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RedditTreasury Secretary Henry Paulson is expected to name fellow Goldman Sachs alum, Neel Kashkari, to oversee the government's $700 billion Superfund cleanup of Wall Street's toxic assets. The Wall Street Journal reports, "Paulson likes to surround himself with people he's comfortable with: people, mostly, from Goldman Sachs." And why not? Making personnel decisions based on maximizing one's comfort level has worked wonders for the Bush administration thus far.
According to Bloomberg News, the Treasury will hire "about two dozen staff" and "five to 10 asset management firms" to determine which securities to purchase and how to manage them. Rest assured, the Treasury is working on a "firewall" to prevent any conflicts of interest between the people it hires and the firms they previously worked for.
Well, I'm sold, aren't you? Breeds all kinds of confidence for the taxpayer-turned-investor in the Paulson Plan.
As the Bush administration outsources management of the bailout bonanza, how many more Goldman Sachs alums will fill these critical posts? And with the fox guarding the henhouse--who's watching the fox?
Here's a modest proposal for Secretary Paulson: instead of carrying out this program of Goldman Sachs socialism, take a look at the most recent jobs report: in September, 159,000 jobs were lost. Approximately 769,000 people have lost jobs since January.
In the past twelve months, the number of unemployed increased by 2.2 million people. Meanwhile, the GOP continues to filibuster Democratic efforts to extend unemployment insurance--nearly 800,000 Americans will lose unemployment compensation benefits over the next few weeks.
So maybe Secretary Paulson should comb the unemployment rolls and find talented people to fill these positions, train them, and invest in their productivity? After all, people are our best assets--they represent the true fundamentals of the real economy. And then we won't have to worry about fictitious firewalls between former Wall Streeters and the firms who are now begging for relief.
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Katrina vanden Heuvel
Thoughts on politics, current affairs, riffs and reflections on what’s in the news and what’s not--but should be.
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wow. these crooks and this incompetant buddyboy administration cannot continue.
january cannot come soon enough.
Posted by dexter666 at 10/06/2008 @ 6:26pm
Katrina, if the members with a (D) after their last name had voted NO to the bailout it would not have passed. (I know, duh. But, it needs to be noted.)
This site talks about PROGRESSIVE this and PROGRESSIVE that. Well, the FAT PORKER bueracrats RAMMED the bailout through because it bailed many of their friends out.
PROGRESSIVE does not equal DEMOCRAT.
CHANGE, CHANGE, CHANGE, CHANGE, whatever....
NADER/GONZALES '08
Posted by bleedingheart at 10/06/2008 @ 6:31pm
"because it bailed many of their friends out."
SHOULD READ
"because it bailed many of their DONORS out."
Posted by bleedingheart at 10/06/2008 @ 6:34pm
>>>So maybe Secretary Paulson should comb the unemployment rolls and find talented people to fill these positions, train them, and invest in their productivity? After all, people are our best assets--they represent the true fundamentals of the real economy. And then we won't have to worry about fictitious firewalls between former Wall Streeters and the firms who are now begging for relief. <<<
KVH GETS IT!!!
Now why is this so hard for Congress?
Posted by Metteyya at 10/06/2008 @ 6:41pm
Posted by bleedingheart at 10/06/2008 @ 6:31pm | ignore this person | warn this person
yeah but they won't win. obama probably will.
hey - i agree in so many ways. for 30 years now all too many democrats were asleep at the wheel or doing their best to look like repugnant conservative, gulping down hardcore satano-aynrando economic ideology, profiting from the very policies that led to this economic mess.
but i guess thats just the way the donkey farts...
but no matter how bad some dems have been in this regard over the years, its still the repugnants and their irresponsible ideology that have resulted in this sucking shithole.
Posted by dexter666 at 10/06/2008 @ 6:44pm
>>>NADER/GONZALES '08
Posted by bleedingheart at 10/06/2008 @ 6:31pm<<<
You REALLY mean "McCain/Palin '08" because that is exactly what you will get if you waste your vote on Nader.
