Jon Stewart Takes on Goldman Sachs [Video] 74 comments
July 17, 2009
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Jon Stewart, Paul Krugman... seems like the Mainstream Media is really catching on.
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
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This article has 74 comments:
Hey Fredinand, might be time to head back to Spain as you realize that the freedoms we have protect people like Jon Stewart and allow him to voice his opinion, no matter what Spanish Conquistadors think.
On Jul 17 09:49 AM Stock Market Sage wrote:
> I never laughed so loud in my office at 9:33am...great work Tyler!
>
>
> Hey Fredinand, might be time to head back to Spain as you realize
> that the freedoms we have protect people like Jon Stewart and allow
> him to voice his opinion, no matter what Spanish Conquistadors think.
The one thing (besides satire) that Stewart has going for him is not having to sell himself for access. Something that was pushed aside by "news" companies long ago to make way for ratings and profits.
Rizzo
Hey F... when did free speach and poignant satire ever "stand in the way of making the US what it was or should be"?
On Jul 17 11:39 AM Vote TL wrote:
> The Daily Show calls itself Fake News, and it's on Comdey Central.
> Please don't call them "the media" to further any kind of agenda.
> I think the word some of you are looking for is Satire...Look it
> up.
>
> The one thing (besides satire) that Stewart has going for him is
> not having to sell himself for access. Something that was pushed
> aside by "news" companies long ago to make way for ratings and profits.
>
>
> Rizzo
And, Stewart merely says what everyone is thinking.
On Jul 17 03:38 PM ScroogeMcduck wrote:
> Oh "fake news " I thought Jon stewart reported on "actual news" with
> a repulsive liberal view on it, my mistake.
As a technician and a trend catcher, I've done exponentially better once I stopped watching... "fast, accurate, actionable".... actionable? Are you KIDDING me?
However, this guy, Max Keiser. I'd like to buy him a beer not only for his trashing Government Sachs, but also his enthusiasm in doing so.
tinyurl.com/n92utc
Be sure to watch parts one and two...
Are banks doing their job lending or have just become a middleman between the mortgage broker and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac sucking out the spread just to say they are still a bank? Is Goldman Sacs really good for the public when they spend most of their time writing code that "can manipulate the market" and work to widen spreads for everyone buying and selling stock these days? Is the billions we gave Goldman really being put to good use when it is spent bolstering their program trading?
Jon Stewart is not just Jon Stewart, he represents the scorn and cynicism of all his staff. And that cynicism comes straight from the experience and insight of the general public. The statement is clear, "Stop begging for shelter from the free market and then rewarding yourself for selling the free bread we give you at a 15% markup and calling it capitalism. And for goodness sake Goldman, boost your capital to an acceptable level to your lending before you pay out bonuses. And by the way what is with your announcing record profit and bonuses the same week you beg for special dispensation to violate VaR requirements by abiding only to flimsy SEC requirements (which is the regulatory arbitrage the FDIC has been lambasting financial institutions like yours which decimate the FDIC because inevitably they gamble and go bankrupt with insufficient capital and then require government infusions)? I really want to know. How stupid do you think we are?"
Hear that cheering for Jon Stewart GS? That means we are getting sick of your financial antics.
Many now watch the news and, when an interesting story is aired, immediately google it to see how much of the story was untrue or biased. But that is also a crap shoot.
These days it somehow seems appropriate to get our news from The Comedy Channel.
GS isn't "writing the laws", they're paying to have it done for them.
It's people like Stewart (and you) that make America what it should be.
On Jul 18 03:37 AM Wisdom vs. Information wrote:
> GS is not writing the laws and hiring the bureaucrats that are taking
> away your money and rights-- that would be the politicians (that
> jon stewart supported, BTW). stewart is funny, but he is a symptom
> of the problem
Financial news, misinformation or manipulation?
I am posting the link below as something to think about. There are more ways to manipulate stocks today than in the past. Be careful.
dailykos.com/story...
I do remember the CNBC cheerleading of NASDAQ reaching 5000.
