THIS IS BULLSHIT- Geithner Appoints Goldman Sachs Lobbyist As Top Aide

[Orwellian_Ghost]

Geithner enlists lobbyist as top aide
By JEANNE CUMMINGS | 1/27/09 4:01 PM EST


Newly installed Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner issued new rules Tuesday restricting contacts with lobbyists – and then hired one to be his top aide.

Mark Patterson, a former advocate for Goldman Sachs, will serve as chief of staff to Geithner as the Treasury Department revamps the Wall Street bailout program that sent an infusion of cash to his former employer.



Patterson’s appointment marks the second time in President Barack Obama’s first week in office that the administration has had to explain how it’s complying with its own ethics rules as it hires a bevy of Washington insiders for administration jobs.

Last week, the White House announced the president had waived the ethics rules to clear the way for the nomination of William Lynn, a former Raytheon lobbyist, to be deputy defense secretary.

“This is exactly the kind of thing that makes the American public suspicious of politicians. You say one thing and do another,” said Melanie Sloan, founder of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.

<snip>

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0109/18047.html

[taught_me_patience]

1. Complete and total bullshit.

Seriously... when do the protests start?

[Taverner]

2. If its only one, I can understand

You need someone from their inside to know how bad things are...

But if he hires more - different story

[leftofthedial]

4. nice alibi!

Geithner is already an insider.

[LSK]

109. how so? hes been a Govt official for a long time

:wtf:

[truedelphi]

25. Don't you find the insipid excuse you are mentioning to be a tad too much?

DSort of like saying the local fire marshall had better be a former arsonist rather than a former fire fighter.

PLase PEOPLE, get a clue - Kucinich understands everything related to the Global meltdown - every last bit, piece and puzzle of the hosue of cards. The SIV's, the Credit Default Swaps, the overall derivatives. The 151 to 650 Trillion dollars losses that are involved.

ANother leader understanding the financial situation is Issa, if Obama must be beholden to Rahm and others insistence on "being bi-partisian."

So does Gary Fielding. So does Barabara Boxer, though I would hate to see her lose her seat on the Senate. But better that then this insidiousness of putting the Foxes in charge of the Hen house.

[Lucky Luciano]

62. "The 151 to 650 Trillion dollars losses that are involved. "

This line is all wrong. The most dire predictions (from Roubini who has called this credit collapse down to the T) are for losses of $3.6T. Current writedowns have been about $1.1T with mainstream (moron) Wall St analysts calling the final writedown numbers globally to be $2.2T.

The hundreds of trillions refer to the notional of the derivative contracts, but notionals do not necessarily indicate what one can lose. Interest rate swaps are one of the biggest markets in derivatives. As an example, they may work like this:

Say A and B want to enter into an Interest Rate swap (IRS) with a notional of $100MM where A pays a fixed rate and B pays A a floating interest rate every six months on the notional amount. Say that the contract is for 5 years. The rule will be that A pays B 5% annually (2.5% every six months) and that B pays A the six month LIBOR + 2.25% on the notional.

This $100MM is counted in the hundreds of trillions of dollars in derivatives outstanding, but the losses should one of A or B default is clearly not $100MM. Incidentally, the fixed and floating rates that are chosen at the start of the contract are such that the value of the swap at the beginning is zero. Counterparty A may want to enter into such an agreement if it has a loan that has a variable interest rate tied to LIBOR because by receiving LIBOR + some spread from B and paying out a fixed rate to B, A has locked in a fixed rate overall which reduces the risk that the interest rate could go up for their variable rate loan.

[truedelphi]

99. Google "Fielding" and "The Gig Is Up"

And get back to me.

The banks are representing that their losses are sky high. Though they only reveal a small peek at their loss sheet each time that they try to acquire another 45 Billion.

Remember how each Bailout was gonna be the only BailOut needed?

Now it may be that what you are saying is true, I have respect for Roubini, but if the banking crowd ignores that truth and can convince the New Powers that Be that the sky is continuing to fall, and each of their pleas is answered with yet another 1 trillion dollar BailOut, we're sunk.

What is needed is for someone close to Obama to convince him that the banks can frigging fail - they wanted to become the new funny money casino and allow for bets rather than stock investments. Their casino bank is broke, and our government should not be issuing further payouts to help the losers.

President Obama, please take a chapter from President Lincoln's book, and create for us a government-run bank, and don't visit the Ford Theatre any time soon.

[Lucky Luciano]

110. Not saying the losses will not be higher than $3.6T....

just that they will not be anywhere near $150T (the lower bound of your number) or 11 times the US GDP. The sum of all assets in the world probably barely approaches $150T.

The TARP was implemented terribly, but it was needed in some form - if all the banks fail - which they would without some kind of TARP, then this would be bigger than the Great Depression - would lead to civil war and total anarchy. If you do not believe me, then look what happened to the market at the end of August - two weeks later Lehman filed and the markets have been pounded ever since - and Lehman was the smallest of the investment banks. Lehman's failure has directly led to skyrocketing unemployment and total deterioration of the economy at such a rapid pace. Now imagine if Merrill failed too....next would have been Morgan Stanley...then Goldman...then Citi...then BoA, Wachovia....etc....US Bank and Wells Fargo (the best run banks) could not withstand that and they too would fail....unemployment would quickly go way above 25% - that leads to anarchy pretty much - especially with all the guns all over the place.

