Saving the wealthy with socialism, conservative-style

Thomas F. Schaller, Baltimore Sun

Like it or not, we're all socialists now. You can thank those free-market conservatives and their deregulatory idol, George W. Bush, for that. Conservatives love to wield the word socialism like some all-purpose, liberal-slaying sword. Redistribution to the poor, the right to unionize and affirmative action are decried as anti-market, unfair advantages for filthy socialists who can't compete and fail to appreciate the almighty, equalizing power of self-determination and an unfettered market. To social conservatives, Darwinism is merely an unproven "theory" about how our species evolved. But "social Darwinism" is an ineluctable fact: The smart and hardworking prosper, while the stupid and lazy fail. Yet notice how those same chest-thumping capitalists of talk radio and at the corporate-funded think tanks often fall silent in the face of fixed markets, no-bid contracts, bailouts and subsidies for the very corporations that demand less government oversight when things are going well, then turn to Washington when things go horribly wrong. The hypocrisies abound.

Those of us who work hard and pay our taxes are getting screwed. Our Christmas bonus this year? The privilege of covering the tab for greedy executives in the deregulated insurance and mortgage industries who scoff at safety nets for you but demand a safety trapeze for themselves.

As I said, we're all socialists now. Too bad all that filthy, pinko socialist redistribution is moving up, rather than down, the economic food chain.

The 'trickle up' may turn into a flood, accompanied by a sucking sound from our grandchildren's wallets.

Microsoft Announces Merger With McDonald’s, Christianity

Red Tractor - USA

In what is being hailed as the end of the free world, Microsoft, McDonald’s, and Christianity have joined forces to form a single $300 billion/1.9 billion adherent corporate-religious entity known as McRosoftianity. The resulting mega-church/corporation is projected to manage virtually every aspect of the global economy and culture in just a few short months.

“We are absolutely thrilled because together we can control the world in ways that any one of us could have only dreamed of,” said Bill Gates, now high chairman-priest of McRosoftianity. “Our goal is to bring people together by making McRosoftianity the world’s sole provider of food, technology, and spirituality.”

“To assure quality, your food will be compiled by only the fastest processors, and any misinterpretations of your order will be addressed by our patented Stained Glass Windows Updater as the Crucial-Fixes become available,” continued Gates. “Version 3:16 should be very stable, but if problems persist, simply offer a McPrayer to the Lord and MS Paint some RAM’s blood over your doorpost.”

Ever so much more. Go read about the future.

Good ideas and lies

Pauk Krugman

Daniel Davies, in one of the great blog posts of this era, laid down a key principle:

Good ideas do not need lots of lies told about them in order to gain public acceptance.

He was talking about the selling of the Iraq war, but it applies more generally.

So, this morning Hank Paulson told a whopper:

We gave you a simple, three-page legislative outline and I thought it would have been presumptuous for us on that outline to come up with an oversight mechanism. That’s the role of Congress, that’s something we’re going to work on together. So if any of you felt that I didn’t believe that we needed oversight: I believe we need oversight. We need oversight.

What the proposal actually did, of course, was explicitly rule out any oversight, plus grant immunity from future review:

Sec. 8. Review.

Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to the authority of this Act are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency.

I’m not playing gotcha here. This is telling: if Paulson can’t be honest about what he himself sent to Congress — if he not only made an incredible power grab, but is now engaged in black-is-white claims that he didn’t — there is no reason to trust him on anything related to his bailout plan.

Paulson and Bush's Chicken Little plan for the bailout didn't panic Congress into passing his plan quick enough. Maybe they've learned something since falling all over themselves to let Bush start his criminal war:

Fool me once, shame on you.
Fool me twice, shame on me.

Dear Fellow Americans ...

For the past 8 years, I, along with the rest of the folks who walk around with their eyes open, have suffered through the lies, obfuscation, and overt bullshit from the Bush administration.

For the past 4 1/2 years, we here at the Brain (along with about a thousand other bloggers) have been running around with our hair on fire, warning anyone who would listen how bad things would be once the Chimp was done screwing up the country.

In '04, we had to sit and watch as you assholes voted for the moron once again, gullible motherfuckers swayed by Rovian bullshit; bullshit that should have been obvious to anyone with two working brain cells - it should have been obvious in '99. You fell for all the crap ("you don't change horses mid-race" - even though the rider was one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse), even Democrats ("you don't change leaders in the middle of a war", "I just don't like John Kerry"), they wanted you to fall for.

Do me a favor this time. Don't fall for it again just because the Loser-in-Chief came on the TV last night and told you this is 9/11 and Katrina rolled into one. He is lying. The Bush administration is lying like they have since Day One and I demand you idiots don't fall for it again. My esteem for you is inversely proportional to the contempt I have for you all. Try to bring it up a few notches.

