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JHB

(37,128 posts)
61. It's not JUST the money, for him. At 87 years old there's no way...
Mon Apr 29, 2013, 08:10 AM
Apr 2013

...he'd recoup everything he's sunk into think tanks and astroturf efforts.

He's been beating this drum since the 70s, and it's always the same tune no matter how conditions change. In his articles in the New York Review of Books in 1982 warning of a coming SS crash, he told of how Social Security was set up during the depressions, when conditions were very different: back then few people had pension plans, while 'now' (meaning 1982) over half did and they were well-funded. In 2013, with those pensions gutted by union-busting and looting by private equity firms like Peterson's Blackstone Group, the argument is that "Social Security was never meant to be a complete retirement plan".

I like a quote from John Hess (from 1997) about Peterson:

If opinion-makers consider Peterson an expert on finance, experts on finance tend to consider him more of an opinion-maker. Ken Auletta's book Greed and Glory, about the near collapse of Lehman Brothers in the 1980s, describes Peterson as, in the eyes of his partners, an arrogant bungler dying to make killings in leveraged buyouts, an obsessed reactionary, a name-dropping snob and, all told, so much a pill that his partners paid him $18 million to get rid of him.

Now to return to the question with which we began: How does Peterson find the time to make all that money? It would seem to be the new-fashioned way of tapping the gusher of wealth flowing from the economy. Peterson took his severance pay to Schwartzman and formed the Blackstone Group, which played the arbitrage game, bought up failing companies, shopped the savings-and-loan auctions, and made money.

A towboat operated by one of their subsidiaries and piloted by a man who had flunked his licensing exam seven out of eight times hit a railroad bridge and caused 47 deaths. Another Blackstone company drilled a hole in the Chicago River and caused that city's costliest disaster since the Great Fire. A major partner resigned last October under the cloud of an ugly scandal alleging fraud.