Knowledge that the government will backstop the banks is the only thing supporting the markets and the economy right now. Remove that backstop and we are fucked.

Just to reiterate - the TARP was implemented terribly and not having any accountability was totally ridiuclous.

[ooglymoogly]

120. The ponzi derivitive scheem gambling debt is in fact to the tune of 600 trillion....

world wide; Ominously becoming due and by our duplicitous lawmakers, becoming the problem of the taxpayers of this country. Very reckless and criminal folks have gambled the farm ...our farms have in fact been gambled away by criminals and for the last 8 years, our own criminal government. Debt to Gdp ratio is a red herring except as a barometer of how fatal the cancer is. The only way this debt can be paid is through humongous inflation; Making each and every one of us very poor and in very deep debt, except of course for the magic (less than one percent including the leaders of our own government) on top who gambled us into this mess using us as collateral.

[Radical Activist]

94. What happened to Kucinich?

The entire banking and business establishment of Cleveland ganged up and got him recalled as Mayor.

I want Obama to do a lot of things to Wall Street, but he needs to keep the financial establishment divided while he does it. He at least needs some of them to go along with what he's doing even if most of them don't like it. If the entire banking and financial establishment is completely united against Obama then he might as well pack his bags and go home. It's easier to do a lot more to regulate the business world if you don't have all of them united against you at the same time.

[Myrina]

98. interesting concept: Divide and Conquer.

Never thought of that as Obama's strategy (among all the other levels of conmplexity he's working at) ... but it might work.


At least I hope to HELL it does. :patriot:

[terisan]

3. The party in control works with the big business lobbyists to screw the citizenry

Their are ethical politicians-they tell the truth and don't make false promises, so far we are not wise enough to elect them.

[Orwellian_Ghost]

6. It's not just wisdom

or lack thereof. There are a host of factors involved in the manufacturing process.

Propaganda and a million hoops can lead to a controlled outcome. But, still I'm hearin' ya.

[truedelphi]

27. Thsi short YouTube piece explains the proces as well as anything I can put into words

And with catchy music, and in far less time! (Don't be put off by the Mike Gravel mention at the end - it was his campaign that paid for it.)

[crikkett]

58. Is it just me, or did you not include the link to the youtube clip?

:hi:

off to coffee...

[malaise]

5. This makes no sense

but then neither does Geithner's appointment.

[Baby Snooks]

85. No one at the table makes sense...

The table seems to be a table that simply doesn't represent the interests of the American people.

Sounds dismissive of him but I will say it nonetheless - Barack Obama means well but he apparently doesn't understand that those who were invited to the table, starting with "Rahmbo" who seems to have been behind many of the invitations to the table, do not mean well.

Geithner should have been withdrawn at the point he did not withdraw on his own as a result of not only his having evaded taxes but his "defense" of having evaded taxes. He was and is the last person we need as Secretary of the Treasury. And his appointment of a lobbyist for Wall Street only underscores that reality.

Geithner will serve himself and his own. Not the American people. And we have already had a taste of his own with the revelation that taxpayer money was used to pay $18 billion in bonuses on Wall Street.

To believe otherwise is to foolishly believe again in "trickle down economics" and quite a few Republicans will tell you what "trickled down" once before and they are the Republicans who voted for Democrats in 2008.

[Inkyfuzzbottom]

102. I agree

Obama had me on board 100% until the Geithner appointment. As a treasury employee I'm not ALLOWED to have delinquent taxes. In over 25 years with the treasury dept. I've seen numerous employees shitcanned for owing taxes or having a spouse who owes taxes. Having this tax delinquent at the helm is a joke. Now this lobbyist thing on top of that makes it all the more suspect.

THIS IS BULLSHIT. WHAT WERE YOU THINKING, PRESIDENT OBAMA?:mad:

[pjt7]

105. thanks for the post

inkyfuzzbottom

[nichomachus]

7. If you want to catch a thief -- hire a thief

That's why recovering addicts make the best addiction counselors. They know all the tricks. You want he should hire some babe in the woods that doesn't know how the game is played and will take two years to get up to speed?

[Orwellian_Ghost]

10. Ouch

Pretzel logic.

[nichomachus]

17. Not really

The best cops are the ones who can think like the bad guys. You don't hire some goody two-shoes and expect him to stay one step ahead of the crooks. It's just common sense -- not twisted logic.

[Two Americas]

40. really?

A former rapist as a women's crisis center counselor, then?

"Thinking like the bad guys" is not a skill, it is moral depravity.

I would much rather teach an honest person the job, than try to teach a competent person morality.

[varelse]

48. Thank you for this

I would much rather teach an honest person the job, than try to teach a competent person morality.

:thumbsup:

[ermasdaughter]

I have to agree.

I think it's about getting the guys who really understand where the bodies are buried to police this shit.

