AMERICAblog: Should we prosecute those who caused this economic problem?
blackwolf
· 1 year ago
Yes, they should be punished. I hope world leaders affected by this point the finger. Only problem, no one here in the states wants to really see anyone punished, because they're all involved in some way or other.
Rab
· 1 year ago
Yes they should.
Soundboy_jeff_meanie
· 1 year ago
Should we prosecute those who caused this economic problem? ---
you mean phil gramm and the deregulation crowd?
other than the people who PUSHED and paid HUGE bonuses to mortgage brokers for quantities of loans (instead of quality of applicants)... who did anything illegal?
give them a way to make a buck, they will... future be damned.
Indigo
· 1 year ago
Not only is Sarkozy not wrong, he's totally safe to say that from Paris, snug in his role as the conservative womanizer that has all Europe gaga. Even a broken clock is right twice a day.
Soundboy_jeff_meanie
· 1 year ago
the question is... how much money is Sarkozy putting up to help out France's part of this economic disaster?
nicho
· 1 year ago
I think it's more a case of "People you like aren't always right and people you don't like aren't always wrong."
gwpriester
· 1 year ago
Hell yes!
But we won't. We'll give them huge bonuses instead.
microdot
· 1 year ago
Yikes, Sarkozy...when he was finance minister he tried and succeeded in introducing American style banking deregulation and creative loan financing. It's not his fault that the French banks suffered relatively little from this debacle.
And, what award was the little hyper President recieving in New York? The Elie Weisel Foundation Award....I guess his efforts to identify citizens by DNA tracking and break up families by deporting them were finally appreciated by someone....
tlsintx
· 1 year ago
have we talked about this today...the White House had a bailout plan in the works already...just in case...and look who benefits most...
.....testifying before congress today, Hank Paulson repeatedly lied, saying he welcomes oversight of his proposed bailout
This is transparently false. His proposal wasn’t silent on the issue of oversight.......Rather, it included a provision that specifically precluded oversight from happening:
Section 8. Review: Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to the authority of this Act are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency.
Yea and don't send them to a white collar prison with conjugal visitsas. Send them where they will be some big bad biker's bitch. They raped the public and they deserve to be rapped in return. And their wives should't be allowed to continue living like queens. They can work 3 jobs like the po folk work.
grandma
· 1 year ago
Absolutely they should be prosecuted...they knew about this for months:
Emergency? White House admits to planning bailout for MONTHS.
[White House Deputy Press Secretary Tony Fratto insisted that the plan was not slapped together and had been drawn up as a contingency over previous months and weeks by administration officials. He acknowledged lawmakers were getting only days to peruse it, but he said this should be enough.
When is this crooked Administration going to be held accountable....they've been planning the bailout for months and now act as if they didn't know it could happen.
Just like they didn't know 911 was coming.............bull.
And Katrina....Bush said 'no one could have predicted the levees breaking'....
They are crooks and liars.....and when confronted with their lies they tell more lies. Sickening.
nkd
· 1 year ago
Yes, I believe there should be prosecutions, but I don't think it will ever happen. This may sound too conspiratorial but I have been thinking that this whole meltdown was supposed to happen in January.
Also, wasn't it Reagan who said about entitlement programs that you should "Starve the beast." Isn't this a grand way for Bush to leave a lasting mark. By starving the beast.
PhoenixB
· 1 year ago
Yes!
tlsintx
· 1 year ago
OT- but this ass should be prosecuted too...limbaugh is inciting his skittish white listeners, calling Obama an "Arab-African"...good lord.