My fellow Americans have disappointed me dearly over the past 8 years and have turned this country over to a group of criminals whose only goal is to get away with as much as they can. They tried to get Iraqi oil by force and failed, the cost (a trillion dollars into the Big Catbox, 4000-odd American lives wasted, and tens of thousands changed irrevocably) borne by you and me. Now, after manipulating the markets to their own benefit, they come calling on us with their hand out. Don't fall for it. It is a lie.

They are doing this now because they are worried the guy on deck is more inept than the current batter. They are doing this because even if he does get elected, he will either fuck up so royally it'll hurt the fat cats too, or that he'll die in office and that brainless twit will take over. They want their payoff now.

Please, please, do not fall for this current ploy by John McCain. It is all part of The Big Republican Lie. It is a grandstand stunt that hopefully will not work, unless you let it. If you fall for this crap, both from the Chimp and McCain, again, you deserve what you'll end up with. John McCain is not a war hero. He got shot down because of his own arrogance and was locked up for 5 years. Brutal treatment? Yes, and I won't take his suffering away from him, but that in no way qualifies him to be the President of the United States. He is a hypocrite and a pandering liar. He is no better than the current moron and probably worse.

Bottom line: Stop falling for The Lie.

Back to sanding ...

Quote of the Day

POP:

...

Remember over the years we have talked about george bush failing at everything he tried and his dad or his dad’s friends always bailed him out of his poor business decisions. We have even wondered who would save his ass after the debacle he has created these past eight years. Well now we know the answer to that question. Your money and mine has been summoned to do just that.

Indeed!

Walking and chewing gum ...

Seems McLame can't do two things at once:

I missed it at first, but McCain is actually suspending his campaign, not just skipping the debate. That reeks of desperation, and indicates that his campaign and the candidate are unable to deal with multiple problems simultaneously. When you are losing in the polls on the economy, and your opponent is lashing you for your support of the policies and employment of the people who got us into this mess, perhaps it looked smart for McCain to run and hide from the next haymaker.

The guy hasn't made a roll call vote in five months, but suddenly wants to come back to Capitol Hill and inject himself into a debate that didn't need him? [my em]

...

You want this bastid running the show?

On second thought ...

Maybe I'm wrong:

The director of the Congressional Budget Office said yesterday that the proposed Wall Street bailout could actually worsen the current financial crisis.

During testimony before the House Budget Committee, Peter R. Orszag -- Congress's top bookkeeper -- said the bailout could expose the way companies are stowing toxic assets on their books, leading to greater problems.

"Ironically, the intervention could even trigger additional failures of large institutions, because some institutions may be carrying troubled assets on their books at inflated values," Orszag said in his testimony. "Establishing clearer prices might reveal those institutions to be insolvent."

...

Maybe we should get all this crap out into the light of day? Let all the shit float to the surface so we can skim it off.

Great thanks to Oliver Willis for the link.

This is why ...

This bailout shouldn't go forward. Dday:

...

Basically, gimme gimme gimme or the economy gets it. And while Bush appeared to accede to a lot of the steps sought by Congress - vague limits on executive compensation, some ability for taxpayers to cash in on the upside potential, and some manner of oversight - he drew the line at any re-regulation of the companies who got us into this mess, saying that it could "come later." And indeed, most of the talk was about the failure of borrowers to pay their bills, not the predatory practices of lenders to shuttle people into loans without explaining the circumstances (and through yield spread premiums, actually getting bonuses for that). [my em]

...

Basically, I don't trust them as far as I can piss into a Force 9 gale.

Attention: New Yorkers

The lovely, talented, and wonderful Encino Lady (we're cousins by marriage ... somehow) alerts me to a rally in NYC tomorrow. If you're close, go there. The email is reprinted below - F.:

This week the White House is trying to push through the biggest financial theft in world history with nary a stitch of debate. They're asking for a blank check for over 1 trillion dollars to bail out George Bush's Wall Street cronies who created this economic crisis in the first place.

If this passes, we can forget about any money for environmental protection, to counter global warming, for education, for national healthcare, to rebuild our decaying infrastructure, for alternative energy.

This is a historic moment. We need to act now while we can influence the debate.

Let's rally against the bailout in the heart of the financial district!

Gather at 4pm, this Thursday, Sept. 25 in the plaza at the southern end of Bowling Green Park in New York City, which is the small triangular park that has the Wall Street bull at the northern tip.
(Not in New York City? Organize a rally in your neck of the woods.)

