henarl

The Virtue of the Republic

excellent article. Superb rhetoric and unassailable logic.

Liddy on AIG Payouts: 'The Fed Made Us Do It'

Respirate:

In the eyes of an even handed justice system, social and psychological pain is not sufficient punishment. But, as you say, even that slap on the wrist wont happen. Justice is indeed blind.

Liddy on AIG Payouts: 'The Fed Made Us Do It'

While there is no doubt about what happened and who benefitted at the taxpayers expense thru the actions of Paulson & buddies, the question remains as to whether this kind of self serving collusion by a government official is illegal and, therefore, punishable in a criminal action. Or, is it really the case that certain rich, powerful, and well connected people are really above the laws that the rest of us are subject to. Sadly, that does seem to be the case here.

Moral Hazard, Time Inconsistency and 'Too Big to Fail'

Moral Hazard? Actually, morality has absolutely nothing to do with the decisions of bankers, brokers, insurance companies, the government or the Fed. Those decisions are based on greed and the retention of power, not morality.

David Merkel's Exceptional Research on AIG

"We taxpayers are now all investors in this company."

Sadly that's true and unfortunately we are unable to sell this losing investment.

Seething Over Liddy's AIG-Goldman Connection

Isn't damned near EVERBODY in the Fed and Treasury connected somehow to Goldman? Goldman, and their past executives, will always get preferential government treatment. Corruption rules!

Bail Out for Dummies - Part I

It's not so much a case of too big to fail as it is too connected to fail. These big financial entities have been buying protection for years with campaign contributions and lobbyist handouts and have infiltrated the Fed, Treasury, SEC, FDIC, etc. with previous Wall St. executives. The financial industry IS the government.

It's the Politicians, Not the Public

The current "war on deflation" kind of reminds me of "the war on poverty", "the war on drugs", and "the war on terrorism". These are all just government constructs to excuse a further power grab over the general population. They never really expect to win any of these "wars" but, hopefully, to continue profiting from them forever.

AIG Bailout Exceeds Value of Fort Knox Gold

As to AIG, nullify all naked CDS contracts, return the premiums to the buyers, and liquidate AIG.

AIG Bailout Exceeds Value of Fort Knox Gold

The only real pupose of the gold in Ft Knox is to enhance the credibility of the U.S. government to the rest of the world and to it's own citizens. Gold or no gold, that credibility has been in a downward spiral ever since the end of WWII. Refusal to allow independent verification just tends to accelerate that loss of credibility.

Don't Ban Naked Credit Default Swaps if the Law Can't Be Enforced

There are better and more straightforward ways to hedge positions than using CDSs to cover indirectly connected exposures. Not all derivatives should be legal just because there is someone that wants to use them.

Seven Uncomfortable Predictions for the Economy

Bagman: Unfortunately moving to Canada, Costa Rica, etc. will not help in escaping the current malaise. Corruption and avarice is not just endemic to individual countries but rather endemic to the human race. Your passport is not a ticket to utopia.

Don't Ban Naked Credit Default Swaps if the Law Can't Be Enforced

Why is it that you cannot buy a fire insurance policy (or several policies) on your neighbors house and then sell them to one or more third parties so that several people end up having policies on that house that add up to several times the house's value? Maybe because it would encourage arson.
Why is it that an insurance company is limited by their capitalization as to how many dollars of insurance they can sell and hold? Maybe so they will be able to pay claims in the event of a loss.
What if you go to a casino and make a big bet on a footbal game and then go try to fix the game? You go to jail if you get caught. How is that different than buying a bunch of CDSs and then short selling the underlying assets?
Naked CDSs should be illegal.

Wall Street Breakfast: Must-Know News

Or line the bird cage.

New Bailout Packages an End-Run Around Congress

This is an issue of whose will and agenda should be paramount in our country; A small ruling clique of administrative appointees and bureaucrats or the democratically elected representatives of the people (Congress). Whereas Congress is always reactively blowing in the wind and is mostly ineffective at quickly solving problems, conceding all powers to the executive branch, in the name of expediency, is moving away from democracy and towards dictatorship.