It was Maria spouting "A new paradigm...the old rules do not apply. Valuations mean nothing". Wrong. That was the top and it was time to leave the party.
On Jul 18 01:31 AM Bill L. wrote:
> Politicking aside, the one thing I'm glad Mr. Stewart has done is
> to hold CNBC accountable. Just off the top of my head, I'm recalling
> a commercial where Maria is saying something like, if you watched
> CNBC, you knew this was coming...
>
> As a technician and a trend catcher, I've done exponentially better
> once I stopped watching... "fast, accurate, actionable".... actionable?
> Are you KIDDING me?
The Times.
Internal Memorandum No. 8121b
ATTN: Employees of Goldman Sachs
We did it. Bottom of the ninth, down by three, bases loaded, and we cranked another grand slam to the moon. They may have shot Lennon, but nothing can kill the Beatles.
I admit things looked bleak for a minute there. We had to convert to a bank holding company and were forced to accept a taxpayer bailout. It felt un-American. Terribly unbanksmanly. But we accepted the money, knowing that we could magically weave it into a much larger mountain of money.
We had a few hard months there, didn’t we? They regulated our corporate jet so that we could no longer use it to fly from hole to hole on the green. Dave had to drain his money pool to half capacity. I stopped injecting gold into my blood. They don’t call it a recession for nothing. One day, we’ll look back on the year we received only five-figure bonuses and laugh.
Wanting to celebrate our renewed success is natural, but it’s important that we don’t go crazy here. Remember, ten per cent of the non-bank country is unemployed, and even those who are working have “real” jobs, where payment is proportional to the creation of a “product” or a “service.” Those poor bastards. So I ask that, in celebrating our raping of the stock market, we show restraint in the following ways:
Please limit high-fives and chest bumps to a dozen a day.
Don’t wear your crowns, except around the office.
Stop paying for things in Monopoly money—I understand it is the same as real money to us, but there have been some complaints.
For now, let’s take down the giant scoreboard that reads “Main Street: zero. Wall Street: a billion gazillion bajillion.”
Furthermore, to avoid drawing criticism from the press, this year the bonuses, expected to be comically large, will be distributed in blood diamonds, which can be easily concealed in a briefcase so it looks like we’re working.
I’d like to thank everyone who made this possible—for a second time. Respect to President Obama for keeping us in the green. Thanks to the big guy upstairs (me). And let’s not forget all the ordinary Americans, who, for some unfathomable reason, have refused to put us behind bars. We are literally taking money out of their wallets. Seriously, with these returns we are making Madoff look like a little kid with his hand caught in the cookie jar. Amateur!
Yours in money,
Lloyd Blankfein, C.E.O., Goldman Sachs
On Jul 17 09:39 AM Ferdinand E. Banks wrote:
> So guttermouth Jon Stewart in in the economics business now, is he.
> Hmm. I wonder if the American people will ever be able to figure
> out that it's Jon Stewart and his trashy ilk that stand in the way
> of making the US what it was or should be.
On Jul 18 09:45 AM Michael Clark wrote:
> So, Jon Stewart is what ruined America. I thought it was the mentality
> of the thieves at Goldman Sachs that ruined America. America's greatness
> comes from its values of freedom and equality, not from its values
> to cheat and steal and look out for number one.
Jon Stewart and other comedians become more relevant and news moutpieces less so as reality morphs into the bizarre, and credibility and ethics become parody. Try to remember the dichotomy of the Vietnam era when college students and youth defined the difference between generations as the "establishment". "The establishment" meant, in their view, that an entire generation of politicians, military and business leaders could not be trusted and were somehow bound up together in a loose and misguided conspiracy to protect the status quo and continue oppressing the minorities, the poor and the young. To a great extent they were right, if you consider the causes for legitimate reform at the time, the war (and the draft), civil rights and economic dispartiy and labor laws. Thus resulted "the cultural revolution" which for all intense purposes was a paradigm shift toward more progressive and liberal values which played out through the seventies.