[Wetzelbill]

107. that's kind of so effed up I like it. nt

[razors edge]

18. President Bernie Madoff.

Has a nice ring, don't you think?

[Hippo_Tron]

72. President no, but it's not necessarily a bad idea

Perhaps part of Madoff's sentence is that he should be required to help the SEC catch other thieves. It would certainly be beneficial to society.

[razors edge]

108. The SEC helped him do it.

They ignored their own agents and refused to investigate.

What could he teach them that would take more than one sentence?

"Stop helping the crooks and do your job."

[AZ Criminal JD]

21. Should we put a murderer in charge of the Justice Dept.?

[ooglymoogly]

66. um...wait; I think we already did that. nt

[Hippo_Tron]

74. No, but...

As I said above with Madoff, if a particular murderer is adept at hiding from the law then perhaps we should require as part of their sentence that they aid law enforcement in catching other murderers.

[truedelphi]

28. He could hire Kucinich, he could hire Issa, or Clemmons or Maxine Waters

Or for that matter Barbara Boxer.

What worries me most is when Obama comes out and says that the banks might need another trillion dollars in help.

In other words, he is not just "using" these people to explain the game to him - he is buying the BS they are peddling.

Of course we are the ones that will pay for the load of crap being sold to our new President. And as we pay for the money printed by the Federal Reserve, we watch our savings and our paychecks become worth less and less.

[Hippo_Tron]

77. Do any of them have the economic expertise to be Chief of Staff at Treasury?

I'm two courses away from a BA in economics and I don't consider myself even close to having the economic understanding required for a high level job at Treasury and honestly I don't think I ever will. Do Kucinich, Boxer, Issa, Clemmons, or Maxine Waters know much about economics?

[customerserviceguy]

65. Should President Obama pardon Bernie Madoff

and get him to run the Social Security System? Same logic.

[acmavm]

100. What the fuck ever. But that's a barely sufficient excuse I guess.

Lame, but I guess for the Obamabots it's going to have to do.

[Metta]

8. This seems like a cold hearted, patronage move and looks really bad.

Geitner's a Wall Street hack and was a bad choice.

[undeterred]

9. Russ Feingold and Bernie Sanders voted no to Geithner

and they're not stupid.

[biopowertoday]

13. That's my Senator. I am so proud of him.

[truedelphi]

29. Exactly. And their wisdom and their honesty gets them what?

So much for Change. And I think my Hope has expired.

[bdamomma]

60. yes, Bernie was not too happy about the appointment.

[Freddie Stubbs]

73. As did most of the Republicans

[Enthusiast]

76. I agree. I have not heard enough

about reregulating financial institutions. Seems to me that should be the first action taken.

[JFKfanforever]

93. Feingold/Sanders were very brave...

[Jambalaya]

95. Sanders is a mensch

Sanders, a Socialist originally from New York is a personal hero of mine.

Makes for lively political discourse with my Brooklyn,NY born and bred ,Conservative Catholic,father,let me tell ya!

[Enthusiast]

116. Hero of mine, now. nt

[biopowertoday]

11. He thought he was above paying taxes--and now this crap.

[terisan]

12. Citizens: Ask not what Goldman Sachs can do for you; ask what you can do for Goldman Sachs

Our answer is expected to be: Please Obama Administration let us, the people, take on the debt burden of the Bankers and Brokers and free them to steal again.

[Jambalaya]

71. Golden Rules

Da Man wit da sachs of Gold is makin' da rules,Jack!

[leftchick]

14. it is indeed bullshit

but I had no high expectations for the new old.

[Individualist]

15. Government of, by and for the corporations

Some change, huh?!

[eleny]

16. k&r

[spanone]

19. google news....politico is the only one printing this i can find. it's 2 days old

just saying....ala washington times?

i really can't believe that the nytimes or washington post wouldn't have picked up on this story. or ru$h* limbaugh

[slipslidingaway]

35. Patterson, Goldman, Geithner yielded a few results...

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&ei=bU6CSeqRFsyatwfX2LUt&sa=X&oi=spell&resnum=0&ct=result&cd=1&q=Mark+Patterson+%2B+goldman+%2B+geithner&spell=1&fp=2It4MqFyc4E

[bigwillq]

20. Geithner is a scumbag.

:puke: :mad:

He's one of the Cabinet picks I am really not happy with.

[Shardik]

22. I can't believe that out of a country this size he was the only one qualified.

This really sucks.

[Fire1]

23. Maybe Obama knows something WE don't. "Only Obama

knows......"

[truedelphi]

30. Well I guess he knew all along that there would not be that much Change

And I guess the Hope he spoke of refers to the bankers at the top.

[Yukari Yakumo]

24. BTW, why are you believing BS from Politico at face value? {nt}

[spanone]

26. see post 19

[Individualist]

33. See post 32

[slipslidingaway]

36. ......

thanks.

:)

[Two Americas]

42. um...

NYT, WSJ, AP, and USA Today.

[crikkett]

59. That's my question. This RW PR operation might as well be 'Talon News'

Is it trustworthy?

