When exiting an era marked by criminality and bankrupt ideology, a little rockiness at the start would be a very good sign."

I have to believe this is the case.

[liberalla]

26. I have to hope that there is something in the works, and

it would be understandable if they chose to keep quiet until the transition is complete.

I guess I'm naive too... :)

[Hissyspit]

19. .

[shanti]

20. i learned a LOT

from naomi's book, shock doctrine. more than i really wanted to know...:scared:

[judasdisney]

22. It's a set-up. It's a trap. Designed to revisit & erase FDR once and for all -- and blame Obama.

[Blarch]

23. betrayed by the dem leadership...

again.

[JohnyCanuck]

24. Too late to R, but I can still K n/t

[bread_and_roses]

25. "The Democrats of 2002 and 2007 Haven't Gone Anywhere"

article by Glenn Greenwald posted over at CommonDreams:

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2008/11/13

It is worth remembering that the Democrats who are going to exert dominant political control are the same ones who have provoked so much scorn -- rightfully so -- over the last several years, and particularly since 2006. This is the same Democratic Party leadership which funded the Iraq War without conditions (and voted to authorize it in the first place); massively expanded the President's warrantless eavesdropping powers; immunized lawbreaking telecoms; enacted the Patriot Act and then renewed it with virtually no changes; didn't even bother to mount a filibuster to stop the Military Commissions Act; refrained from pursuing any meaningful investigations of Bush lawbreaking; confirmed every last extremist Bush nominee, from Michael McConnell to Michael Mukasey; acquiesced to even the worst and most lawless Bush policies when they were briefed on them; and on and on and on. None of that has changed. That is still who they are.

The article explores what the seeming probability that Lieberman will retain his chair signals about the likelihood of these Democrats having any intention of enacting any real "change." There's also a link to a "just say no to joe" petition - the name is clever but the interactive tool seems real primitive to me.
(edit sp)

[earth mom]

27. It was the crime of the century, but nothing will be done because Obama voted for it.

:grr:

[Gabi Hayes]

31. from the comments section:

''The fact is the powers that be are kicking the can down the road while their clients, the banks, pocket hundreds of billions of dollars to offset their gambling debts in the derivatives markets. The problem for them is that the American people are catching on fast. Obama and company had better not play fast and loose with the public's business or they will lose their hole card ... the public's trust. Houses depreciating, jobs going away, food still going up, services being cut ... the public is in no mood for bull shit. ''

[Gabi Hayes]

32. from ''the more things change.....'' department:

“The end of democracy and the defeat of the American Revolution will occur when government falls into the hands of lending institutions and moneyed incorporations.”

“I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency… the banks will deprive the people of all property until their children wake up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered… The end of democracy and the defeat of the American Revolution will occur when government falls into the hands of lending institutions and moneyed incorporations.”
President Thomas Jefferson - . (In a letter to the Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin, 1802. Published 1809. 1743-1826)


“History records that money changers have used every form of abuse, intrigue, deceit, and violent means possible, to maintain their control over governments, by controlling money and its issuance.”
President James Madison (the 4th founding president and “father” of the U.S. Constitution. 1751-1836)

“The inability of the colonists to get the power to issue their own money, permanently, out of the hands of George III and the international bankers was the prime reason for the revolutionary war.”
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN (a founder of America. 1706-1790)

[kentuck]

33. SAY IT LOUDER, BARNEY !!!!

"Any use of these funds for any purpose other than lending -- for bonuses, for severance pay, for dividends, for acquisitions of other institutions, etc. -- is a violation of the act."

Got it? Henry Paulson, you were not authorized to change how the money was spent. I guess the next time they appropriate money for the war in Iraq, you would recommend that they spent it in Iran or Pakistan? Same difference. Congress needs to call Treasury on this scam soon.