Is there anyone Goldman Sachs hasn't ripped off?

[marmar]

Swimming with the Sharks: Goldman Sachs, School Districts, and Capital Appreciation Bonds
Posted on February 20, 2015 by Ellen Brown


Remember when Goldman Sachs – dubbed by Matt Taibbi the Vampire Squid – sold derivatives to Greece so the government could conceal its debt, then bet against that debt, driving it up? It seems that the ubiquitous investment bank has also put the squeeze on California and its school districts. Not that Goldman was alone in this; but the unscrupulous practices of the bank once called the undisputed king of the municipal bond business epitomize the culture of greed that has ensnared students and future generations in unrepayable debt.

In 2008, after collecting millions of dollars in fees to help California sell its bonds, Goldman urged its bigger clients to place investment bets against those bonds, in order to profit from a financial crisis that was sparked in the first place by irresponsible Wall Street speculation. Alarmed California officials warned that these short sales would jeopardize the state’s bond rating and drive up interest rates. But that result also served Goldman, which had sold credit default swaps on the bonds, since the price of the swaps rose along with the risk of default.

In 2009, the lenders’ lobbying group than proposed and promoted AB1388, a California bill eliminating the debt ceiling requirement on long-term debt for school districts. After it passed, bankers traveled all over the state pushing something called “capital appreciation bonds” (CABs) as a tool to vault over legal debt limits. (Think Greece again.) Also called payday loans for school districts, CABs have now been issued by more than 400 California districts, some with repayment obligations of up to 20 times the principal advanced (or 2000%).

The controversial bonds came under increased scrutiny in August 2012, following a report that San Diego County’s Poway Unified would have to pay $982 million for a $105 million CAB it issued. Goldman Sachs made $1.6 million on a single capital appreciation deal with the San Diego Unified School District. .........................(more)

http://ellenbrown.com/2015/02/20/swimming-with-the-sharks-goldman-sachs-school-districts-and-capital-appreciation-bonds/

[mother earth]

1. TY, marmar, for this article from Ellen Brown.

All roads lead to the banksters...the too big to fails, who should've been jailed.

I read an article awhile back that said HSBC's money laundering tactics could've been seen from outer space, yet somehow our NSA's surveillance didn't spot it before or while it happened...go figure...money laundering with drug cartels, tax evasion with internat'ls...homeland security...DHS, the MIC, who knew after spending all taxpayer monies, that usurps the lion's share of our budget, that these entities could be so ineffectual.

Goldman-Sachs was a major player in

http://www.iol.co.za/business/news/goldman-sachs-role-in-greece-a-real-scandal-1.1258930#.VOyPBrl0yM8

the Greek scandal, benefitting from both sides of it, just like in CA, seems there is a method in place.
This is why the banksters are the problem, the question is right, who haven't they screwed over?

What are we to do?