What: Say NO to the Wall Street bailout
When: Thursday, September 25: 4pm
Where: Southern end of Bowling Green Park, in the plaza area
What to bring: Banners, noisemakers, signs, leaflets, etc.

Do whatever you can for this historic event and contact all your groups and friends. This proposed financial bailout is without precedence and we have to stop it!
We have everything we need to create a large, peaceful, loud demonstration.

Together, let's get started.

- Seriously yours,
Billionaires For Bush

He is a uniter ...

Avedon says the Chimp did something right ... for once ... sorta ...

A uniter at last - Bush has finally brought us together, and we all agree that things are not getting better - it's post-partisan!

The best news ...

I've heard all week.

They are talking about kicking Connecticut Junior Senator Joe neocon Lieberman to the curb tonight ...

Breaking: John McCain to suspend campaign

Channel 15, ABC News, Phoenix

Republican presidential candidate John McCain is reportedly suspending his campaign to return to Washington, D.C. for bailout talks, according to FOX News and NBC News.

FOX News reports McCain is asking for Friday's presidential debate in Oxford, Mississippi to be postponed to help focus on the domestic front and is asking Obama to suspend his campaign as well.

Gee, d'ya think McCain knows Obama is gonna blow his ass outta the water if they 'debate'?

Actually, it ain't so much McCain 'going to Washington to work on the bailout' as it probably is his campaign staff who are needed to lobby desperately for it, leaving ol' Johnny-boy with no one to hold his hand or mis-inform him as to what to do.

Suspend away, old man. It's a good career move. Your moron base can fumble along just fine without you and the bimbo, and neither of you will have to answer any questions for a while.

Besides, I'm sick of lookin' at the both of yas and listening to your lies. Thanks for the break.

The great bailout: Paulson plan is ‘reverse criminal action’

Cursor

...Treasury's plan for Wall Street,' which is likened to "a reverse criminal action where you give restitution to the criminals and put the victims in jail,"...

The Minnesota Independent

For some consumer-rights advocates, the great Wall Street bailout is starting to look like a heist for the ages (my em). Prentiss Cox, a professor of law at the U of M and former assistant attorney general, calls Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson’s bill “outrageous.” Wall Street was the cause of the problem, he says. “And now they want a bailout completely on their terms? It serves the very wealthy and completely ignores the homeowners victimized by this. It is appalling.”

My Way

The FBI is investigating four major U.S. financial institutions whose collapse helped trigger a $700 billion bailout plan by the Bush administration, The Associated Press has learned.

Two law enforcement officials said Tuesday the FBI is looking at potential fraud by mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae (FNM) and Freddie Mac (FRE), and insurer American International Group Inc. (AIG) Additionally, a senior law enforcement official said Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (LEH) also is under investigation.

Over the past year as the housing market cratered, the FBI has opened a wide-ranging probe of companies across the financial services industry, from mortgage lenders to investment banks that bundle home loans into securities sold to investors. Mueller has previously said the FBI's hunt for culprits in the nation's subprime mortgage crisis focused on accounting fraud, insider trading, and failure to disclose the value of mortgage-related securities and other investments.

The investigations revealed Tuesday come as lawmakers began considering whether to approve emergency legislation that would give the government broad power to buy up devalued assets from troubled financial firms.

This may turn out to be the biggest RICO case ever. Let's hope.

FBI probes finance giants for fraud

Raw Story

The US Federal Bureau of Investigation confirmed Wednesday that it is probing allegations of fraud by 24 Wall Street firms, without naming investment giants believed to be under investigation.

US media said late Tuesday that the FBI has set its sights on investment titan Lehman Brothers, mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and insurer AIG.

The wide-reaching inquiry comes as lawmakers rush to agree a 700-billion-dollar government bailout of the troubled US financial sector.

Heh. No wonder Paulson wants the $700B so fast with no questions. His Wall St. bros need the money quick! For legal fees/getaway money!

Also no wonder that these assholes absolutely need McCain to get elected so they can shut down the investigation. His campaign manager Rick Davis was getting paid by Freddie Mac until a few weeks ago.

This is sounding more and more like an inter-related criminal conspiracy by the Bush administration, Treasury, Wall St., and the McCain campaign to sack our treasury and make sure it stays sacked with no recourse for us.

You needn't go read this since he's backing Paulson's plan, but Warren Buffett is calling the meltdown 'an economic Pearl Harbor'. Very apt analogy.

Let me assign a few roles here: The investment banks are taking the role of Kido Butai, the strike force of aircraft carriers that launched the attacking planes, represented by their employees, the loan marketers, secondary marketers, bundlers, leveragers, and the janitor. Paulson is, of course, Admiral Yamamoto who planned the attack, for right now, although this part has rotated amongst several bad actors.