REMEMBER NADER GAVE US BUSH IN 2000 OR WE WILL END UP WITH MCCAIN/PALIN IN 2008!
Posted by Metteyya at 10/06/2008 @ 6:51pm
Anyone else struck by the irony of the Bush crony Paulson appointing his own crony to oversee the looting...er....bailout?...a guy named Kashkari (as in Cash Carry)?
Posted by Lillian at 10/06/2008 @ 7:16pm
Corporate Socialism courtesy of the Bush White House and political cronyism and scare tactics in Washington.
I don't think everyone in Washington voted on this out of a self serving motive. I think SOME of them were genuinely scared. But there is definitely a lot of self serving going on here.
Posted by Cccomfo1 at 10/06/2008 @ 7:28pm
Interesting idea from KVH...pick someone on the unemployment roles and let THEM oversee the bailout.
The wingnuts should be all for it...we could just put the new person in a dress and lipstick, hide them for a couple of weeks while someone teaches them what it is they're supposed to do, then pretend they're perfectly qualified for the position. Anybody complains, we just call them sexist and point out how they hate families and hockey moms.
Hey, that was the plan with Sarah Palin...and the wingnuts think she's great.
Posted by Lillian at 10/06/2008 @ 7:28pm
Posted by RedRiver_. at 10/06/2008 @ 6:37pm
Hank Paulson is a "leftist"?!?!?!??
Posted by Maskdelta at 10/06/2008 @ 8:09pm
Giving more money to these corporations, is like giving more heroin to an overdosed drug addict.
Posted by MMSMITH at 10/06/2008 @ 9:24pm
Neel Kashkari
kneel, cash carry..........
Posted by frosty zoom at 10/06/2008 @ 9:36pm
january cannot come soon enough.
Posted by dexter666 at 10/06/2008 @ 6:26pm
cross your toes.....
Posted by frosty zoom at 10/06/2008 @ 9:38pm
Posted by RedRiver_. at 10/06/2008 @ 6:37pm
uh, rio, i think she's being pissedoffishly sarcastic.
are you happy with this "choice" of personnel?
Posted by frosty zoom at 10/06/2008 @ 9:39pm
REMEMBER NADER GAVE US BUSH IN 2000
Posted by Metteyya at 10/06/2008 @ 6:51pm
that's not true.
"OTHER" RECIEVED MORE VOTES IN FLORIDA THAN BUSHES MARGIN OF "VICTORY".
THE SUPREME COURT GAVE YOU BUSH.
JEB AND KATHERINE GAVE YOU BUSH.
Posted by frosty zoom at 10/06/2008 @ 9:41pm
Posted by Lillian at 10/06/2008 @ 7:16pm
I thought it was just me perceiving this phenomenon. Like Wachovia = walk over ya hyuk hyuk
Posted by A_Pax_On_Your_Houses at 10/06/2008 @ 9:51pm
Yes, lets allow the fat corporations to regulate & police themselves. And while we're at it, lets do the same in Iraq & Afghanistan with those off-shore firms who are busy "creating wealth". A rising tide floats all luxury yachts.
Posted by Sorelish at 10/06/2008 @ 10:00pm
Posted by A_Pax_On_Your_Houses at 10/06/2008 @ 9:51pm | ignore this person | warn this person
.
;-)
Posted by Lillian at 10/06/2008 @ 10:16pm
I hear that Iceland is going belly-up. I thought that things like that were impossible up in those cold countries. Gee, I wonder if maybe, ahhh, Finland might be in a spot of bother soon?
Posted by sntauri at 10/06/2008 @ 10:30pm
Let's see, the national GDP is $4 trillion. $2 trillion is being spent on military and intelligence business, plus maintenance of the government, $1.5 trillion of which is public. Then, there's the $1 trillion for the bail-out/payout Wall Street neoliberal swindle. That leaves just one trillion for the dealing with the nation's business. From where I sit on my high horse, the arithmetic does not bode well for the people. And, given the shortage of brainpower in Congress, good luck, America!
