Washington Mutual Inc. (WM)

All Comments on WM

  • commenter
    syndicat
    Sep 15 12:30 PM
    And Then There Were Two: Securities Firms Come Crashing Down [view article]
    Bank of America + Merrill Lynch, it looks more and more like Citigroup.
    Why did BAC pay so much? They could have had Merrill for $10/share later this week.     Reply
  • commenter
    mdmrjsds
    Sep 15 12:26 PM
    The U.S. on the Precipice [view article]
    TonyC-SA wrote:
    ...Yes, I know they are not actually saving and their contributions are redistributed to the elderly. ...

    This is another way of describing a ponzi scheme. If you have any mathematics at all, you know what happens to a monotonically increasing series - it tends to infinity. That is why ponzi schemes are illegal, they are guaranteed to reach a collapse point.

    So I agree with huangjin on this. They should have been abolished by someone with insight a long time ago. Currently they have put us on the hook for 54 trillion dollars in unfunded liabilities. What is going to happen when those liabilities aren't met? Will it be worse than what would have happened if all those people got to keep the ponzi payments they made to others and spent them in the economy?

    SS and medicare looked like they worked for a long time. But all they were doing was making the eventual collapse more severe. A ponzi scheme is a ponzi scheme, whether it is run by the government or a private entity. No net good can come of it.

    As far as people not taking responsibility for their lives, well, that is what they were promised; life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. And you exaggerate. Many people *do* think to the future, and *do* provide for themselves in old age. Under the current system, they pay not only for themselves, but for the irresponsible too. Kind of like the way the responsible are paying for the speculators in the mortgage meltdown with the federal bailouts. Of course, the death of SS and medicare would be the death of unbridled consumerism as well.

    If society wants these benefits, make it explicit. Put in place a death tax of 100% and use the proceeds to fund programs like social security and medicare. That fixes the level of funding. No ponzi scheme, no guarantees. Everyone knows that whatever they leave behind when they die goes to support other people at the end of their lives, and that the only support they can expect is what those who die leave behind.     Reply
  • commenter
    nukldrager
    Sep 15 12:21 PM
    Five Challenges Ahead as the Corporate Soup Lines Grow [view article]
    Matt, any news from the other side of the credit derivatives time machine. There has to be at least $300 trillion left in the forces pulling us towards the black hole you mentioned back in March.


    Reply
  • commenter
    xsuddensam
    Sep 15 11:52 AM
    The U.S. on the Precipice [view article]
    Jimbo:

    There's no difference between a Republican and a Democrat. They both spend what's not their's and they both enrich their friends in high places. The "two party" system is the all time great con game. Americans have swallowed it hook, line and sinker. Now we are choking on it.     Reply
  • commenter
    the gugg
    Sep 15 11:42 AM
    My Website
    The U.S. on the Precipice [view article]
    I wonder who is going to bail out the US Government.

    Our leadership is to close to the end of their lives to be making sound decisions for the greater good. Most of them are looking at the end game. Succession planning!!!     Reply
  • commenter
    Jimbo
    Sep 15 11:21 AM
    The U.S. on the Precipice [view article]
    Many of the responders to this post seem eager to blame all of this mess on "King George". You need to go back and read it again. Note carefully the names Raines, Gorelick, Dodd, and Frank. These folks are no fans of "King George" but will be tight with Obama! and his friends. Both political parties are deeply morally compromised. I have sadly concluded that Bush 41 and Bush 43 are both RINOS. Reply
  • commenter
    carey_jim
    Sep 15 11:18 AM
    The U.S. on the Precipice [view article]
    At least we can be thankful that the American political system is still in place. Unfortunately and ironically, however, it is one of the least democratic in the free world.

    Consider the electoral college: Instead of presidential candidates being elected by a majority, they are elected by majorities in contested states.

    That means that candidates completely ignore states where they are heavily favored to win or lose and in fact MUST concentrate all their efforts on states that are under contention. This impoverishes the political debate.