These are the same people along with the Republicans and Blue Dog Dems who voted down the extension of unemployment for 6 weeks because it smacked of socialism. Let's revisit these ass blankets. I say not a dime without a complete audit of their books. A complete understanding of the people who changed the rules to allow the companies to take on these risky debts and a list of everyone who has bailed on their mortgage, student loan, car loan, etc. that have not been paid. Everyone pays here and no one walks away without some continued committement to pay their debt.
jimfromthefoothills
· 1 year ago
yep
martha
· 1 year ago
Speaking of despicable, evil people - I just saw a video on MSNBC of Hillary on Morning Joe. MIka asked her if Palin was qualified to be pres and she said "noone votes for VP" blah blah blah, totally sidestapping the very crucial question. I can't believe a few months ago I was so happy because we had Obama and Hillary ,and I would be so happy with either as our nominee. I totally defended Bill through all his problems and he goes on every show praising Palin. God, I was so stupid. They only care about themselves - they don't care about our country. So many people, the people here at Americablog, the people fighting in Irag, they really care, but the Clintons - not so much.
red_dwarf
· 1 year ago
Hillary has her eyes set on 2012. She knows something we don't. These days, who in the hell knows? Flip a coin.
When was the last time you saw Willard or Hill on the stump? I haven't seen either one in months.
martha
· 1 year ago
You rest my case. In 2012, if McCain wins the 2008 election, our country will be destoyed - Hillary and Bill will be blamed for their lack of endorsement of Obama. Neither will have any legacy. The John Adams HBO show got several emmys last night. It was a riveting, inspiring story because it was about someone who didn't always get the GLORY (like the Clintons want) but was such a patriot.
lucky hussein
· 1 year ago
john adams was not a very nice guy, I believe he was always at odds with jefferson. adams never trusted the people, jefferson did. I believe the book that program was based on was untrue. tomm hartmann has talked about this a bunch..
martha
· 1 year ago
Yes, I understand what you are saying. Jefferson was a much smarter, better person than Adams. I love Jefferson. But, I think Adams sacrficed alot for his country. The Clintons are not as smart or as good as Obama, and unlike Adams they won't sacrifice, for the good of the country.
lucky hussein
· 1 year ago
yeah, I agree. bill did some good, and was better than having the right-wingers in control, but did many wrong things and I just think of them both as mainly ego-driven, neo-liberal, triangulating opportunists. But, what was done to 'get bill clinton' was so unbelievably wrong..
Yes, yes we should. Start with Bush and Phil Graham
jimfromthefoothills
· 1 year ago
took you long enough CIP. Hell yes.
DAB
· 1 year ago
Me, I would settle for impeachment and let shareholder suits take care of the prosecution.
nicho
· 1 year ago
Why do you think they've packed the courts with corporate lobbyist judges?
RevDrBillyBob
· 1 year ago
Don't worry . . . Pelosi and Reid and the other Wimpocrats will shortly declare that such prosecutions are "off the table".
MNUSA
· 1 year ago
Please, don't remind us.
Webster
· 1 year ago
"Should we prosecute those who caused this economic problem?"
I love rhetorical questions.
Marshall Y.
· 1 year ago
Hard to believe that I actually agree with Sarko on something. I'm guessing this is just political maneuvering on his part though, since everybody wants to see these guys tarred and feathered.
MNUSA
· 1 year ago
Absolutely someone should be prosecuted. Were these organizations ever audited? Was there "creative accounting" going on? Were shareholders aware of the tenuous situation? What else don't we know about?
red_dwarf
· 1 year ago
Last I heard rePIGs were above the Law. Just ask Nancy.
Here's a question: If we pay these thugs 1 trillion dollars, does that mean when debts are finally paid in the future that the rat bastards will get double payments? Like insurance companies? Just curious.
nicho
· 1 year ago
Well, Sarkozy won't be invited to next year's weenie roast in Kennebunkport.
hawkseye
· 1 year ago
Hang 'em high, if you can catch them before they get to Dubai.
red_dwarf
· 1 year ago
..or Paraguay.
jebauer
· 1 year ago
Prosecution won't come in the form of fines or jail time, but rather in the form of the world saying enough is enough. The U.S. can no longer be trusted unless there's a gigantic change in our accountability, and since that's unlikely, the rest of the world will learn from our mistakes and proceed without us.