Posted by afrothetics at 10/06/2008 @ 11:39pm
The fallen:
yesterday's drop drop from 12-month high
RUSSIA -18% -62%
BRAZIL -5.4% -62%
MEXICO -5.4% -33%
CHINA -5% -63%
*all figures are for the countries' benchmark indexes Source: Bloomberg
Posted by frosty zoom at 10/07/2008 @ 08:19am
Why this talk about corprate socialism? it has nothing to do with socialism.It is just a large gift from us to corporate world. Maybe it will be socialism, when WE take over the corporate world, and really regulate it
Posted by pachonegro at 10/07/2008 @ 08:40am
i think they're all watching fox at the treasury.
Posted by frosty zoom at 10/07/2008 @ 09:44am
i think they're all watching fox at the treasury.----Posted by frosty zoom at 10/07/2008 @ 09:44am
LOL!
Posted by Maskdelta at 10/07/2008 @ 10:46am
You know you are in trouble when you have guys with conflict of interests writing the conflict of interest rules....it is good to be king......
Posted by OneVote at 10/07/2008 @ 12:11pm
If Harry Reid was politically smart and had a pair, he'd have taken on the Republican filibuster over unemployment insurance directly, forcing the GOP senators to stand up in front of the cameras for hours on end to argue against the extension. If by some miracle, the GOP leadership was stupid enough to have any of their folks currently running for re-election actually take part, their opponents would have ready-made ad footage and I'd predict a substantial drop in support for the GOP'er in question. Even if all of the filibusterers (had to look that one up) were not up for election, somehow I think the Dems or some of the 527's could still have used the footage.
But who am I kidding about Harry Reid and the rest of the Democratic leadership.
By the way, while it's ridiculous for Red to blame the current crisis solely on the Dems, his list of the donkey guilty was a useful service.
Posted by cka2nd at 10/07/2008 @ 1:11pm
Posted by cka2nd at 10/07/2008 @ 1:11pm
CKA, don't you find it a BIT disconcerting when you on the Hard Left agree with those on the Hard Right??? Especially since such agreements tend to work in THEIR favor come Election Day, not yours?
Posted by Maskdelta at 10/07/2008 @ 1:17pm
Back in 2000, when Hank Paulson was CEO of Goldman Sachs, he lobbied the SEC to enact a change in the "net capital rule" which governed the amount of leverage investment banks could use. The rule change allowed America's five largest investment banks to greatly increase their leverage ratios, from 12-1 to as much as 40-1. All five investment banks have since either collapsed or transformed themselves into commercial banks. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson has tapped a former Goldman Sachs executive to be director of the government's bailout program. Neel Kashkari.
Anyone who thinks that these two will be making decisions that will be in the best interest of the American people are delusional.
This coming April is time for a tax-revolt in this country. Spread the word!
Posted by jtitor at 10/07/2008 @ 1:35pm
I was waiting for MSM to catch on...is it partisan or "liberal" to somehow think there is a conflict of interest to give $700,000,000,000.00 of our taxpayer money to ex Goldman Sachs CEO and then he turns around and holds sole discretion to another goldman sachs buddy..the bailout also includes "healthy" banks as well as ailing one...and there is no oversight by any courts as to how this money is used...bush made sure this was included....99% of citizens opposed this as there is no transparency, accountability, or way to value these shares....there is no ownership by taxpayers as virtually all economists stated was necessary....except as an option, in the second version....which most people don't know....