In the current era, if a person is even slightly inclined to believe in conspiracy theories and hidden manipulation of the instruments of power and wealth, then obviously Goldman Slacks is the epicenter of suspicion considering their connection to the highest offices of govenment and economic policy. What becomes obvious then to the suspicious mind may only be spoken of openly by the satirist and the comedian until the matter enters the mainstream of consciousness in society. Obviously when the Goldman is the only notable commercial bank of past glory left standing and whose alumni write policy and generally escape the fallout and rake in extreme wealth, then it's reasonable to expect some attention will be paid. In fact one could say that only the naive would not feel something is amiss.
On Jul 18 03:37 AM Wisdom vs. Information wrote:
> GS is not writing the laws and hiring the bureaucrats that are taking
> away your money and rights-- that would be the politicians (that
> jon stewart supported, BTW). stewart is funny, but he is a symptom
> of the problem
On Jul 17 09:39 AM Ferdinand E. Banks wrote:
> So guttermouth Jon Stewart in in the economics business now, is he.
> Hmm. I wonder if the American people will ever be able to figure
> out that it's Jon Stewart and his trashy ilk that stand in the way
> of making the US what it was or should be.
On Jul 17 09:39 AM Ferdinand E. Banks wrote:
> So guttermouth Jon Stewart in in the economics business now, is he.
> Hmm. I wonder if the American people will ever be able to figure
> out that it's Jon Stewart and his trashy ilk that stand in the way
> of making the US what it was or should be.
The reason is that CNBC protects its precious access. They refuse to ask tough questions because they want to make sure that the guest will come back. Whether it is Paulson, Bernanke, or Geithner, CNBC will not deviate from the guest’s playbook because they want to have future interviews. No one at CNBC asked Paulson about conflict of interest when he choose to have the taxpayer absorb GS's counter-party risk with AIG. That would be impolite.
Jon Stewart doesn’t have this problem because he doesn’t care whether the Jim Cramers of the world return. This independence is the backbone of good journalism. It is a news show, and there are people who rely on his news. If that frightens you, keep in mind that without Jon Stewart his core audience would get no news.
I do think some points need to be thought about the macroinstability generated by these firms, from oil prices, to inflation to the dollar, to treasury yeilds which we have to pay back They are not just generating trading profits, but hurting the american economy with the effects that are a consequence of that trading and inflated market. The american people are held hostage for their profits while all markets have to adjust
On Jul 18 02:04 AM Moon Kil Woong wrote:
> People can lambast Stewert's comedy as much as they want but he is
> right in the fact that GS and all banks are using low government
> cost of capital, Federal Reserve backstops, and government bond buyouts
> to finance their profitability while taxpayers shoulder all their
> risk. This is not to mention TARP and all the other schemes of directly
> giving money to banks nor the accounting schemes to hide their losses.
> Do banks deserve bonuses while they make money off of arbitrating
> taxpayer financed advantages that we gave them? Would they make profit
> solely off their prudence, intelligent judgement, and hard work?
> The answer is an obvious no.
>
> Are banks doing their job lending or have just become a middleman
> between the mortgage broker and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac sucking
> out the spread just to say they are still a bank? Is Goldman Sacs
> really good for the public when they spend most of their time writing
> code that "can manipulate the market" and work to widen spreads for
> everyone buying and selling stock these days? Is the billions we
> gave Goldman really being put to good use when it is spent bolstering
> their program trading?
>
> Jon Stewart is not just Jon Stewart, he represents the scorn and
> cynicism of all his staff. And that cynicism comes straight from
> the experience and insight of the general public. The statement is
> clear, "Stop begging for shelter from the free market and then rewarding
> yourself for selling the free bread we give you at a 15% markup and
> calling it capitalism. And for goodness sake Goldman, boost your
> capital to an acceptable level to your lending before you pay out
> bonuses. And by the way what is with your announcing record profit
> and bonuses the same week you beg for special dispensation to violate
> VaR requirements by abiding only to flimsy SEC requirements (which
> is the regulatory arbitrage the FDIC has been lambasting financial
> institutions like yours which decimate the FDIC because inevitably
> they gamble and go bankrupt with insufficient capital and then require
> government infusions)? I really want to know. How stupid do you think
> we are?"