[Eyerish]

31. K&R n/t

[slipslidingaway]

32. Geithner names ex-lobbyist as Treasury chief of staff - USA Today & AP

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2009-01-27-lobbyist_N.htm

"Updated 1d 20h ago |

By Fredreka Schouten, USA TODAY

"WASHINGTON — Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner picked a former Goldman Sachs lobbyist as a top aide Tuesday, the same day he announced rules aimed at reducing the role of lobbyists in agency decisions.

Mark Patterson will serve as Geithner's chief of staff at Treasury, which oversees the government's $700 billion financial bailout program. Goldman Sachs received $10 billion of that money..."



Ex-Goldman lobbyist now Geithner's right-hand man

By PETE YOST, Associated Press Writer Pete Yost, Associated Press Writer – Wed Jan 28, 7:44 pm ET

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090129/ap_on_go_pr_wh/obama_lobbyists

"The White House on Wednesday defended Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner's choice of Mark Patterson — an ex-lobbyist from Goldman Sachs — to be his chief of staff.

The selection is at least the third high-profile exception to a policy by President Barack Obama that says no one who has lobbied on a set of issues within the past two years can take a role in his administration that deals with the same subject matter.

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs reiterated his claim that that rule is the "strongest that any administration in the history of our country has had."

Until last April, Patterson, a Goldman vice president for government relations, acted as a lobbyist on a wide range of issues that could come under his purview in his new job. Under Obama's restrictions, Patterson would be severely hampered in the new job unless he gets a waiver from the White House on grounds that it is in the public interest..."

[slipslidingaway]

34. NY Times and WSJ...

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/28/business/economy/28lobby.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

"...Another set of rules on lobbyists imposed by President Obama will affect Mr. Geithner’s chief of staff, Mark Patterson, who lobbied for Goldman Sachs as recently as last April. Under the new rules, Mr. Patterson cannot be involved in dealing with any issues involving Goldman or other issues on which he lobbied..."


WSJ

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123309702282121649.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

Ethics Order Affects Aide to Geithner

"WASHINGTON -- The new chief of staff to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner was a top lobbyist for Goldman Sachs Group Inc. until last year, and will have to recuse himself from some government duties under new White House ethics rules..."

[chill_wind]

43. And don't forget Bloomberg. ( I actually posted their link yesterday

in another of those related threads we couldn't get many Duers interested in.)

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x265588#top

Thanks for keeping up the effort on some of these topics, ssa.

[slipslidingaway]

49. Missed it....

most times there are too many distractions. Also after the bush years people want to believe that all is well and let their guard down... at precisely the wrong time.

Thank you!

:hi:

[slipslidingaway]

50. Is this part of the trillion plus that is now being discussed for the

bad bank? I think it probably is, but I'm just not sure. Others that have mentioned the trillion plus from the Fed are Dorgan and Paul, possibly Kucinich as well.

Most of the rest are silent.

http://firedoglake.com/2009/01/14/alan-grayson-smile-america-youve-got-a-12-trillion-slush-fund/

"Alan Grayson, the Blue America candidate whose background was representing whistleblowers against war profiteers, is now in the House and sits on the Financial Services Committee.

In a hearing yesterday, he questioned Fed Vice Chair Donald Kohn and wanted him to account for the $1.2 trillion dollars that has expanded the Fed's balance sheet since September 1.

Kohn refused.

Yep, he refused. Listen to the video. He says he will happily provide "categories" to the Committee, but refuses to name individual institutions and the amounts they received because he's afraid that if they do, "no one will borrow from us." He said the institutions were promised that their names would not be published.

"Mr. Kohn, we're talking about secret payments of $1.2 trillion dollars," said Grayson. "I think you need to rethink your approach."

[chill_wind]

51. Matt Stoller was taking questions from the netroots

a couple weeks ago in connection to this.

http://www.openleft.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=10903

Foreign banks and entities? Lots of comment & speculation, but no answers there that I could tell.



Questions about guarantees on securities: Bloomberg has sued the Fed to find out. I see this in Bloomberg just today..

Obama Records Pledge Tested By Citigroup Guarantees (Update1)

(snip)

Bloomberg News asked the Treasury Department Jan. 26 to disclose what securities it backed over the past two months in a second round of actions to prop up Bank of America Corp. and Citigroup Inc. Department spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter said Jan. 27 she would seek an answer. None had been provided by the close of business yesterday.

As Congress debates an $875 billion economic stimulus bill, the guarantees represent a less publicized commitment. The public’s stake has grown along with assurances tying the Treasury to the fate of corporate loans and securities backed by home mortgages, car loans and credit card debt.

“Guarantees are only meaningful if there’s a real chance that someone will have to pay out for them,” said Representative Alan Grayson, a Florida Democrat and a member of the House Financial Services committee that is reviewing the bailouts. “The conception that guarantees cost nothing is a misconception.”

Obama promised a new era of government openness as he took office last week, issuing a statement telling agencies “to adopt a presumption in favor of disclosure” in responding to requests under the Freedom of Information Act. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Lawrence Summers, head of the National Economic Council, said they would emphasize accountability and transparency in using the second half of a $700 billion bank bailout fund.

