02-24-2009, 10:38 AM | #121 |
Magnificent Bastard
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It could just be me, but I find the bailouts quite refreshing. Its not every day your suspicions about incipient banana republicanism are proved true, after all.
For example AIG renegotiation The Treasury banking stress tests were fixed White House again refuses calls to nationalize the banks, maintaining what is essentially a pretty fiction Structural reform of the banking system is essentially nil And these are just a few stories from the last week. Now, that's not to say bailouts in theory are a bad idea. With the right structural reforms, proper analysis and adequate punishment for the fools in government, regulation and finance, bailouts could work. There are plenty of good bankers and financial analysts out there who did not jump on the subprime mortgage bandwagon, and have raised concerns about overreliance on credit before now. But none of those things are happening. Its the "in practice" part of this which is the problem, as per usual. This is like trying to fill a bucket with a hole in the bottom. But then, when the bucket contributed several million in campaign related funds, and those who the money is being taken from contributed, uh, significantly less, you shouldn't really be surprised when the result is systemized looting from the former to the latter. |
02-24-2009, 05:48 PM | #122 |
Read? I only know how to write.
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02-24-2009, 06:46 PM | #123 | |
Professor
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Quote:
KBR was in charge, and they claimed they were NOT required to follow US electrical safety codes. Even the DOD is losing confidence in them. http://cellar.org/newreply.php?do=newreply&p=538077 The accidental deaths and close calls, which are being investigated by Congress and the Defense Department’s inspector general, raise new questions about the oversight of contractors in the war zone, where unjustified killings by security guards, shoddy reconstruction projects and fraud involving military supplies have spurred previous inquiries. American electricians who worked for KBR, the Houston-based defense contractor that is responsible for maintaining American bases in Iraq and Afghanistan, said they repeatedly warned company managers and military officials about unsafe electrical work, which was often performed by poorly trained Iraqis and Afghans paid just a few dollars a day. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/04/wo...ectrocute.html http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29065911/ |
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02-24-2009, 07:08 PM | #124 | |
Professor
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Quote:
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02-24-2009, 07:09 PM | #125 |
Professor
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btw, what about all the info about Northern Trust today?
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02-25-2009, 06:32 AM | #126 | |
Magnificent Bastard
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But apparently such companies are "too big to fail" and we should not worry ourselves about such things. Or so I was told when I asked about the potential risk, a few years back. |
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02-25-2009, 06:39 AM | #127 | |
Magnificent Bastard
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I hadn't heard about this until you mentioned it, but Bloomberg, as per usual, has the goods:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p...xUwbY&refer=us Quote:
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03-15-2009, 07:36 PM | #128 | |
barely disguised asshole, keeper of all that is holy.
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Fed chief Bernanke: recession could end in '09
Quote:
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"like strapping a pillow on a bull in a china shop" Bullitt |
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03-15-2009, 07:45 PM | #129 | |
Doctor Wtf
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Quote:
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Shut up and hug. MoreThanPretty, Nov 5, 2008. Just because I'm nominally polite, does not make me a pussy. Sundae Girl. |
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03-15-2009, 07:47 PM | #130 |
The future is unwritten
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He didn't say things will get better this year.
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The descent of man ~ Nixon, Friedman, Reagan, Trump. |
03-15-2009, 10:00 PM | #132 |
Doctor Wtf
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Well, the "end of the recession" might not be the return to growth, it might be the begining of full-on depression.
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Shut up and hug. MoreThanPretty, Nov 5, 2008. Just because I'm nominally polite, does not make me a pussy. Sundae Girl. |
03-15-2009, 10:27 PM | #133 |
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Surprisingly, I was a little bit comforted by his interview tonight, something I can't say about listening to Larry Summers this morning. I reeeally, reeeally hope they know they are doing. At least I learned Ben Bernanke did not grow up with a silver spoon in his mouth, and he never worked for Wall Street.
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03-15-2009, 10:50 PM | #134 |
The future is unwritten
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No, he said if a bunch of things happen, and they can do what they set out to accomplish, the recession will end at the end of the year.
But despite his optimism they can meet those targets in spite of Republican obstructionists, what he's actually talking about is ending the plunge into a full fledged depression.
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The descent of man ~ Nixon, Friedman, Reagan, Trump. |
03-16-2009, 08:15 AM | #135 |
barely disguised asshole, keeper of all that is holy.
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Well then they cut the video REALLY WELL this morning. I wanted to see the whole thing myself after your posts - Thats what it looked like to me.
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"like strapping a pillow on a bull in a china shop" Bullitt |
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