>
> Hear that cheering for Jon Stewart GS? That means we are getting
> sick of your financial antics.
On Jul 18 12:16 PM Tim Price wrote:
> I think Goldman Sachs' staff were the single biggest contributors
> to the Obama campaign so I think your point is essentially crap.
>
Wisdom,
Actually, they are ("writing the laws and hiring the bureaucrats"). Or at least, supplying them.
On Jul 18 03:37 AM Wisdom vs. Information wrote:
> GS is not writing the laws and hiring the bureaucrats that are taking
> away your money and rights-- that would be the politicians (that
> jon stewart supported, BTW). stewart is funny, but he is a symptom
> of the problem
Hedge Fund,
That swipe against Judge Sotomayor was uncalled for.
On Jul 18 02:15 PM Mad Hedge Fund Trader wrote:
> ) I am frequently asked where I find my best sources of market data.
> Well here they are: Saturday Night Live, David Letterman, and the
> Jon Stewart Show. Unfortunately, Jay Leno retired and won’t be back
> until his new show starts in September. I’ve found my investment
> returns are much better when I keep the Comedy Channel on all day,
> instead of CNBC, which is basically a giant fan club for its owner,
> General Electric (seekingalpha.com/symbo...). How else would
> I know that Jim Cramer argued vociferously that Bear Stearns wouldn’t
> go under, or that Dora the Explorer had been appointed to the Supreme
> Court? For a perfect example of this, take a look at the video clip
> above outlining John Stewarts take on the Goldman Sachs (seekingalpha.com/symbo...)
> earnings
Just kidding...I don't see this as a left/right issue. But I do see it as Goldman Sachs (and Wall Street in general) "writing the laws and hiring the bureaucrats". They were in the room when Paulson/Bush were making big decisions about the financial sector; they (and Wall Street in general) gave more money to Obama than McCain; they've had Paulson, CashNCarry, Rubin and their spawn (Geithner, Summers, etc.) placed in positions of power and influence. Also, Wall Street got the red-carpet treatment while Detroit got the bum's rush. (Both should have gotten the bum's rush, IMHO.)
The only thing that can stop Wall Street from further looting our common wealth as citizens is for left and right to come together and demand a different approach. Vote third-party or vote for "outsiders" for starters. I'm a leftist, but if I lived in Connecticut, I'd vote for Peter Schiff for Senate. Or Ron Paul in Texas. And, of course, Russ Feingold in Wisconsin. Elsewhere, check off the Green and Libertarian candidates anywhere on your ballot. The major parties, for the most part, have abandoned all but their corporate paymasters and legislate only what benefits them in the short run. I'd rather see a Congress stymied by lively debates between Libertarians and Greens than steamrolling through legislation that robs us all of money and freedom. [End of rant.]
On Jul 18 03:37 AM Wisdom vs. Information wrote:
> GS is not writing the laws and hiring the bureaucrats that are taking
> away your money and rights-- that would be the politicians (that
> jon stewart supported, BTW). stewart is funny, but he is a symptom
> of the problem
Stewart has masterfully garneded an audience that pays attention to world events and people via his program. While he may edit his segments with a nonchalant attention to telling "the whole truth and nothing but the truth," he shines the light of satire on the larger truth to the delight of many and the discomfort of a few... who should be made uncomfortable in their undeserved ease of access to the headwaters of the monetary stream.
Suffice to say, his advertisers are happy to buy access to those people who appreciate satire, wit and a willingness to speak rapier's truth to power.
On Jul 18 03:37 AM Wisdom vs. Information wrote:
> GS is not writing the laws and hiring the bureaucrats that are taking
> away your money and rights-- that would be the politicians (that
> jon stewart supported, BTW). stewart is funny, but he is a symptom
> of the problem
My only exception to this rule, in my life so far, was Bush the 2nd. This president was so destructive and evil in his stupidity, that I suspect, I will have to give my vote, blindly to the democrats one more time, just on principal.
Be Free fellow investors!
On Jul 18 12:16 PM Tim Price wrote:
> I think Goldman Sachs' staff were the single biggest contributors
> to the Obama campaign so I think your point is essentially crap.
>
Bet you can't wait to vote for Bush again or Palin!
On Jul 17 10:00 AM ScroogeMcduck wrote:
> Amazingly he hasnt somehow blamed this on the bush administration.
> His show is a clear example of the media's bias
On Jul 17 09:39 AM Ferdinand E. Banks wrote:
> So guttermouth Jon Stewart in in the economics business now, is he.
> Hmm. I wonder if the American people will ever be able to figure
> out that it's Jon Stewart and his trashy ilk that stand in the way
> of making the US what it was or should be.
"The hubris of Goldman Sacks is breath taking. They no longer even deny it. They are the broker for the Fed and the PPT. They front run the PPT trades. Their server is parked right next to the execution server so they can almost at will, front run large block trades. Their people have been installed at strategic economic and political choke points throughout the system, a web that has been building since the beginning of the Clinton administration. They have been at the forefront of regulatory deconstruction. They are a huge supporter of Cap and Trade as that is the NEXT major bubble scheme and they are now positioned to take total advantage of that. They own 10% of the exchange that will be trading the carbon offsets, a market that is destined to dwarf the energy market down the road. All their other positions are in PRIVATELY held companies. Too good a deal to let you and I in on, that is for sure, including Al Gore's "little" scam company. Seems he is in partnersip with two very big ex-Goldman boys. Increasingly starting to look like a gangster economy."
On Jul 18 03:28 PM Wisdom vs. Information wrote:
> commenting back to me that GS paid for the legislation falls under
> "no shit!" Lambasting GS for taking what they paid for is naive;
> GS can only act the way it does because politicians have created
> structures. The ROOT of the problem is the politicians we vote for
> in the first place, not the subsequent behaviour with corrupt cronies.
> If you vote for losers who promise to make your life better, then
> you get persons of bad character in power. Stewart does not deserve
> this hero worship when he is not even wise enough to understand the
> root of the problem
Yes they're excellent traders and investors. Yes they do IPOs and all that investment banking stuff. But the real business of Goldman is to do the bidding of the Treasury and the Federal Reserve in the public financial markets.
Goldman made a fortune last quarter and that surprises you? Shouldn't. They're acting as an invisible hand in the stock markets ramming the market up out of its steep decline at the behest of the Government. Of course, they need government money to do so, its a big job. And of course, the "private" facade of the company is front running the entire jam job and making a mint.
Put it all together folks. The Goldman Sachs that reports earnings and seems never to make a bad trade is merely front running the money the Treasury or the Federal Reserve gives them to do their bidding in the so-called public markets--stocks, bonds, commodities. Thats why Goldman always makes out like bandits.
That and near perfect inside information. Isn't the connection between Goldman and Government obvious enough? Goldman and the Government are two sides of the same coin. Goldman operates where the Government is not supposed to.
If congress passed a law taxing bank bonuses 100%, the taxpayers would get these bonuses and it would help even the score a little, except, of course, for the millions of now chronically unemployed.
On Jul 17 06:13 PM Uncommon_Cents wrote:
> Don't get brainwashed into the left/right, liberal/conservative stuff.
> They are all the same; thieves.
>
> And, Stewart merely says what everyone is thinking.
>
> On Jul 17 03:38 PM ScroogeMcduck wrote:
The mark of the beast and the number of his name is a coming revelation. Here, GS, one of the jewels in his crown.
www.newsmeat.com/ceo_p...
It stops being funny when its about you or your beliefs.
So take some of these comments from people with that mind.If you don't think it's funny, hate him and his show, s the once funny Howard Stern said, Turn the dial, don't watch or listen if you don't like what you hear.
As you can hopefully tell buy my site, comedy is just that, comedy. Whether its thoughtful, clever and takes a minute to go...Oh yeah I get, or pie in the face fall on a banana comedy, they are both geared to make you laugh
.
