Occupy Wall Street: Not on major media but worth watching!

[In~Plain~Site]

More specifically,I should have said that what I interpreted from Chancellor Merkel's comments:

Political correctness killed was good about Germany

Excluding the cars

Hm, multiculturalism isn´t a real german disease, a lot of so called "Gutmenschen" (left wing/liberals) tolerate everything what emigrants do or say but that wind changes in the moment. After what we´ve done to the jews and starting 2 world wars the germans lost their self-confidence. But not in building cars, machines and arms.

 

[DiscoBiscuit]

After S&L deregulation and the subsequent fallout, FBI investigated 10,000 bankers and sent 1000 to prison.

After 911, CIA wanted to go after Al Qaeda's financial network. Just so happens FBI is the world's best white-collar criminal investigator. So 500 white collar crime agents were transferred to National Security detail (around the time investment banking was being further deregulated.) Wouldn't be any more like Christmas if Santa Clause himself rang the closing bell.

Since the housing bust, not a single lender has been investigated, let alone prosecuted. Obama needs to fire Holder and appoint an AG with enough balls to go after the crooks that broke what few laws remain.

 

[Dudesome]

don't believe the hype..

we never have had a "free market" in this country.
we have a very heavily regulated market in this country.
the ones who write the regulations are the ones being regulated.
try to start a new business and see just how "unregulated" the market is

we dont and never have had a truly capitalist system.
we have corporate socialism.
what other name describes a system wherein a company can loose it's ass on stupid investments and be rewarded with a 700B line of credit?

we need to scrap and rewrite the entire banking and securities regulatory code to be simple and enforceable.

100% of "lobbying" and 501 style donating needs to be eliminated.

now that OWS has earned a 1% style income how should the movement proceed?
501c3?
maybe go LLC?

at what rate should OWS be taxed? 300k per month thats waaay into the "evil" income bracket....

you sir, need to educate yourself alittle.

1st. Yes there once was a free market in the USA. saying the opposite is uneducated by all means.

 

[Dudesome]

I'm a fan of capitalism. It's why the United States excelled at one point. The thing is, though, at one point, those who ran the corporations were once equally accountable to the end users or clients, equally as there were to their shareholders. We stopped making stuff, became a service economy, and started making money by pushing numbers around...on top of that, common decency toward humanity took a back seat to a narcissistic obsession with the bottom line and pulling one over on others at any cost, even if it meant practicing business in a predatory or dishonest manner, or telling people one thing and then putting the blame on them for not reading the fine print. The bankers knew what they were doing, they had private conversations about the fact that they were too big to fail and knew they would be bailed out. Meanwhile, they seek to brainwash the lower and middle class, mostly uneducated white people, about self reliance and not taking any "government handouts." They are the walking free scum of the Earth, and their time is almost up. I look forward to when Occupy actually lives up to it's name, if you catch my drift.

now there is some education.
thumbs up

 

[dagnabit]

you sir, need to educate yourself alittle.

1st. Yes there once was a free market in the USA. saying the opposite is uneducated by all means.

when?

educate me please?!?!?!?

 

[dagnabit]

Obama needs to fire Holder and appoint an AG with enough balls to go after the crooks that broke what few laws remain.

that would involving biting the hand that feeds him...
aint happening.

 

[DiscoBiscuit]

You both have a point. But the meaning of freedom itself is more illusive than the definition or an individual's ideal. Everybody has varying opinions on freedom and even the founding fathers had their differences. Otherwise they wouldn't have wasted their time amending the Articles of Confederation.

Ben Franklin warned that too much freedom is perilous. One man's freedom to swing his fist stops short of the next man's nose. Until you get the guy who thinks he's 'free' to follow through.

 

[Dudesome]

Thanks DB. I think what I mean by free market is the time when there was almost no tax, time of gold standard and time of small business. just before 20th century. maybe alittle earlier.

the time when government didn't get involved into alchohol, drugs, guns or anything thats ilegal nowadays. those were the days when american economy boomed.

 

[DiscoBiscuit]

I can handle that. My idea of free market is going after crime and leaving law abiding folks alone. Just the line between legal and crime is hard enough to draw without big money's influence. 'Hard' because we each have our own positions. Enter compromise where we each get something (hopefully what we most want.) But since compromise is often impractical, we have elections.

Our founding fathers were passionate about their beliefs. IMO, even more passionate about their differences. Unfortunately all laws aren't to everyone's satisfaction. I guess that's where the idea of majority rule becomes necessary as practicality if not ideologically.

 

[stonedar]

Cant remember if it was the Wash Times or Wash Post this morning, there was an article about stealing being the #1 problem for the protesters atm. Someone jacked like $2500 cash and all the food from one food tent, lots of stolen cameras/phones/computers. Including one poor slob who had his high-end laptop stolen, who complained to reporters.

I know for sure I can't afford a $5500 Apple and I have a j-o-b and a side hustle.

 

[krunchbubble]

get a good look at this......

 

[DiscoBiscuit]

The first major series of mergers paid the top handsomely. The second major series of mergers ripped off the taxpayer and again paid the top handsomely. Leave it to Goldman Sachs to show the big four how acquisitions and toxic investments are done right. They've been doing it since the 19th century.

 

[dagnabit]

looking at that chart...

i was with barnett bank before they were bought by C&P then they were bought by regions then nations is where the chart starts....

 

[greenmatter]

get a good look at this......

 

[DiscoBiscuit]

Not all mergers benefit the top at the expense of the middle class.

 

[SpasticGramps]

Probably my favorite modern day economic philosopher. Nassim Taleb author of the widely read economic book Black Swan.

Nassim Taleb On #OccupyWallStreet And His Updated Views On The Global Banking System Bloomberg

There was a time when Nassim Taleb media appearances were a daily thing. Then he decided to take a sabbatical from the public's eye, and literally fell off the face of the planet. And while over the past year or so, he has gradually resurfaced, his extended discussions on various topics are still almost as rare as a double digit move in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Tonight he broke his vow of silence, and joined Bloomberg TV's in discussing the "Occupy Wall Street" protest, which he expects to devolve into class warfare, as well as his view of the global banking system. And an interesting tangential discussion to develop is his observation of applying the principles of the "Hammurabi's Code" to the banking system.

 

[SpasticGramps]

get a good look at this......

This is what fascism looks like on a bar graph IMO. Wealth and power consolidated in the hands of the few. These are the "winners" that DC picked. Could it be because it's these "winners" who own the political and socio-economic process?

That we still tout this as "capitalism" is a bit beyond me?

The analogy of banks to a giant blood sucking squid isn't hyperbole if you look at the bar graph IMO.

Don't forget. You can put a picture of Warren Buffet on top of the entire BofA and Wells Fargo graphs as he is a preferred shareholder in both. Good ol' humble Uncle Warren looking out for America's best interest I'm sure.

 

[DiscoBiscuit]

Other than boards he sits, Buffet doesn't make board decisions. Preferred is whether one has the capital to invest, they're not necessarily part of the operation. Banks couldn't sell stock if it didn't pay to buy em.

Could this have anything to do with Buffet wanting a tax increase?

 

[SpasticGramps]

Not all mergers benefit the top at the expense of the middle class.

Not at all, but mergers of such concentrated financial power as seen going on today normally ends with big frowns all around town.

 

[DiscoBiscuit]

Agreed 100%. Wasn't too long ago that mergers touted cheaper prices through efficiency. I can remember banks merging and enjoying the convenience of more atm locations and a broader range of savings/investment opportunities. At some point greed sets in, jobs are slashed and services suffer. Then it's fee city.