New Disclosures

Late yesterday, Geithner’s office put hundreds of pages about the fund on the department’s Web site. They did not include documents describing the guaranteed assets.

Last fall, the Federal Reserve declined to identify the recipients of about $2 trillion in emergency loans from U.S. taxpayers or the assets the central bank is accepting as collateral.

Fed Is Sued

Bloomberg News asked for details of the lending on May 21 and filed a federal lawsuit against the Fed Nov. 7 seeking to force disclosure. The loans were made under the terms of what became 11 programs in the midst of the biggest financial crisis since the Great Depression. Arguments in the suit may be heard by a judge as soon as next month, according to the court docket.

Bloomberg filed a FOIA request yesterday for the list of what was covered by the Citigroup and Bank of America guarantees. Bloomberg asked for records on the fees paid by banks to the government, which securities were rejected for guarantees, as well as any contracts for data services and experts to assess the value of the securities.

much more: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=alINrCmj3dgU


(bold emphasis mine)


We need answers. Let's hope the new transparancy includes responding to Bloomberg's freshest FOIA efforts to get some.

[slipslidingaway]

52. Thanks so much for your input....

From your Bloomberg article

"...Late yesterday, Geithner’s office put hundreds of pages about the fund on the department’s Web site. They did not include documents describing the guaranteed assets.

Last fall, the Federal Reserve declined to identify the recipients of about $2 trillion in emergency loans from U.S. taxpayers or the assets the central bank is accepting as collateral..."


Trillions have already been spent and the Fed has accepted certain assets, so the bad bank idea is just the official acknowledgment and transfer of these assets to us. If so, then it does not seem to me that this official announcement would alter the amount of money the banks have to lend, the additional TARP money could help. It will be interesting to see how this is sold to the public, that is if anyone is paying attention.


Some of these statements make it sound as if the purchase is yet to come, then again there always could be more toxic assets to purchase.


"Biden Says Bad-Bank Plan Should Wait on Whether TARP Aids Banks

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aLi8BxCeqv0k&refer=home

"Vice President Joe Biden said the Obama administration will wait to see if the second $350 billion installment of the federal rescue money “unclogs” credit markets before establishing a government-run bank to purchase bad assets.

“Once we do that and see whether or not we can get this system kick-started, the credit system flowing more, that’s when we’ll make the judgment whether anything else is necessary,” Biden said in an interview today on CNBC...


...Financial experts estimate that a government-run bank to purchase bad assets from struggling banks may end up costing $1 trillion to $4 trillion, Senator Charles Schumer said..."

[MadHound]

37. Ah yes, more of that "change we can believe in"

Yep, we're simply changing from the bad cop to the good cop, but it's still the same ol' same ol' two party/same corporate master system of government.

Oh, and for those of you who are doubting this news because it comes from Politico, here's a much more mainstream link
<http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2009-01-27-lobbyist_N.htm>

Ooo, bonus, Patterson may have directly lobbied Geithner himself. Better and better:eyes:
<http://www.openleft.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=11166>

Yup, change indeed.

[Zhade]

39. This is nauseating.

NT!

[MadHound]

41. There's no doubt that Obama was the better choice than McCain

He was, in the parlance, the lesser of two evils. However even the lesser of two evils is still evil.

This is looking more and more like a rerun of the Clinton years, a fine corporate lovefest if I ever saw one. But hey, we actually might get a few crumbs that fall off the table:woohoo:

[Jambalaya]

97. Changing Images?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The planned collapse of America
By Peter Chamberlin
Online Journal Contributing Writer


Dec 7, 2007, 00:38



The government has known for decades that America is on a countdown to self-destruction. Among the elite it is common knowledge that our "global economy" must one day collapse from its own dead weight. In 1974 an intensive research project was undertaken by the Stanford Research Institute and the Charles F. Kettering Foundation for the Dept. of Education. Their final report was released as the Changing Images of Man. It was compiled by the SRI Center for the Study of Social Policy, Director Willis Harmon. This is a far-reaching investigation into how the basic nature of man might be changed. The Aquarian Conspiracy describes the implementation of their work in the real world.


The research revealed that there were a multitude of crises that were about to intersect in America's near future. Not the least of these converging catastrophes was a rapidly approaching breakdown of both American capitalism and democracy. The collapse was a natural result of globalism and monopoly capitalism. The basic greed that powers the system eroded the American political and economic structures, exposing the foundation of immorality and unfairness that amplifies the social unrest. The Stanford researchers clearly predicted that the American economy was destined to collapse from its own dead weight. The data also showed that that economic collapse was to be accompanied by disastrous social repercussions, such as rioting and upheaval, which would lead us into a "garrison state."

The thing about this research is that this work has confirmed that our economy based on parasitic capitalism, where the small elite sits atop the heap of men and gorges on their lifeblood, is destroying the social fabric of America. This system is based on a stacked deck, where the top elite always reap the profits that are made to rise to the top through the corporate profits-based system. The research confirmed that the growing inequities of such a system were ever increasing and with them, elevated social tensions. A system based on usury and putting everyone in the "poor house" is an economic order that is guaranteed to produce a democratic revolution, whenever the misery index of the armed populace exceeds the limits that they are willing to peacefully bear, without striking back at the source of their misery.