I think it is ridiculous mccain would freeze all "discretionary" domestic spending, cutting funds to all state schools and creating another Great Depression...while Obama would seek, among many other "outside the beltway" ideas, giving a $4000 tax credit to families for college for kids who completed some mandatary community service....this is a great idea....obama proposes a lot of smart intelligent progressive ideas for future jobs.....and which will help the security of our country...as a former red stater, I think it is a disgrace to cram a bailout down people's throats..greed should not be rewarded...it is much better to help people who need it....and there are so many more who need it now after eight years of bush....be the change you wish to see in the world....you cannot hate others for trivial reasons, make up lies over and over and over, speak from both sides of your mouth, break up countries along ethnic divisions, treat your own citizens like chattle, and assume to get respect in the world....or expect to be a "uniter" not a divider....case closed....
Posted by jrs112 at 10/07/2008 @ 1:46pm
I am from deep south where blacks and hispanics are stereotyped for things including stealing all americans' jobs, getting free health care, crime, etc. etc. etc....
I think bush/mcbush outsourcing all american jobs to other countries, and now giving bailout to china by rescuing fannie mae/freddie mac while at the same time destroying american shareholders, is so antiamerican and unpatriotic....most countries would picket and protest and burn in effigy a leader like this...we are so conditioned to be apathetic with so many distractions and now our presidential contest is turning into "american idol" while our quality of life is going under and my seventy year old neighbors eat soup and bread every night....
our country is no longer a beacon or shining light, it is a warning of profligate spending and unfettered power in too few hands....we are an empire on the wane...we can choose to specialize like germany which is world leader in solar...or be relegated to the trash heap of history as a has been....
Only Obama has distinct, concrete, achievable, realistic proposals going out twenty years for smart jobs, smart trade, education, security, health care....
the other candidate engages in endless mudslinging, crawling through dirt, digging through trash....most recently palin connected obama to somebody he apparently knew when he was five years old...apparently while also saying he proposes comprehensive sex education for kindergartners...all while in all actuality, palin SERIOUSLY does not want ANY sex education in schools...
if you are a looney tunes, throw enough lies out there, and most americans will just shrug and assume there must be some truth...while the truth, real "evil" is staring them in the face, saying "you betcha" and "bomb, bomb iran"
Posted by jrs112 at 10/07/2008 @ 1:54pm
"how they hate families and hockey moms". ...that is wrong, I love creating families and teenage hockey moms as captain of wasilla hockey team...
I do not practice monogamy whatever that is but then again I did not have comprehensive sex education as a kindergartner...and since my governor refuses any sex education or acknowledges teens have sex or that global warming exists, it makes it much easier..to convince gullible teen girls you cannot get pregnant the first time...
And coincidentally since doing virgins gets rid of AIDS, I don't have to use protection anyway...
And since palin says there are no abortions UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, including incest and rape....it is pretty certain there will be a lot of other future idiot chauvinistic hockey captains to spread my seed even more...
we can all sit around and guzzle six packs....
We will have a whole race of ignorant *()^ preaching hate, converting gays, getting pregnant as teens or impregnating teens, while getting free royalties from oil and gas companies, shooting and skinning moose all while being able to see alaska...and even stoopider than bush....
I almost forgot, I wanna send a shout out to the wasilla hos, can I call you ho??...git r dun....
peace out....beyotch...
you betcha...
wink wink
you can put lipstick on a pig, but that don't make it a beauty queen...or palin qualified to be VP....
I can't wait....if mccain and trophy palin don't restore respect for america (and not america ferraro the actress on ugly betty), I don't know what will....
finally, in conclusion, "iran is not iraq, and iraq is not iran, that is one thing I do know!!!!" GW "dubya" Bush....
Posted by jrs112 at 10/07/2008 @ 2:09pm
Lehman screws workers out of severance payments Posted Oct 7th 2008 1:25PM by Jonathan Berr - BloggingStocks
Exerpt from:
'Much as I find it hard to muster sympathy for thousands of overpaid investment bankers forced to walk to the unemployment office in their designer shoes, the news that Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (NYSE: LEMQ) won't be paying them severance made me feel a little sorry for them.