    Also, senators from Nevada, Wyoming, Vermont and other very sparsely populated states have disproportional power in the Senate, at least with their power to defeat bills that would help the majority of the population.

    When you add to these (and other antiquated aspects of the United States Constitution) the power of Corporate lobbyists over practical politics and elections, you get a knockout punch to the chin of the American electorate.

    That leaves the corporate plutocracy alone in the ring.

    The American population seems to be morally complicit in this takeover of everything by the plutocracy: For example, the idea of equality of opportunity as embodied in public education is jettisoned and our children dream instead of becoming famous actors, singers, athletes, financial moguls and not of becoming engineers, doctors and scientists. They all want to become part of the plutocracy and not rise in the world with hard work and idealism.

    We need to revive our civic spirit and stop thinking that good government is synonymous with socialism or we will lose it completely to the real threat: The octopus of corporate plutocratic socialism which is corporate America.     Reply
  • commenter
    nym
    Sep 15 11:13 AM
    The U.S. on the Precipice [view article]
    Brilliant summary and analysis: you have a start on your book. Keep writing - I hope you'll be able to keep up with events during the next few busy weeks, dare I say years. Reply
  • commenter
    paulk8756
    Sep 15 10:47 AM
    Go for the Gold [view article]
    What you're seeing is global DEFLATION, not inflation, my friend. And the time to invest will be when EVERYONE wants to sell, which is rapidly approaching as we speak. Just as it always is! Reply
  • commenter
    Virgilio
    Sep 15 10:28 AM
    The U.S. on the Precipice [view article]
    It is axiomatic, that an organization too big to fail, i.e., Frannie, has become too big to exist as it is. I'm amazed by a previous post that opines SS is mandatory for those who are too profligate to save for themselves but what has been set up, SS, probably won't be there when needed. And that's a good thing? Reply
  • commenter
    carey_jim
    Sep 15 10:26 AM
    Five Challenges Ahead as the Corporate Soup Lines Grow [view article]
    I hate black humor but it's hard to resist sometimes: Why not let Russia and China buy these threatened institutions?

    (It puts a little perspective into the interface between politics and economics.)     Reply
  • commenter
    User 218405
    Sep 15 10:25 AM
    Five Challenges Ahead as the Corporate Soup Lines Grow [view article]
    Matt, You are such a pessimist, Do you always look at the dark side of life. Howard Ruff predicted these same problems about 40 years ago and they never materalized. I guess you have to write about something to keep your job.
    Daniel Kowkabany     Reply
  • commenter
    Kelly
    Lieberman
    Sep 15 10:16 AM
    My Website
    The U.S. on the Precipice [view article]
    The dominos are falling, each one one gathering speed. Read your history books and prepare for the next few years of fallout.
    Prepare yourself because the writing is on the wall. Do not be duped into thinking the Fed will be bailing you out.
    What would you have done if you knew the Great Depression was coming in 6-12 months? How would you have positioned your family to survive it? You have the ability to make decisions now that can make yor life a little easier in the time to come. Get out there and get prepared or you will regret it.     Reply
  • commenter
    dlaw
    Sep 15 10:16 AM
    My Website
    Go for the Gold [view article]
    This is a FANTASTIC opportunity to short gold.

    I wish I had the money to do it.

    For obvious reasons, gold will follow oil lower because gold is a commodity. The spike in gold and the euro were excellent opportunities to get short again.

    Folks, you have to stop listening to the conventional wisdom on this stuff, because it has been wrong all along.     Reply
  • commenter
    notsosmart
    Sep 15 10:10 AM
    My Website
    The U.S. on the Precipice [view article]
    you get what you pay for.this guy was reelected.forget wall st.lets concentrate n abortion & creatianism.(also book banning).now thats important. Reply
Loading...
Symbols:
Authors:
Quick Links: