Comments on: Robert Reich: The Moral Hazard Double Standard

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sun, 09 Sep 2007 12:57:00 +0000

Well said “a..”

You know how those fat cats at Wall Street “cook the books” to recognised all sorts of income in one Financial year and in the next, they say “oops, we made a mistake, we need to reverse those income for the last 5 years”. Good, but how about reversing the giant performance bonus payouts ? Anyone has the legal REDRESS for that ?Yes, they lose their jobs with $ millions in “walk-out” compensation, for blowing a hole in the company and putting 1000’s of Joes and Sallies out on the street without their health insurance. All these while the Unions are sleeping – negotiating a $2.00 per hour rate increase and a few minutes off from work hours. Get real, UNIONS!
Shareholders ? Compensation committees ? Really, which of these are not so copulated, that they can tear each other apart – they sit on each other Boards like the game of musical chair over different time periods – its an institution on its own !

By: a

Sun, 09 Sep 2007 11:42:00 +0000

"Translated, this means that lenders, credit-rating agencies, financial intermediaries, and hedge funds will be bailed out, one way or another, because they’re simply too big to fail. Note that behind every one of these institutions lie thousands of well-paid executives who would have lost big if the Fed didn’t come to their rescue."

This doesn't seem to me a great translation. At the moment there are several hedge funds on the brink, a lot which have lost or haven't made much money, IB banks whose splendid first half results have been or are being pissed away, and bank stocks well down (those executives received a fair amount of compensation in stocks and stock options). And, if the money-market problems continue, expect at least one IB to go under. So at the moment there is a fair amount of sanctioning going on.

Unfortunately, we don't allow past bonuses to be taken back, and the U.S.A. has an income tax rather than a wealth tax.

By: Martin

Martin — Sun, 09 Sep 2007 05:12:00 +0000

“I’ve come to wonder whether one of the defects of capitalism American style is our notion that corporations are inviolate entities.” Bingo.

Nothing against the capitalist financial system – it’s great. But the Supreme Court ruling (not even an actual ruling I believe) that corporations have the same Constitutional rights as natural persons is a travesty. Corporations are not “natural persons” by any stretch of the imagination and are not treated as such by any other country in the developed world.

These Constitutional rights unnaturally extended to corporate entities have caused unintended distortions in the capital, legal and most noticeably political structures in the US.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sat, 08 Sep 2007 18:10:00 +0000

Mix big business, special interest groups and big government together and the socialist crony capitalism that results destroys all in its path.

Go Ron Paul!!!!

By: James

James — Sat, 08 Sep 2007 16:52:00 +0000

Totally agree that the next meeting is key. If mainstreet America begins to think the whole system is rigged to bailout insiders then there are going to be major longterm consequences for the whole country. A weaker dollar, higher gas and commodity prices are likely and that could be the trigger for some very bad social unrest. Very touchy situation.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sat, 08 Sep 2007 07:52:00 +0000

I am a fervent proponent of decoupling Wall Street from all forms of preferential treatment by the Fed. I also realise, it can’t be done with the existing system of patronisation.
It leads to a need for “Mao’s” revolution to clean out the corruption of Wall Street. Who’s to do it – a new breed of bankers – the Joes and Sallies of Main Street economy.
How ? Stop paying your credit card debts, monthly mortgage repayment, your taxes to the government – en bloc. Can Americans rise up to this ? Well, not so long ago, a South American country did !