Trent Tucker

AIG Now Fed's Vehicle for Buying Toxic Assets

Gents, There is a great release in liquor and poetic levity.
You rogues, you rascals, you Wall Street Dancers
2005 was alive with jive
and 2006 was all high kicks
2007 was feeling just great
turned out it was bait
for what came in 08
So we voted for the line
that leads to 09
So what say in 010
don’t refinance again
Because in 2011
It has to be heaven
As much as I’ve delved
Nothing else rhymes with 2012

To sum up 2008, let a banker write a bad poem and no one cares. Let a poet write a bad check, big difference. Or maybe Richard Armour described it better, “That money talks I’ll not deny. I heard it once it said goodbye.” Eighteen months at most, probably less, and gents, Wall Street will be financing the purchase of what they just bankrupted and the Dow will be climbing to 14,000. The free market relies on victors not victims. Government relies on victims and distorted policies create opportunities for speculation. Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae were distortions which melted down because it attracted speculators who did a 1035 rather than pay capital gains tax till there was no 1035 escape left. Meltdown, fiscal fission. Eliminate capital gains tax and profit would have been taken ages ago rather than a 1035 escape to nowhere. Wall Street got involved for the reasons I cover in Wall Street Dancers. The free market works when it is fairly regulated, not rigged as it just was. Ever heard of Glass Steagall? It was Repealed 1999 and written in 1933. It was a firewall that worked for 70 years in preventing what just happened. Wonder why it was repealed? And no one knows the difference between capitalism and a centrally controlled and distorted economy better than the Poles. Abandoned to Stalin at the beginning of the cold war they cynically summed it up the best, “Under capitalism man exploits man. Under Socialism the reverse is true.”-author unknown. The Poles got Stalin, we picked a new president. We got the lesser of the two distortions.
I’ll take it. For the time being, rebalance your portfolio (or what is left of it if you didn’t get out of the way of this meltdown) to reflect the present and please, try to find something that rhymes with 2012.
Trent Tucker
author Wall Street Dancers

Finally, Some Disclosure from Companies That Received Bailout Funds

We may be in a recession but we are still in posession of our faculties. So why so many sane people in a recession? It is a pattern of human excess meeting opportunity and now that 100% mortgages and a credit score system that is easily rigged to allow real estate speculation by anyone with a credit score above 700 has melted down the entire global economy, does anyone want to contest the ripple effect often mentioned by, I hate to say this, Reagan. Remember, a rising tide floats all boats? It works in reverse as well. Given chance and opportunity any sane person takes a shot at getting rich. The rules and regs of real estate and mortgage law were altered to allow for that. (100% financing, no down payment, basically the same structure Wall Street uses when it speculates with other peoples money) So many people to take a chance. Main Street has come to Wall Street.. Housing was turned into real estate gambling and what is a true gamblers only discipline? No more money, a recession. Real estate law was altered to allow access to housing for people who previously could not qualify but they didn’t cause this. The speculators who figured out quickly how to gin the mortgage apps. and gambled on rising housing prices with multiple acquisitions caused this . Wall Street joined because they were searching for a new investment world. You see, they have been steadily losing their client base. The larger firms have been losing 15% of their client base annually for years. Previously marketing was able to replace them. The internet changed all that. Enter collateralized mortgages(The Glass Steagall act had to be repealed to allow Wall Street access to mortgages. That happened in 1999). And it just so happened the banks have been exploiting their clients for years with 20% and higher credit card interest rates (be late or have a credit score change and you saw over 30%) and it has now all caught up. A meltdown, fiscal fission, but where did it begin? The rules were changed, (Actually it began when the brokerage firms began exploiting their clients to such extent they could no longer replace their dwindling client base and they had to search for happier hunting grounds) and who makes the rules? There is hardly a recession or depression not caused by government intervention of some kind, Almost every monetary depression or recession of consequence found it origins in the failure of governmental judgement. Or was it a faillure of judgement. Maybe it was a cozy alliance of influence, lobbyist, powerbrokers, whatever you care to call them, I prefer money launderers which actually implemented the changes to benefit the few at the expense of many.. However, change the rules, and the law of unintended consequences comes into play and now the financial industry is melting down as a result of the very changes it lobbied for.(Remember Glass Steagall, repealed 1999 and. written in 1933 to prevent what just happened. Gee, it's worked for 70 years,let's repeal it.). No matter what system of government it is, there has to be the opportunity So, again, where did it begin? Basically in in the backrooms of your, excuse me our, congressmans office as the paid lobbyist of the largest financial firms exerted their influence. to create opportunity where previously there had been none.And why? Because they served their clients so poorly and exploited them so completely they were fleeing the financial firms and the firms were forced to explore other happpier hunting grounds. And don't blame their financial consultants. Management at the firms created this, the brokers just tried to survive it. The brokers are going independent now. They are fleeing the firms as well... When the easter block was abondoned to Stalin the Polish summed it the best, “Under capitalism man exploits man. Under socialism the reverse is true.”-Polish proverb author unknown. Make me believe the Poles know what the definition of is, is Also makes me wonder who their broker was..
Trent Tucker
author Wall Street Dancers
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