MNUSA
· 1 year ago
So what happens if the bailout is voted down? These are the same guys who scream bloody murder when someone brings up universal health care or other pro-family policies like paid maternity leave, living wages, affordable day care and pay equity. These are the guys who fund the "Chamber of Commerce" so they can run anti-Democratic ads during elections. These are the guys who form anti-tax groups because they think they shouldn't have to pay taxes on their outsized, obscene salaries. I have no mercy - my 401K hasn't done anything anyway since Bush was elected.
KISSman
· 1 year ago
Maybe. I'm FAR from any economic genius so I really don't know for sure, but I think it probably should be on a person to person or company to company basis if we can prove that they did things knowing that what they were doing were leading us down this road.
All I know is that if we are going to bail these bastards out with all this free tax-payer money, we should impose rules/caps on how much the executives can make in those companies who will be getting the handout. They most certainly should have to feel some of the pain that we are feeling due to their practices/mistakes.
jebauer
· 1 year ago
FBI investigating companies at heart of meltdown
By LARA JAKES JORDAN, Associated Press Writer Lara Jakes Jordan, Associated Press Writer – 33 mins ago
WASHINGTON – The FBI is investigating four major U.S. financial institutions whose collapse helped trigger a $700 billion bailout plan by the Bush administration.
Two law enforcement officials said the FBI is looking at potential fraud by mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., and insurer American International Group Inc.
A senior law enforcement official says the inquiries, still in preliminary stages, will focus on the financial institutions and the individuals that ran them.
Officials say the new inquiries brings the number of corporate lenders under investigation over the last year to 26.
scottinsf
· 1 year ago
I think that most of the Bush administration should be prosecuted for allowing this banking crisis to almost (and possibly still might) destroy our free market economy to the point that the national security of this country is threatened.
lilybart
· 1 year ago
YES. I have been trying to educate myself in derivitive swaps and my brain freezes because it is so WRONG to risk actual people's money on dividing and repackaging debt and selling risk for high profit. The problem is that the merging of banks and investment banks. If only the traders at Lehman went bust, so what? I don't know what I mean I am just so angry about all this crap. I don't see the end of this ponzi scheme and I bet they didn't know what that might be either but they kept repackaging and selling risk until at the end, the taxpayer was all that was left.
BillP
· 1 year ago
We should only prosecute if there is clear evidence of a crime,
For the pure greedheads, just sue them and claim all of their assets. Let the stockholders in the companies run by idiots sue those idiots and run them out of town broke. Absolutely no bonuses to any CEO who has to be bailed out. Sorry, and you also lose your shirt. I MEAN IT, GIMME YOUR SHIRT NOW!
BP
ShirleyGoodnessanMercy
· 1 year ago
Should we prosecute those who caused this economic problem? HELL YEAH!
lucky hussein
· 1 year ago
we need to roll in prosecutions of rubin and summers and clinton, for thier lobbying and approval of the final bill that finally removed glass-steagal. thier lobbying I believe is what convinced blue dogs and untilmately 2/3 of dems to jump abord after fighting riech-wing efforts for 20 yrs (according to pbs) to repeal it .
we have major systemic problems in our politics, mostly focused around money corruption. we need to eliminate $ from the equation and we'll be amazed how sweet it can be...
Andyz
· 1 year ago
They need to be prosecuted, found guilty and hung for treason in lower Manhattan by a noose made of solid gold Rolex watch bands.
SouthernYankee
· 1 year ago
Well yes they should be. They should start at the top with Bush/Cheney. No one for this administration has been accountable for anything not anything. They should be punished and thrown in jail. Shame on these people. They steel 2 elections and maybe are trying for the next one and we know for a fact that they are messing with election machines and the democratics are seating on their asses and doing nothing. I am pissed at all of them. They have let the american people down big time.
tbhull
· 1 year ago
If there is anything left of their carcass after and angry mob disembowels them.
TXfemmom
· 1 year ago
Perhaps, they would prefer to go to jail rather than to face the fate of the CEO in India who was hacked to death by workers he had fired. Let me see, go to jail, or get hacked to death, and not with a computer? I think they would select jail.
Personally, I think that the carcass situation is somewhat more appealing.
