Do you get it now???

[BizWrangler]

Is it sinking in yet????? The three who brought down Wall Street. Here's a quick look into the three former Fannie Mae executives who brought down Wall Street. Franklin Raines was a Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at Fannie Mae. Raines was forced to retire from his position with Fannie Mae when auditing discovered severe irregularities in Fannie Mae's accounting activities. Raines left with a "golden parachute valued at $240 Million in benefits. The Government filed suit against Raines when the depth of the accounting scandal became clear. Tim Howard - was the Chief Financial Officer of Fannie Mae. Howard "was a strong internal proponent of using accounting strategies that would ensure a "stable pattern of earnings" at Fannie. Investigations by federal regulators and the company's board of directors since concluded that management did manipulate 1998 earnings to trigger bonuses. Raines and Howard resigned under pressure in late 2004. Howard's Golden Parachute was estimated at $20 Million! Jim Johnson - A former executive at Lehman Brothers and who was later forced from his position as Fannie Mae CEO. Investigators found that Fannie Mae had hidden a substantial amount of Johnson's 1998 compensation from the public, reporting that it was between $6 million and $7 million when it fact it was $21 million." Johnson is currently under investigation for taking illegal loans from Countrywide while serving as CEO of Fannie Mae. Johnson's Golden Parachute was estimated at $28 Million. WHERE ARE THEY NOW? FRANKLIN RAINES? Raines works for the Obama Campaign as his Chief Economic Advisor. TIM HOWARD? Howard is a Chief Economic Advisor to Obama under Franklin Raines. JIM JOHNSON? Johnson was hired as a Senior Obama Finance Advisor and was selected to run Obama's Vice Presidential Search Committee. Kinda makes you sick to your stomach. Obama's government seems to be rotten to the core!!!!

["Mad" Miles]

While I agree with the criticism that The Obamanator is in bed with finance capital and that leaders of that part of our economic sector bear great responsibility for the economic debacle we are living through/in. It's a bit of a reductive and totalizing overreach that those three individuals bear the key responsibility for the '08 Crisis. They, along with many others, were players in the game. The problem is systemic, not individual or elite group responsibility.

Here's a pretty good summary I just read:

https://dissidentvoice.org/2011/12/an-idiot’s-overview-of-why-western-capitalism-is-crashing/

An Idiot’s Overview of Why Western Capitalism Is Crashing

by Alan Hart / December 7th, 2011

The "idiot" referred to in the title, is the author, not you, the reader.

[rossmen]

this is propaganda, cut and paste talking points. wall street brought itself down because we let it. the news today is more meaningful than old bs. do you know whats happening? wall street will use money to frame the conversation every day. what does the financial industry put forth today? its really not that hard to figure out. bizwrangler, don't be a shill for the big fish who feed on the skool of humanity!

Is it sinking in yet????? The three who brought down Wall Street. Here's a quick look into the three former Fannie Mae executives who brought down Wall Street. Franklin Raines was a Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at Fannie Mae. Raines was forced to retire from his position with Fannie Mae when auditing discovered severe irregularities in Fannie Mae's accounting activities. Raines left with a "golden parachute valued at $240 Million in benefits. The Government filed suit against Raines when the depth of the accounting scandal became clear. Tim Howard - was the Chief Financial Officer of Fannie Mae. Howard "was a strong internal proponent of using accounting strategies that would ensure a "stable pattern of earnings" at Fannie. Investigations by federal regulators and the company's board of directors since concluded that management did manipulate 1998 earnings to trigger bonuses. Raines and Howard resigned under pressure in late 2004. Howard's Golden Parachute was estimated at $20 Million! Jim Johnson - A former executive at Lehman Brothers and who was later forced from his position as Fannie Mae CEO. Investigators found that Fannie Mae had hidden a substantial amount of Johnson's 1998 compensation from the public, reporting that it was between $6 million and $7 million when it fact it was $21 million." Johnson is currently under investigation for taking illegal loans from Countrywide while serving as CEO of Fannie Mae. Johnson's Golden Parachute was estimated at $28 Million. WHERE ARE THEY NOW? FRANKLIN RAINES? Raines works for the Obama Campaign as his Chief Economic Advisor. TIM HOWARD? Howard is a Chief Economic Advisor to Obama under Franklin Raines. JIM JOHNSON? Johnson was hired as a Senior Obama Finance Advisor and was selected to run Obama's Vice Presidential Search Committee. Kinda makes you sick to your stomach. Obama's government seems to be rotten to the core!!!!