Changing Images of Man predicts an American economic collapse and a "garrison" (police) state," if the overwhelming inequities of our economic system are not corrected by powerful multinationals making more humane decisions. Alternatives to this doomsday scenario are discussed, all of which point to the need to devote all available resources towards transforming the image of man, changing man's nature, instead of altering the corrupted economic system which has brought America to this dire state. In this government study it was inappropriate to denounce the evil culprits behind all our troubles (who pull the strings on government itself), even though the task was to document and remedy the damage that they have done. Instead, they are cited as the hopeful "saviors," that we should look to for help and leadership. The hypocrisy of the hegemons! The authors admit that it is "utopian in 1974 to think of the multinational corporations as potentially among our most effective mechanisms for husbanding the earth's resources and optimizing their use for human benefit -- the current popular image of the corporation tends to be more that of the spoiler and the exploiter."-______________________________________ Analysis of Stanford Research's "Changing Images of Man",originally published in 1974

[Le Taz Hot]

118. And we get a bonus with President Change -

he's just named the new head of the Faith-Based whatchamacallit. EXPANDING the program, no less. And then there's the multi-bazillion dollar bailout going to the same Wall Street thieves that caused the collapse in the first place AND he puts one of them in charge of it all.

As of this week, I'm advocating Communism.

[slipslidingaway]

38. BTW Orwellian_Ghost - great picture n/t

[leftstreet]

44. K&R

[Seen the light]

45. Disgusting, but not at all surprising

It's been a full two or three weeks since the last time I had to roll my eyes in disgust at the Obama team, which was a record post-November 4th. Oh well, all good things must come to an end.

[chill_wind]

46. "Obama's Chicago Boys (Lookout)."

Obama's Chicago Boys
Lookout
By Naomi Klein

This article appeared in the June 30, 2008 edition of The Nation.
June 12, 2008

http://www.thenation.com/doc/20080630/klein

[Hannah Bell]

54. wtf? he's hired walmart for economic policy?????

Barack Obama waited just three days after Hillary Clinton pulled out of the race to declare, on CNBC, "Look. I am a pro-growth, free-market guy. I love the market."

Demonstrating that this is no mere spring fling, he has appointed 37-year-old Jason Furman to head his economic policy team. Furman is one of Wal-Mart's most prominent defenders, anointing the company a "progressive success story." On the campaign trail, Obama blasted Clinton for sitting on the Wal-Mart board and pledged, "I won't shop there." For Furman, however, it's Wal-Mart's critics who are the real threat: the "efforts to get Wal-Mart to raise its wages and benefits" are creating "collateral damage" that is "way too enormous and damaging to working people and the economy more broadly for me to sit by idly and sing 'Kum-Ba-Ya' in the interests of progressive harmony."

[chill_wind]

69. Walmart verily "a progressive success story". Heh heh... HELP!!

I did several triple takes myself.

[Jambalaya]

75. Vacancy at Hyatt WalMart?

~Hyatt Sells $1 Billion Stake

by Portfolio Staff Aug 30 2007

The deal puts the Pritzkers and the Waltons in same boardroom.

The Pritzker family sold a $1 billion stake in Global Hyatt, the hotel company it controls, to Goldman Sachs and Madrone Capital Partners.

The deal was reached as the Pritzkers attempt to divide their assets among 11 adult children, as required under a 2001 agreement that was made in an attempt to quell intense family feuding.

The sale also brings a new family into to the mix, as Madrone Capital Partners is the investment firm affiliated with S. Robert Walton, the chairman of Wal-Mart. Madrone and Goldman Sachs will each gain a seat on the Hyatt board.

The Pritzkers have been “trying to build Global Hyatt into a worldwide, world-class player in the hospitality industry,” Hyatt chairman Thomas Pritzker told the Wall Street Journal. “And we’re also trying to restructure the family entity. This transaction supports both of those goals at the same time.”~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(Excerpt)

[Jambalaya]

78. Commerce SECRET-ary Pritzker??? NOT!

Obama's billionaire finance chair Penny Pritzker's failed bank ... At the helm of Superior Bank at least some of the time was Obama's national finance chairwoman, Penny Pritzker, an heiress to the Pritzker fortune. ...
blogs.suntimes.com/sweet/2008/04/obamas_billionaire_finance_cha.html - Similar pages


Penny Pritzker: Commerce Secretary? Nov 19, 2008 ... Penny Pritzker: Commerce Secretary? - The Huffington Post.
www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/11/19/penny-pritzker-commerce-s_n_145097.html - 159k - Cached - Similar pages

[Jambalaya]

90. What's YOUR credit score? Pritzkers own Transunion

The TransUnion we know today began when a railcar leasing company by that name decided in 1969 to buy Chicago's ancient bureau, the Credit Bureau of Cook County, and then subsequently gobbled every other local bureau they could through the 1970s and 1980s. Interestingly, TransUnion today is privately owned by the famous Pritzker family (of Hyatt Hotels fame) and their tony friends through a mysterious-sounding multi-billion dollar entity called the Marmon Group. Lucky bunch. Apparently, buying and selling personal information about others is a highly profitable enterprise. Perhaps the Pritzker grandchildren will never need to hire Lexington Law to straighten out their credit reports.

