Why isn't wallstreet in jail?

[IceBergSLiM]

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/why-isnt-wall-street-in-jail-20110216?print=true

Another epic article from Matt Taibbi detailing the corruption stretching from wallstreet to the white house and how truly above the law the banksters are.

3 years later all we have to show for the massive criminal fraud that has destroyed the world economy is Madoff.

I'm sure these banksters won't do it again, they learned their lesson real good.

 

[Phokus]

It's a great read. It's impossible to police wall street because the riches of jumping from the SEC to Wall street after a few years is too great. They need to raise pay and have covenants that restrict the workers (and their families) from jumping into wall street.

The other problem is that Wall Street has a gun to every American's head. "Don't bail us out? We'll take the world economy with us". In a ways, they're more powerful than any military in the world.

 

[IceBergSLiM]

On the streets its called racketeering and extortion. unless that street's name begins with 'Wall'.

 

[Gonad the Barbarian]

Because they own this country. And most other countries. Multinational too big to fail corporations are the new world government.

 

[IceBergSLiM]

Because they own this country. And most other countries. Multinational too big to fail corporations are the new world order .

fixed for consistent nomenclature.

 

[JS80]

Why aren't politicians in jail? Why aren't unions in jail? Why aren't welfare leeches in jail?

 

[Phokus]

Why aren't politicians in jail? Why aren't unions in jail? Why aren't welfare leeches in jail?

Civil rights and privacy is an illusion. Economic liberty is the only liberty one needs to have.-JS80

 

[DesiPower]

jails are for humans.

 

[JS80]

Civil rights and privacy is an illusion. Economic liberty is the only liberty one needs to have.-JS80

Exactly, all three named are risking my economic liberty, they should be in jail.

 

[shortylickens]

Cuz they has money.
Next question?

 

[crownjules]

*rips off the world and pockets millions*

*drives company into the red doing so*

*gets let go by company with millions more in parting benefits*

*only pays 18% taxes or so*

Life as a bankster is so sweet.

 

[ayabe]

Why aren't politicians in jail? Why aren't unions in jail? Why aren't welfare leeches in jail?

Why divert? You can't name a single politician or union member who destroyed the world economy or stole hundreds of millions of dollars. Not even close. Poor people are prosecuted for fraud all the time.

My newly elected Gov, Rick Scott, is a criminal who was forced out as head of Columbia/HCA just two weeks after the feds raided 18 of his hospitals in 6 states for bilking government programs. He got 10 million plus 300 million in stock to get out of dodge.

Somehow the voters of FL didn't really care about that.

Taibbi really brings it home -
"The mental stumbling block, for most Americans, is that financial crimes don't feel real; you don't see the culprits waving guns in liquor stores or dragging coeds into bushes. But these frauds are worse than common robberies. They're crimes of intellectual choice, made by people who are already rich and who have every conceivable social advantage, acting on a simple, cynical calculation: Let's steal whatever we can, then dare the victims to find the juice to reclaim their money through a captive bureaucracy. They're attacking the very definition of property — which, after all, depends in part on a legal system that defends everyone's claims of ownership equally. When that definition becomes tenuous or conditional — when the state simply gives up on the notion of justice — this whole American Dream thing recedes even further from reality."

 

[Doppel]

The rich own government. They get the politicians elected. Wallstreet also has a revolving door with the government. They are in bed together. I pat your back, you pat mine. Without revolutionary campaign reform this will not change. And that reform will not happen because those who can make it happen have no interest in it happening. You have a vote but your vote is worthless because it must fight the tide of all the others and all of them (and you) have been purchased with sound bites.

 

[Estrella]

Because Wall Street knows the 'people' are too pathetic to do anything about it.

 

[ebaycj]

Why isn't wallstreet in jail?

The Golden Rule: The one with the Gold makes the Rules.

 

[Darwin333]

Why aren't politicians in jail? Why aren't unions in jail? Why aren't welfare leeches in jail?

We are talking about a very small group of individuals that did blatantly illegal shit costing us trillions and an economic recession. I would say that moves you to the top of the shit list.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

Cuz they has money.
Next question?

Brevity is the soul of wit.

 

[BudAshes]

Exactly, all three named are risking my economic liberty, they should be in jail.

Yeah you should be king and everyone should be your subjects. Then you will be free to do whatever you want.