As that great comedian, Mac Yavelli once said,
"The end justifies the means'
This man could obviously write a helluva punchline.
Keep watching I am sure he will make serious jokes about something you do not have a vested interest, $, employment, learning what the name of their brokerage really means, whatever.
than enjoy the laugh at someone else's opinions.
gotta run, got to get out and buy you guys some new flip flops.
All is fun until someone gets hurt
It'll shoot your eye out!
sw
On Jul 18 01:31 AM Bill L. wrote:
> Politicking aside, the one thing I'm glad Mr. Stewart has done is
> to hold CNBC accountable. Just off the top of my head, I'm recalling
> a commercial where Maria is saying something like, if you watched
> CNBC, you knew this was coming...
>
> As a technician and a trend catcher, I've done exponentially better
> once I stopped watching... "fast, accurate, actionable".... actionable?
> Are you KIDDING me?
So what is good for Goldman would be deemed good for America. Turbo tax Tim and bearded Ben would be happy. I think the Americans who are losing jobs and homes can enjoy vicariously.
Crony capitalism is here to stay; BHO is a change we can believe in. Rich and connected get richer; poor get poorer – thrown crumbs of health care reform. Take a grab bag and go to DC - that is the best investment advice I can give.
Your argument is shortsighted.
NO Money Would Be Labeled As "Bonus" if your proposed tax was implemented. In Big Business the Tax Code is viewed as something to "Get Around". The Industry Of Accountancy Is Built On This Premise. If there were only "Inflows and Outgoes", simple ledger keeping, Accountants would not be so sought after for "Categorization Of Money Flows".
If the Taxation you propose were implemented - New Labels (Financial Engineering) would occur to lessen its impact and circumvent the penalty.
Taking More Money Out Of The System And Handing IT To Inefficient Governmental Control Is Not Going To Effect Any Improvement.
Taxation Never Only Affects The Rich.
On Jul 19 08:37 AM frosty wrote:
> Moon Kil Wong observed, "Do banks deserve bonuses while they make
> money off of arbitrating taxpayer financed advantages that we gave
> them? Would they make profit solely off their prudence, intelligent
> judgement, and hard work? The answer is an obvious no."
>
> If congress passed a law taxing bank bonuses 100%, the taxpayers
> would get these bonuses and it would help even the score a little,
> except, of course, for the millions of now chronically unemployed.
But btw, comedians nowadays seem to hate freedom... why can't more "funny guys" believe in liberty?
Is it their fault that Bush, Obama, most Democrats, and a handful of Republicans bailed them out? They would have survived the storm without the bailout - hell, it would have further weakened competitors if there was no bailout.
The Court Jesters always have a twist that makes themselves look humble and self-righteous while they lambast the evil doers.
On Jul 19 04:07 PM Albert Ling wrote:
> I am from Brazil so I'm happy that the socialists like Jon Stewart
> are transforming america into euroupe. In 10 years, I'll be able
> to buy all your assets with my currency because the dollar will be
> worth trash.
>
> But btw, comedians nowadays seem to hate freedom... why can't more
> "funny guys" believe in liberty?
On Jul 18 03:37 AM Wisdom vs. Information wrote:
> GS is not writing the laws and hiring the bureaucrats that are taking
> away your money and rights-- that would be the politicians (that
> jon stewart supported, BTW). stewart is funny, but he is a symptom
> of the problem
On Jul 18 12:19 PM BPYHO wrote:
> Gimme a break! Stewart (love him or hate him) is one of the few people
> to really connect with younger Americans. It's sad but true. And
> although he leans to the left all the people that he attacks (crossfire
> hosts, Cramer, GS) usually deserve it.... GS is b!tching about paying
> a 500 mil more to the gov when they recieved 10's of billions of
> taxpayer $'s directly through TARP and indirectly via AIG. To me
> they are symbols of everything that is wrong with Wall Street. <br/>
On Jul 18 02:36 PM A. Corinne wrote:
> Are politicians forced to take political contributions? YOU'RE point
> is crap. Don't let Washington off the hook for the part they're
> playing in this Goldman scheme.
