patrick.net

Oh and it is startlingly clear why various big bank executives got gigantic bonuses after the bailouts. It was precisely because of their exemplary performance; they were running the companies into the ground for astronomical short-term profits, and then managed to fleece the tax payers to cover all of their losses, and keep the companies going when they should have been selling office furniture to try to cover the losses in bankruptcy. When they say that they need to pay bonuses like that to retain talent, they mean it. A lot of people misinterpret the word "talent" though. The talent that they refer to is the ability to off-load gambling losses onto the government and general public while keeping the ill-gotten winnings from these activities in the hands of the bank. People are not even 10% as pissed as they should be about the bonuses that these criminals were given. These fucking criminal psychopaths were rewarded with more money than you or I will ever see in our lives for putting a gun to the heads of retirees and pension fund managers to force Uncle Sam to give them unimaginable sums of money to cover their idiocy.

I am not kidding when I call them psychopaths. Their behavior and attitudes are entirely consistent with the definition of that word. Just because they aren't rapists or serial doesn't mean that they can't fall under that label. In fact, the damage these reprobates have done goes well beyond anything a rapist or serial killer could ever dream of accomplishing. Al Qaeda is nothing more than a fly on the wall next to them.

Sorry about the negativity. It is just mind blowing how badly America has fallen, and how this sort of heist can occur without any real notice or response by anyone.

bmwman91 says

The biggest offenders though, look to be AIG and Goldman-Sachs, to the point that the crimes of the other groups are almost immaterial until the two major offenders have been dealt with.

I like Taibbi even though he is a bit over the top. The biggest offenders are the bought and paid for politicians on both sides of the isle that allowed this to happen. Big business has proved time and time again that they must be watched like a hawk, despite the piteous bleatings of the libertarian set. Not managed, just made to operate in a fair and honest manner. I've always suspected that Reagan killing the high marginal tax rates led to a tidal wave of dishonesty and greed. It became much more worthwhile it to cheat lie and steal.

I'll definitely agree that Taibbi has a bit of a gonzo writing style. It is entertaining at least.

Yes, the politicians certainly did a great deal of enabling. Taibi lays most of the blame on Greenspan ("The Biggest Asshole In The Universe"), who was a pseudo-politician. The problems we have come down from the highest, most powerful corners of business & government, for sure.

bmwman91 says

Taibi lays most of the blame on Greenspan ("The Biggest Asshole In The Universe"), who was a pseudo-politician.

Greenspan was never a politician of any sort.

He considered himself a "mole" for Ayn Rand.

The gnome destined to impress "Mom" and reshape the American economy by her lights. Without of course being open about it, because he considered himself a "double-naught spy" and the Peepul couldn't handle his truth.

And his game worked so well, it infected the Clinton administration and quite of lot Democrats since then. To this day, most of them worship corporations and financial people and think we should let them run everything.

Thanks for reminding me about this book I bought it, and it's sitting in my "to read" pile for a while now.

It is a pretty good read, depending on your tastes. If you have read, and enjoyed, Hells Angels and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, then you will enjoy this. If you dislike profanity and witty cynicism, you probably won't get past page 5. If you do like that stuff, but consider yourself a dyed-in-the-wool Tea Partier, just push through chapter 1 & it's fine after that. He DOES bag on mindless progressives almost as much he does on mindless conservatives.