These things happen. Peterson is a busy man. Journalists may be forgiven for not connecting him with these misfortunes, or even knowing about them. What is not forgivable is their swallowing his ideological book, line and sinker.
http://fair.org/extra-online-articles/a-crusader-in-clover/
He's the guy behind the curtain jsr Apr 2013 #1
You knew he was planning to make money of it. That's his only reason for SharonAnn Apr 2013 #48
It's not JUST the money, for him. At 87 years old there's no way... JHB Apr 2013 #61
See what happens when the whole world lives inside an old joke? Bannakaffalatta Apr 2013 #2
This message was self-deleted by its author bahrbearian Apr 2013 #5
He , who dies with all the money wins. bahrbearian Apr 2013 #9
It boggles the mind.. sendero Apr 2013 #3
But we still have freedom jsr Apr 2013 #4
Hey now wait a minute.. sendero Apr 2013 #6
+1000 nt truebluegreen Apr 2013 #7
People need to grind the machine to a halt together HomerRamone Apr 2013 #10
Actually it's a genius of a strategy. rhett o rick Apr 2013 #19
Freedom? SCVDem Apr 2013 #31
Exactly. ctsnowman Apr 2013 #60
How so? THIS Blue Team has offered up and handed over unasked, that which... TheMadMonk Apr 2013 #51
That's just it, we are all supposed to treat our 2 parties like teams so we will get carried away Dustlawyer Apr 2013 #20
Then, imho, we all should just stop voting. What good does it do? juajen Apr 2013 #33
I agree to the extent that it will take a HUGE number of people marching and holding out Dustlawyer Apr 2013 #42
A good general strike would work WHEN CRABS ROAR Apr 2013 #43
K&R. I certainly hope they all stop pretending austerity is the answer. Overseas Apr 2013 #8
Yep. I've posted about this bastard and his Simpson-Bowles cohorts before... Triana Apr 2013 #11
Gee, really? It's just the old saying: mountain grammy Apr 2013 #12
Yes- Always Follow The Money - Who Stands To Gain - Who Stands To Lose cantbeserious Apr 2013 #13
Forbes article about these "Fix the Debt" schmucks.... Triana Apr 2013 #14
Thanks Triana. ctsnowman Apr 2013 #63
I can't fathom- ruffburr Apr 2013 #15
Why does this come as no surprise. AnnieK401 Apr 2013 #16
This is the kind of monster Obama pays attention to. forestpath Apr 2013 #17
May I remind everyone that Pete Peterson headed the committee that picked Timothy JDPriestly Apr 2013 #22
Birds of a feather. forestpath Apr 2013 #25
He is one of the puppet masters pulling Obama's strings. n/t duffyduff Apr 2013 #52
Pete is an 86 year old billionaire who feels fucking the little guy over Snarkoleptic Apr 2013 #18
You're being kind. duffyduff Apr 2013 #53
sorry for the mini-rant ctsnowman Apr 2013 #62
We Are Sooooooo popsdenver Apr 2013 #21
Meet Pete Peterson per Wikipedia. JDPriestly Apr 2013 #23
Is this the same Blackstone Group which is buying up foreclosed single family homes? nt avgjo Apr 2013 #32
Apparently. JDPriestly Apr 2013 #38
Paul Krugman Is Certainly No Fan Of Pete Peterson's DallasNE Apr 2013 #57
I don't know... WinstonSmith4740 Apr 2013 #71
Hostis Publicus Turbineguy Apr 2013 #24
Austerity - just a more cruel and vindictive form of capitalism fasttense Apr 2013 #26
The American people are owners of most of the US Debt. juajen Apr 2013 #35
If only it were just greedy old men, it's everyone in Wall St. raouldukelives Apr 2013 #65
Freaking greedy billionaire pigs arthritisR_US Apr 2013 #27
There isn't one billionaire in this world that worked for their money. Auntie Bush Apr 2013 #37
Cheating and exploitation would be my tacit assumption. arthritisR_US Apr 2013 #59
It's time to focus on this man as we have the Koch Brothers Oilwellian Apr 2013 #28
What can we do about it? They_Live Apr 2013 #29
That kind of explains why mindwalker_i Apr 2013 #30
Parable of the Rich Fool sulphurdunn Apr 2013 #34
Some of these people had dreams of reversing ALL of FDR's New Deal under Ike... Spitfire of ATJ Apr 2013 #36
+1 HiPointDem Apr 2013 #39
k&r Electric Monk Apr 2013 #40
Peterson is as dangerous as the Kochs Faygo Kid Apr 2013 #41
He's worse. He has the president of the United States and Congress wrapped around his finger. n/t duffyduff Apr 2013 #54
It's not a mistake, it's not incompetence ... surrealAmerican Apr 2013 #44
As the great Gomer says: moonbeam23 Apr 2013 #45
i`ll wait to see if obama says anything about this myth of austerity. madrchsod Apr 2013 #46
It doen't matter what "math" and "facts" say: this President stands firm. MannyGoldstein Apr 2013 #47
is there any idea too stupid or destructive that our politicians won't enact if the price is right? yurbud Apr 2013 #49
. blkmusclmachine Apr 2013 #50
So our belts are tightened to pay for corporate greed Blue Owl Apr 2013 #55
Follow The Money DallasNE Apr 2013 #56
Obama mtasselin Apr 2013 #58
Team Obama is leading the charge for Pete's Peterson's Austerity USA. Octafish Apr 2013 #64
There's always someone waiting to profit on misery...... marmar Apr 2013 #66
Wow ! I can't wait to see this covered on the evening news tonight ! eppur_se_muova Apr 2013 #67
This story was posted early Sunday. I want to kick it again. It is huge to my mind. JDPriestly Apr 2013 #68
kick and rec riverbendviewgal Apr 2013 #69
This is an old argument... WinstonSmith4740 Apr 2013 #70
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