According to Bloomberg News, the New York-based firm recently notified employees that they will not receive a payment on October 3 or after. The company reneged on a promise to the fired workers to pay them severance until August 2009. Workers who want the rest of their compensation will have to file a claim with the bankruptcy court. It will take years for the former employees to get paid through Chapter 11 and even then they might only get a fraction of what they are owed.'
Funny Paulson doesn't feel compelled to bailout Lehman but rushes to the rescue of Goldman Sachs.....
Posted by OneVote at 10/07/2008 @ 2:28pm
Maskdelta at 10/07/2008 @ 1.17pm
To CKA "dont you find it a bit disconcerting..........?"
Forgive the intrusion of a Brit.As we all know, Left and Right often agree on Populist issues, but I wonder if there's another agenda here.
I'm reminded of what happened in Europe the last time the proverbial REALLY hit the fan back in the 1930s. Then, we in Europe failed to take any of the drastic action that was required to shore up the moribund system. The resulting (totally predictable) Depression that followed presented superb fodder for the rise of Totalitarian governments in Germany (situation further complicated by WW1 Reparations) and Spain, as well as concerns over similar tendencies in Britain and France.
A small conspiracy theory to consider!
Posted by galileo at 10/07/2008 @ 2:56pm
Galileo,
Generally speaking, the bourgoisie only turns to fascism in an emergency, when the system is not only in danger of breaking down but when there is a serious threat of the working class and/or the peasantry taking power over not just the government but the economy, as well. Absent that threat, the ruling class much prefers a nice, peaceful bourgeois democratic system that they can rule over from behind their curtains. Peace is good for business, at least in their own country.
Obama is an ideal solution for the more liberal wing of the bourgiosie, since he has convinced half the population that he is for "CHANGE" when in fact he is and always has been a man committed to preserving the current system in its essentials. Hell, he even looks like he'll be less of a reformer than FDR!
Posted by cka2nd at 10/07/2008 @ 3:26pm
CKA,
I'd agree with that- but from 3000 miles away, those Right Wing Republicans look distinctly scary!!
As for Obama, I'd take a similar view to you, though in office, might he not be more capable of influence by the Democrat grassroots? Or is that mere wishful thinking?
Of course, things are no better over here. We have a Labour government which has no interest whatsoever in labour, but plenty of interest in a**-licking Capitalism.
Posted by galileo at 10/07/2008 @ 3:36pm
Mask,
Sure, my conservative friends and I occassionally shake our heads over agreeing with each other, although we often come at the issue from a different direction. And luckilly for you, I know at least one or two people who will be voting for the Libertarians (Ick!) or the Constitution Party (Double ick!) this year, rather than the GOP.
However, why should I give my vote to a party whose establishment is thoroughly committed to American Imperialism and a capitalist system of exploitation and oppression, a party that has largely rolled over during the 30-year assault on the working class in this country, when it hasn't actively participated in it, and will stab its most fervent supporters in the back in order to assuage its paymasters in the ruling class?
Why should I reward a party that has done as much to unravel the system of regulations on capital, finance transportation and industry as its primary rival? One whose last president forced through NAFTA, was worse on the environment than the preceeding Republican presidents had been (because environmentalists were not disarmed by their "access" to said administrations) and waged undeclared war on Serbia and Sudan.
Yes, I appreciate the breathing room that a Democratic administration sometimes, SOMETIMES, gives for political and economic organizing. I appreciate that the Dems are marginally better on civil rights for women, gays and people of color (i.e., not overly hostile but ready to chuck them over the board if Wall Street says so), but the system will not change nearly enough with the Dems in power, even if Obama were closer to FDR than to Bill Clinton.