TransUnion
Post Office Box 2000
Chester, PA 19022

[Romulox]

79. Obama has surrounded himself with a neo-liberal echo-chamber. nt

[Name removed]

86. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Auggie]

112. Holy crap...

though Klein doesn't seem to indicate that Obama is 100% Chicago School.

[girl gone mad]

47. treasury was deep captured by GS long ago.

I'm sorry to see that Obama plans to continue the status quote.

[SergeyDovlatov]

53. This is bad. Ve-e-r-y Bad, *sad face* k & r

[anonymous171]

55. Former lobbyist. nt

[lostnfound]

56. The market = America. Our President is playing a weird game of keeping the alien alive

even while feeding and fattening the humans upon which it feeds.

Really, I am still grateful that he's our new Pres; he's making me happy almost every day. But after reading Profit over People, and Shock Doctrine, and seeing the mega-ripoffs of the Bush years, I am still fearing the fascism that has stolen the American soul. His appointment of Chicago boys duly noted. It may be that it is the only choice. If he can reinflate the market somewhat, but change the government culture towards increased citizen participation and transparency, perhaps over time the patient can recover well enough to handle a major operation.

Well, good luck with all that.

[lostnfound]

57. The market = America. Our President is playing a weird game of keeping the alien alive

even while feeding and fattening the humans upon which it feeds.

Really, I am still grateful that he's our new Pres; he's making me happy almost every day. But after reading Profit over People, and Shock Doctrine, and seeing the mega-ripoffs of the Bush years, I am still fearing the fascism that has stolen the American soul. His appointment of Chicago boys duly noted. It may be that it is the only choice. If he can reinflate the market somewhat, but change the government culture towards increased citizen participation and transparency, perhaps over time the patient can recover well enough to handle a major operation.

Well, good luck with all that.

[pjt7]

61. What did you expect?

The only people cheering for Tim Geithner were the kool-aid drinkers who know nothing about financial matters. The guy was the head of the NY FED for crying out loud.

This guy is the barron robbers Gov. man & that's why Obama is a major question mark, to me.

Please call Obama out on this.

[pjt7]

63. This is a very good article

exposing the history of Goldman Sachs inside our Goverment. (From Clinton to Bush to Obama)

The writer is a FOX business writer, but he is even-handed in calling out the robbery.

http://foxforum.blogs.foxnews.com/2009/01/29/pinkerton_treasury/

[Richard D]

64. This is on today's Democracy Now

http://www.democracynow.org/

[ooglymoogly]

67. Looks like the good ol' boys will maintain a stranglehold on treasury.

insuring the smooth transition of our money out of treasury into illegal offshore accounts. I wonder what immense payback this is for.

[Jambalaya]

81. Tracking International Tax Havens

New America Media Pacific News Service, News Report, Lucy Komisar, Apr 12, 2005. A new global movement is tracking the increasing number of offshore tax shelters and ...
news.pacificnews.org/news/search.html?search_word=Lucy+Komisar - 40k - Cached - Similar pages

Together with a whistleblower, Lucy Komisar exposes the offshore ... With help from a whistleblower, Lucy Komisar follows the money trail ..... New Internationalist (NI) workers' co-operative exists to report on issues of ...
www.newint.org/features/2006/08/01/offshore-bank-fraud/ - 49k - Cached - Similar pages

[Jambalaya]

82. Tax Justice Network

taxjustice network The Tax Justice Network promotes transparency in international finance and opposes secrecy. We support a level playing field on tax and we oppose loopholes ...
www.taxjustice.net/ - 59k - Cached - Similar pages


About TJN

Tax Justice Focus
Resources Activities
Tax Competition
Magnitudes
More results from taxjustice.net »

[TwilightGardener]

68. Why set rules against lobbyists and then immediately break them--twice?

I was against the Raytheon guy, who most likely WILL become SecDef after Gates (nice to see the military industrial complex lives on), and I'm against this aide too. Love ya, Obama, but you can't set rules and then act as if your administration is the holy exception.

[barb162]

83. Aint it the truth...

Something is very wrong. :(

[blindpig]

70. Change huh?

As in musical chairs, perhaps.

Chump change is more like it.

[Political Heretic]

117. I think there's been more than plenty of amazing policy changes in the last two weeks

Should we criticize this? Sure.

But people like you who ignore everything except what confirms your own narrow preconceived notion are becoming increasingly shrill.

[Romulox]

80. Breaking campaign promises is becoming something of a speciality for the President. nt

[vssmith]

84. In this whole great big country they can't find others just as good?

[newtothegame]

87. This isn't bullshit at all. When you want to "make history" with your vote instead of electing...

a progressive, this is what happens.