On Jul 19 05:56 PM spqrusa wrote:
> Why bash GS for its excellent management of employee and shareholder
> value? Their doing exactly what any good company would do in these
> times - watch out for their interest.
>
> Is it their fault that Bush, Obama, most Democrats, and a handful
> of Republicans bailed them out? They would have survived the storm
> without the bailout - hell, it would have further weakened competitors
> if there was no bailout.
>
> The Court Jesters always have a twist that makes themselves look
> humble and self-righteous while they lambast the evil doers.
Still so much whining from the losers and shorts. Keep crying that you got busted, I love it. When will you realize that the long term trend of the mkt is up? As I've said a million times before, if you don't like GS then don't invest.
Let's make America great once again. "We the people"!
tinyurl.com/kkhsso
Based upon the bubble burst market manipulation that Goldman has promoted during the last 80 years or so, according to this article www.rollingstone.com/p... , they and their employees should be blackballed from government service.
In the end the left service one set of companies the right another set of companies and they rally the heards of sheeple on rhetoric nonsense. Anything you can take sides on like abortion, gay rights or what the new name for french fries should be.
On Jul 17 06:13 PM Uncommon_Cents wrote:
> Don't get brainwashed into the left/right, liberal/conservative stuff.
> They are all the same; thieves.
>
> And, Stewart merely says what everyone is thinking.
>
> On Jul 17 03:38 PM ScroogeMcduck wrote:
we are?". Well, obviously we are all pretty stupid. Goldman Suchs are economy down the drain while pillaging obscene profits (and boasting about it quite publically) and NOT ONE thing is being done about it! Not one of these Wall Street Criminals has been investigated seriously, had charges pressed, or gone to jail for lying and stealing. So who's "stupid" and "who's" smart?
On Jul 18 02:04 AM Moon Kil Woong wrote:
> People can lambast Stewert's comedy as much as they want but he is
> right in the fact that GS and all banks are using low government
> cost of capital, Federal Reserve backstops, and government bond buyouts
> to finance their profitability while taxpayers shoulder all their
> risk. This is not to mention TARP and all the other schemes of directly
> giving money to banks nor the accounting schemes to hide their losses.
> Do banks deserve bonuses while they make money off of arbitrating
> taxpayer financed advantages that we gave them? Would they make profit
> solely off their prudence, intelligent judgement, and hard work?
> The answer is an obvious no.
>
> Are banks doing their job lending or have just become a middleman
> between the mortgage broker and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac sucking
> out the spread just to say they are still a bank? Is Goldman Sacs
> really good for the public when they spend most of their time writing
> code that "can manipulate the market" and work to widen spreads for
> everyone buying and selling stock these days? Is the billions we
> gave Goldman really being put to good use when it is spent bolstering
> their program trading?
>
> Jon Stewart is not just Jon Stewart, he represents the scorn and
> cynicism of all his staff. And that cynicism comes straight from
> the experience and insight of the general public. The statement is
> clear, "Stop begging for shelter from the free market and then rewarding
> yourself for selling the free bread we give you at a 15% markup and
> calling it capitalism. And for goodness sake Goldman, boost your
> capital to an acceptable level to your lending before you pay out
> bonuses. And by the way what is with your announcing record profit
> and bonuses the same week you beg for special dispensation to violate
> VaR requirements by abiding only to flimsy SEC requirements (which
> is the regulatory arbitrage the FDIC has been lambasting financial
> institutions like yours which decimate the FDIC because inevitably
> they gamble and go bankrupt with insufficient capital and then require
> government infusions)? I really want to know. How stupid do you think
> we are?"
>
> Hear that cheering for Jon Stewart GS? That means we are getting
> sick of your financial antics.
• Goldman is not the boogie man. It is an opportunistic investment bank with a mandate to make money for its investors.
• Jon Stewart is not an oracle. He’s a talented and clever (left leaning) humorist.