 

[shortylickens]

Brevity is the soul of wit.

ebaycj must have the most wit.

 

[Darwin333]

Exactly, all three named are risking my economic liberty, they should be in jail.

They might be "risking" your economic liberty but the banksters actually fucked your economic liberty, along with your kids economic liberty. So far they have not only gotten away scott free but they get to keep the loot!

 

[Narmer]

Why should they be in jail when what they did was legal?

 

[JS80]

Why divert? You can't name a single politician or union member who destroyed the world economy or stole hundreds of millions of dollars. Not even close. Poor people are prosecuted for fraud all the time.

My newly elected Gov, Rick Scott, is a criminal who was forced out as head of Columbia/HCA just two weeks after the feds raided 18 of his hospitals in 6 states for bilking government programs. He got 10 million plus 300 million in stock to get out of dodge.

Somehow the voters of FL didn't really care about that.

Taibbi really brings it home -
"The mental stumbling block, for most Americans, is that financial crimes don't feel real; you don't see the culprits waving guns in liquor stores or dragging coeds into bushes. But these frauds are worse than common robberies. They're crimes of intellectual choice, made by people who are already rich and who have every conceivable social advantage, acting on a simple, cynical calculation: Let's steal whatever we can, then dare the victims to find the juice to reclaim their money through a captive bureaucracy. They're attacking the very definition of property — which, after all, depends in part on a legal system that defends everyone's claims of ownership equally. When that definition becomes tenuous or conditional — when the state simply gives up on the notion of justice — this whole American Dream thing recedes even further from reality."

Who enables wall st? Politicians. Who enables politicians? Unions and welfare fucks. Send them all to jail.

 

[Craig234]

I've become a big fan of Taibbi's writing. He used to annoy me in personal appearances as a kid who had way too much sarcasm and a foul mouth, but that has changed, a lot.

He's one of the best writers out there at writing about corruption for the public. For example, I don't know where he came up with the metaphor for Goldman Sachs as a 'vampire squid wrapped around the face of America', but it's the best description I've seen, and can't hear the name Goldman Sachs without 'vampire squid' now.

I'm currently reading his latest book, 'Griftopia', and it's great.

I've long recognized his point above about how people have a hard time appreciating how white collar crimes for vast sums can be far worse than the local holdup - he made it well. It's less clear to people how they're hurt by these crimes, which makes it far easier for them to go unpunished - and worse, to get them not to be crimes.

IMO, the modern crash largely had its roots in the act of the CEO of Citibank in the late 90's who decided he wanted a very profitable acquisition that was totally illegal, violating Glass-Steagall - but he lobbied and got the backing of three crucial people, Bill Clinton, Robert Rubin, and Alan Greenspan. I won't try to speculate about Clinton's motives at the moment, but Rubin went on to become a Citibank executive for a vast reward (millions a year), and Greenspan was a deluded ideologue against regulation.

The law had loopholes that allowed for temporary approval, while he lobbied Congress to change the law - which they did (with a few progressives saying 'this will end badly').

He actually did not commit a crime IMO, but plenty did in the deregulated environment that helped create, just as with the Savings and Loan scandal after Reagan deregulation.

Several hundreds convictions came out of the earlier scandal. Now one for this.

We should be up in arms about that - but who here will commit not to vote for anyone who won't push for investigation and prosecution (as it might become too late)?

Or at least to vote out anyone who did not support it earlier?

 

[Craig234]

They might be "risking" your economic liberty but the banksters actually fucked your economic liberty, along with your kids economic liberty. So far they have not only gotten away scott free but they get to keep the loot!

It's a problem how some people can't distinguish between the 'economic liberty' that the middle class gets compared to the poor, from the 'economic liberty' of the ultra wealthy that can deprive millions of others of THEIR economic liberty. When billionares get rid of, say, labor's power to get better wages, it helps their 'economic liberty' - at the cost of others' econoic liberty. Yet the propaganda tells people to view the ultra wealthy as people like them with common interests, and many fall for it - we see the results since Reagan.

 

[bfdd]

where the fuck were all of you when people like me were clamoring to let it all fall apart? oh that's right you were telling me that 'we can't or we risk things that are much worse!' looks like you fell hook line and sinker. the only way to learn from a mistake is to let the hand that touched the flame feel the burn. to bad.... we could have came out of this a much stronger and smarter populace.