[Mithreal]

88. The joke's on us. nt

[progressoid]

91. Not a very funny joke either. n/t

[antimatter98]

89. Obama is just a front man for the banks and WS.

He's got Rubin, he's got Geithner (who got a nice $400K going away present when he left the Fed to join Obama), he's got Larry Summers. All of them ex Clinton and banking/investment house gurus who were all about deregulation. What does this tell us?

Obama's choices show where his allegiance is: to banks, to Wall Street, to corporate power.

Read this Jan 2008 story where Rubin a Citigroup director says 'what meltdown?'
http://money.cnn.com/2008/01/31/news/economy/rubin_benner.fortune/

Read this 2007 article about how Larry Summers argued for deregulation, saying government
could in no way know how to regulate and that the way to get the economy moving and
help citizens was to get government out of the business of regulation. His sparing partner?
Robert Reich.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/10/magazine/10wwln-summers-t.html?_r=1

So, we have on Obama's econ team, men (note 'white men') who never believed in
regulation and thought that trickle down was the thing to do---tax cuts for business
mean jobs.

We're on track for a Reaganomics disaster at the hands of Obama's team. But, they and
the banks, investment houses will do just fine, while Americans are destroyed.

[defendandprotect]

92. ...because corporations don't have enough influence on government . . .!!!!

[valerief]

96. Maybe he can talk Raytheon into making things other than war machines. nt

[acmavm]

101. Bwahahahahahaha! Not one frigging competent or capable

dem out there? They gotta hire lobbyists?

[ooglymoogly]

103. The Machiavellian mind

Wonder with me for a moment.....We know O is smart enough to know that the pugs would offer no bipartisan support...Then why did he give them a lot of stuff that would only benefit those who got us into this mess and would only damage the economy more? The Machiavellian mind might think the stuff, in turn, he let go were things he needed to support to keep the support of his base, but might never had wanted anyway...and the waste he needlessly accepted, knowing the pugs would not hold their end of the inherent bargain, he needlessly accepted because they were things that made sense to his middle right approach; In the end getting to the right of middle without suffering any damage from his base and gaining a good case against the pugs as just whining gripers trying to hold up any and all dem legislation.

Just exploring all avenues for the unexplainable because a lot of this crap is unexplainable.

The Machiavellian mind might wonder, with these unexplainable decisions; Is he making the payments required to gain entrance into the good ol' boy club of "Masters of the World", like Clinton did; To become in effect a "made man"?

[earth mom]

104. Instead of banning lobbyists like Obama said he would-his adminstration is actually HIRING them.

:wtf:

This is TOTAL BULLSHIT!

The CRIMINALS are in charge!!!

[chill_wind]

106. On its face, it seems unexplainable, but with Rahm at the helm

is it really?

REPRESENTATIVE (D - IL)
Rahm Emanuel

Top 5 Contributors, 2007-2008

UBS AG $64,700
AT&T Inc $49,950
Blackstone Group $47,000
JPMorgan Chase & Co $45,700
Grosvenor Capital Management $38,900


Top 5 Industries, 2007-2008

Securities & Investment $645,700
Lawyers/Law Firms $220,451
TV/Movies/Music $189,550
Insurance $145,200
Health Professionals $140,850




http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/summary.php?CID=N00024813#cont

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rahm_Emanuel

Career in finance

After serving as an advisor to Bill Clinton, in 1998 Emanuel resigned from his position in the Clinton administration. He then became an investment banker at Wasserstein Perella (now Dresdner Kleinwort), where he worked until 2002.<26> In 1999, he became a managing director at the firm’s Chicago office. Emanuel made $16.2 million in his two-and-a-half-year stint as a banker, according to Congressional disclosures.<26><27> At Wasserstein Perella, he worked on eight deals, including the acquisition by Commonwealth Edison of Peco Energy and the purchase by GTCR Golder Rauner of the SecurityLink home security unit from SBC Communications.<26>

Emanuel was named to the Board of Directors for the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation ("Freddie Mac") by then President Bill Clinton in 2000. His position paid him $31,060 in 2000 and $231,655 in 2001.<28> During the time Emanuel spent on the board, Freddie Mac was plagued with scandals involving campaign contributions and accounting irregularities.<29> The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) later accused the board of having "failed in its duty to follow up on matters brought to its attention." Emanuel resigned from the board in 2001 when he ran for congress.<30>

Rahm likes Wall Street and hi-stakes finance plenty enough. And they seem to like him, too.

[MasonJar]

111. Why have an ethics rule that you are going to break, not once, but twice

in the first week?

[certainot]

113. is there any value in having someone who knows how things really work?

if they ALL end up being lobbyists thats one thing but if its like hiring an ex con who knows the scams, then maybe there's some value in it.

there must be SOME people in those professions who are pissed at this collapse.

[diamidue]

114. Follow the money

The top three corporate employers of donors to Obama's White House: GOLDMAN SACHS, Citigroup and JPMorgan.

[Sultana]

115. Yay for Change

Oh wait...


We are being played yet again, damn Obama. :-(

[Stinky The Clown]

119. We write the roolz ... we change the roolz ..... kuz we canz