Posted by cka2nd at 10/07/2008 @ 3:51pm
i am not a dem,or a repub, but i am an AMERICAN! we need to stop calling names and pointing fingers and remember that the name of this nation is (THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA) with an emphasis on united. we need to realize that the mainstream media is our true enemy,and that they are working with the elite to silence our voices and to strip us of all our rights! freedom of the press was granted to protect the citizens from big govt. and to keep is appraised of the threat they pose. the media is keeping us from having true candidates like ron paul, or ralph nader or even chuck baldwin. we are not going to have a perfect candidate that will solve every problem, but any of these men will be willing to do what is best for america, not what is best for the multi national corporations and foreign investors. together we are going to have stop re electing these politions like nancy pelosi, dianne feintsein, george miller and barbra boxder. we need to give someone else a chance to stab our country in the back or do something good for us, because we know that they won't.
Posted by pubguy at 10/07/2008 @ 4:06pm
What is the CPD? In 1988, the CPD seized control of the debates from the League of Women Voters, and it has sponsored every presidential debate since. The CPD claims to "provide the best possible information to viewers and listeners," and it purports to objectively determine who will participate in the debates and under what conditions. In reality, however, the CPD is a corporate-funded, candidate-controlled, bipartisan cartel that exists to strengthen the Republican and Democratic parties at the expense of voter education. Every four years, the CPD awards virtually absolute control of the presidential debates to the Republican and Democratic campaigns, resulting in uninspiring debate formats, the exclusion of popular non-major party candidates, and the avoidance of pressing national issues. The co-chairmen of the CPD, Frank J. Fahrenkopf Jr. and Paul G. Kirk Jr, are the former heads of the Republican National Committee and the Democratic National Committee respectively. The honorary chairmen of the CPD are former presidents Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, and Bill Clinton.
Opendebates.org
Posted by OneVote at 10/07/2008 @ 4:55pm
continued.......
The CPD has consented to virtually every joint request of the major party candidates. "The commission does what you tell them to do," said Scott Reed, chairman of Bob Dole's 1996 presidential campaign. CPD directors have no incentive to challenge the demands of major party campaigns, and every incentive to submit to the demands of the major party campaigns. The CPD, therefore, is not "nonpartisan" but rather "bipartisan," ensuring that the presidential debates serve the Republican and Democratic parties instead of American voters.
Opendebates.org
Posted by OneVote at 10/07/2008 @ 4:59pm
If anyone thinks this is about 'low-income'mortgage backed securites , they obviously have not been paying attention.
In 2003, referencing the proclamation from President Bush, we must find out what was involved in the:
"Administration-wide effort to bring new tools and resources to would-be homeowners."?
June 13, 2003 National Homeownership Month, 2003 By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation Homeownership is more than just a symbol of the American Dream; it is an important part of our way of life. Core American values of individuality, thrift, responsibility, and self-reliance are embodied in homeownership. I am committed to helping more families know the security and sense of pride that comes with owning a home. The Department of Housing and Urban Development is leading an Administration-wide effort to bring new tools and resources to would-be homeowners. .....blah blah blah....
Posted by sasha2008 at 10/07/2008 @ 5:59pm
Posted by cka2nd at 10/07/2008 @ 3:51pm
CKA, what is your "optimum scenario"?
By what means does socialism come about in the US? Slow or quick? And how specifically?
Posted by Maskdelta at 10/08/2008 @ 12:19pm
Clinton signs banking overhaul measure
November 12, 1999 Web posted at: 3:28 p.m. EST (2028 GMT)
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The biggest change in the nation's banking system since the Great Depression became law Friday, when President Bill Clinton signed a measure overhauling federal rules governing the way financial institutions operate.
.
"The world changes, and Congress and the laws have to change with it," said Senate Banking Committee Chairman Phil Gramm (R-Texas), who has fought for years for the overhaul. Gramm said the bill would improve banking competition and stability.
.
Gramm, an outspoken conservative who opposes the rules, last year managed to kill a similar bill that would have overhauled the community lending laws.
Posted by Lillian at 10/08/2008 @ 9:34pm