The people who foresaw the upshot of the attack on our financial system take the roles of the two radar operators on the North Shore of Oahu who saw the planes coming. In right-on and spectacular typecasting, Congress and the regulatory agencies play the military leaders who ignored them until it was too late, the difference being that this time they were told to ignore them by Bush and lobbyists.

(Wiki) The first wave was to be the primary attack, while the second wave was to finish whatever tasks remained

The bailout plan is the second wave.

Mission Accomplished

Update:

Bush To Maliki: You Can Help McCain Out, Can’t You

Bailout as Nigerian scam

Raw Story

As retrieved from the Washington Post and numerous other sources, a satirical e-mail frames the proposed $700 billion Wall Street bailout as a Nigerian 419 scam. The author is unknown:

Dear American:

I need to ask you to support an urgent secret business relationship with a transfer of funds of great magnitude.

I am Ministry of the Treasury of the Republic of America. My country has had crisis that has caused the need for large transfer of funds of 800 billion dollars US. If you would assist me in this transfer, it would be most profitable to you.

I am working with Mr. Phil Gram, lobbyist for UBS, who will be my replacement as Ministry of the Treasury in January. As a Senator, you may know him as the leader of the American banking deregulation movement in the 1990s. This transactin is 100% safe.

This is a matter of great urgency. We need a blank check. We need the funds as quickly as possible. We cannot directly transfer these funds in the names of our close friends because we are constantly under surveillance. My family lawyer advised me that I should look for a reliable and trustworthy person who will act as a next of kin so the funds can be transferred.

Please reply with all of your bank account, IRA and college fund account numbers and those of your children and grandchildren to wallstreetbailout@treasury.gov so that we may transfer your commission for this transaction. After I receive that information, I will respond with detailed information about safeguards that will be used to protect the funds.

Yours Faithfully Minister of Treasury Paulson

I think comparing the proposed bailout scheme to a Nigerian scam is pretty close to the mark. Too bad Congress doesn't have much of a spam filter.

Daddy doesn’t know best

When me'n Fixer are PrezOTUS (We'll do alternating days. Kickin' that much ass is tiring.). Mr. Krugman is liable to be SecTreas.

Paul Krugman

I’ve had more time to read the Dodd proposal — and it is a big improvement over the Paulson plan. The key feature, I believe, is the equity participation: if Treasury buys assets, it gets warrants that can be converted into equity if the price of the purchased assets falls. This both guarantees against a pure bailout of the financial firms, and opens the door to a real infusion of capital, if that becomes necessary — and I think it will.

Can this be done? Can the Paulson juggernaut be stopped? I’m starting to think yes. Paulson displayed a lot of arrogance here — he basically marched in and said Daddy knows best, don’t worry your pretty little heads about the details. He offered no, zero, zilch explanation of how the plan was supposed to work — just “it’s a crisis and we need to act now.” And he overreached, especially with that demand for immunity from any review.

Now we’ve had a lot of pushback from economists and financial analysts, and the realization has sunk in that this particular daddy has shown very little sign of knowing best. So there’s a real chance to do something quite different.

Note to Congress: Do something different. The sky is not falling.

How's this?

Instead of giving the $700 bln to the assholes who mismanaged and gambled it away, how about paying off the bad mortgages for the folks who are being foreclosed or in danger of it?

Seems to me, it'll be the lesser of two evils and the little guys will finally benefit. Mind you, I'm not happy about giving that kind of money away, but I'd rather Joe Sixpack got a mortgage amnesty (here's your house, free and clear, just don't fuck up again) than some mortgage broker making a profit on it.

It'll also free up a lot of cash these people are currently forking over to these predatory scumbags. Also, it'll have the effect of shredding the worthless paper (I don't care what that nut Kramer says these packaged loans are worthless) instead of buying it from the sharks (probably at inflated prices).

With proper oversight of the industry once the deed is done (so this crap doesn't happen again), I have a good feeling it would work but what do I know, I'm just a mechanic?

Shopping ...

Time to buy some CDs.

Hats off to Yogi ...

As a New Yorker, it's a capital crime not to love Yogi Berra. As our hero would say, "deja vu all over again":

...

From the statement by President Bush on September 22, 2008 on the current economic crisis and the possible bailout: "Failure to act would have broad consequences far beyond Wall Street."

From Bush's speech explaining why he needed war authorization for Iraq, October 7, 2002: "Failure to act would embolden other tyrants, allow terrorists access to new weapons and new resources, and make blackmail a permanent feature of world events."

2008: "It would threaten small business owners and homeowners on Main Street."
2002: "He would be in a position to threaten America."

...

The Rude One has a few more.

When the Chimp says something has to be done right away, you know it can't be good.