[cotatikid]

The essay claims that when China stops buying the USA's debt, like Treasury Bonds, the American(US) way of life will end.

Actually, I believe, China has already ceased investing in the USA's debt, and has been actually divesting from what, by any rational measure, is a rapidly deteriorating situation over in the USA.

The treasury certainly doesn't require the Chinese to buy our bonds, notes and bills, the Fed, routinely now, practically gives vast sums to the huge banks, which turn the "cash" around and buy the USA's debt paper.

Simple!

There are, of course, many other investors in the USA's debt beside sovereign funds and the too-big-to-fail banks, both foreign and domestic entities, including different types of funds like pension funds, insurance companies, other government jurisdictions and private institutions, individuals and others "invest" in the USA's debt.

Sorta like a Ponzi scheme, except it isn't because it's OK according to the banks and the Guv mint, and almost everybody around the world is still very happy to get their hands on some USDollars, so far...

As the Euro quite possibly rides into the sunset, or wherever fiat currencies go to die...

[Peace Voyager]

this is propaganda, cut and paste talking points. wall street brought itself down because we let it. the news today is more meaningful than old bs. do you know whats happening? wall street will use money to frame the conversation every day. what does the financial industry put forth today? its really not that hard to figure out. bizwrangler, don't be a shill for the big fish who feed on the skool of humanity!

"We" let it? "We" do not write, or vote on the legislation which allowed it, and also failed to hold these guy accountable.

The buck, and responsibility, stops with the House and Senate; the President is a puppet, and sometimes a puppet master. I just watched "All the President's Men" again. All branches of federal investigations were being manipulated by the White House. My how things have not changed.

With so many elected officials guilty of: insider trading, graft, affairs, and paying for prostitutes for themselves and others, and continue to be guilty of treason for the illegal use of our military for undeclared, strike first "wars"; there's only about 1% of them whose conduct is ethical.

Only when the Occupy movement gets it they have to "get political" and be involved in elections, will there ever be a means to manifest the required changes.

Colleen Fernald

California's Constitutional Candidate for PEACE!
UNITED States Senate
2012 Democratic Primary

www.campaignforpeace.org

[rossmen]

ahh the universal we, yes i do believe in democracy, american style, though i also believe there are more democratic forms of representative elected government. i take your point as that our form is fundamentally influenced and manipulated by monied interests.

the crux then is how is this manipulation accomplished? is the most important aspect the general citizens understanding of how things work? ie does voting matter? what is our responsibility in accepting loans?

you seem to have hope in our democratic system and occupy energy, and you are running for the senate. what would you do with government subsidy of homeowner mortgages? this definitly contributed to the housing bubble and finance industry chaos, even if bizwrangler has it wrong.

"We" let it? "We" do not write, or vote on the legislation which allowed it, and also failed to hold these guy accountable.

The buck, and responsibility, stops with the House and Senate; the President is a puppet, and sometimes a puppet master. I just watched "All the President's Men" again. All branches of federal investigations were being manipulated by the White House. My how things have not changed.

With so many elected officials guilty of: insider trading, graft, affairs, and paying for prostitutes for themselves and others, and continue to be guilty of treason for the illegal use of our military for undeclared, strike first "wars"; there's only about 1% of them whose conduct is ethical.

Only when the Occupy movement gets it they have to "get political" and be involved in elections, will there ever be a means to manifest the required changes.

Colleen Fernald

California's Constitutional Candidate for PEACE!
UNITED States Senate
2012 Democratic Primary

www.campaignforpeace.org