PJT
· 1 year ago
Yes.
Next question?
Bubbles
· 1 year ago
What laws did these people break?
If they broke laws, yes. If they were only grossly immoral, or grossely wreckless with their charges, then maybe - but probalby only liable in Torts not criminal law.
Otherwise, if what they did is perfectly legal, I don't see how you can presecute them for anything.
All Comments
---
you mean phil gramm and the deregulation crowd?
other than the people who PUSHED and paid HUGE bonuses to mortgage brokers for quantities of loans (instead of quality of applicants)... who did anything illegal?
give them a way to make a buck, they will... future be damned.
But we won't. We'll give them huge bonuses instead.
It's not his fault that the French banks suffered relatively little from this debacle.
And, what award was the little hyper President recieving in New York?
The Elie Weisel Foundation Award....I guess his efforts to identify citizens by DNA tracking and break up families by deporting them were finally appreciated by someone....
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/9/23/124...
.....testifying before congress today, Hank Paulson repeatedly lied, saying he welcomes oversight of his proposed bailout
This is transparently false. His proposal wasn’t silent on the issue of oversight.......Rather, it included a provision that specifically precluded oversight from happening:
Section 8. Review: Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to the authority of this Act are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency.
http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/archives/2008...
http://openleft.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=8451
Emergency? White House admits to planning bailout for MONTHS.
[White House Deputy Press Secretary Tony Fratto insisted that the plan was not slapped together and had been drawn up as a contingency over previous months and weeks by administration officials. He acknowledged lawmakers were getting only days to peruse it, but he said this should be enough.
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/9/23/124...
When is this crooked Administration going to be held accountable....they've been planning the bailout for months and now act as if they didn't know it could happen.
Just like they didn't know 911 was coming.............bull.
And Katrina....Bush said 'no one could have predicted the levees breaking'....
They are crooks and liars.....and when confronted with their lies they tell more lies.
Sickening.
Also, wasn't it Reagan who said about entitlement programs that you should "Starve the beast." Isn't this a grand way for Bush to leave a lasting mark. By starving the beast.
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/09/23/limbaugh-ob...
When was the last time you saw Willard or Hill on the stump? I haven't seen either one in months.
I didn't know bill actually praised palin..
http://www.traveljournals.net/pictures/l/12/124...
I love rhetorical questions.
Here's a question: If we pay these thugs 1 trillion dollars, does that mean when debts are finally paid in the future that the rat bastards will get double payments? Like insurance companies? Just curious.
All I know is that if we are going to bail these bastards out with all this free tax-payer money, we should impose rules/caps on how much the executives can make in those companies who will be getting the handout. They most certainly should have to feel some of the pain that we are feeling due to their practices/mistakes.
By LARA JAKES JORDAN, Associated Press Writer Lara Jakes Jordan, Associated Press Writer – 33 mins ago
WASHINGTON – The FBI is investigating four major U.S. financial institutions whose collapse helped trigger a $700 billion bailout plan by the Bush administration.
Two law enforcement officials said the FBI is looking at potential fraud by mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., and insurer American International Group Inc.
A senior law enforcement official says the inquiries, still in preliminary stages, will focus on the financial institutions and the individuals that ran them.
Officials say the new inquiries brings the number of corporate lenders under investigation over the last year to 26.
For the pure greedheads, just sue them and claim all of their assets. Let the stockholders in the companies run by idiots sue those idiots and run them out of town broke. Absolutely no bonuses to any CEO who has to be bailed out. Sorry, and you also lose your shirt. I MEAN IT, GIMME YOUR SHIRT NOW!
BP
we have major systemic problems in our politics, mostly focused around money corruption. we need to eliminate $ from the equation and we'll be amazed how sweet it can be...
Personally, I think that the carcass situation is somewhat more appealing.
Next question?
If they broke laws, yes. If they were only grossly immoral, or grossely wreckless with their charges, then maybe - but probalby only liable in Torts not criminal law.
Otherwise, if what they did is perfectly legal, I don't see how you can presecute them for anything.