DISQUS

profmarcus · 1 year ago

i was in my hotel room here in kabul last evening watching cnn where paulson and bernanke were testifying before congress on the bailout... this was interspersed with stories about the big three automakers who were also scheduled to appear - with hat in hand... now, i don't know about you, but i've been watching our (taxpayers') money being handed out by the billions to banks, insurance companies, investment brokers and damn near everybody else that passes by, and i was sitting there trying to make sense out of why, fercryinoutloud, our super-rich elites, personified by paulson and bernanke, people who've been so free with our money up to now, were suddenly so hard over against helping detroit... then it dawned on me...

what sets detroit's situation apart from the banks, insurance companies, etc...? hmmmmmm...?? think about it... yep, that's right... unions AND a very large, blue-collar labor force... what is it that our elite, corporatist, super-rich overlords hate beyond almost everything else...? hmmmmmmm...? that's right... unions... who works for banks, insurance companies and investment brokers...? hmmmmmm...?? why, the super-rich power brokers, that's who... why would these people who are so busy feeding at the taxpayer trough pass up the chance to completely destroy the unions AND take out a large swath of the u.s. middle class in one fell swoop...? what a golden opportunity...!

don't get me wrong... i'm not favoring a detroit bailout... i'm just trying to understand an apparent contradiction... why is aig "too big to fail," but detroit, with almost three million jobs at stake, can be flushed down the toilet without a backward glance...?

just sayin'...

Older_Wiser · 1 year ago

Why bail out 3 million working people when you can funnel the cash to the Chosen? Paulson & Co knows Congress has noticed he grifted them on Wall St. There would be far too many restrictions on the $25 billion Big Auto wants...like paying it back, retooling for higher CAFE standards, negotiating in good fatith with unions, etc while cutting exec salaries, etc...

In addition, not bailing them out would erode the mfg base even more than it already has, contributing further to the deterioration of the US. No industrial base means no real foundation for this economy, as we've seen it erode over the last 25 years or so.

BarbaraGordon · 1 year ago

Cuomo did a very good job too on auction rate securities, when he made several of the major investment bank houses give back money to their customers who were duped into buying auction rate securities thinking they were as liquid as cash.

Soaplady57 · 1 year ago

I've read about Cuomo and applaud him for his actions against these companies and their CEO's! Now, what do we have to do? Write and bug our Congressmen so that MAYBE they will get the hint that they oughta do something themselves??? I've already written once, waiting for a response back but doubt if they will do anything at all!

anarchy · 1 year ago

Congress should bone up on the Constitution
and the Bill of Rights before they try and tax
their feeble little brains on anything tricky such
as economics 101.

"in a true democracy, people tend to get exactly
the sort of leadership they deserve"

lost_nacf_gop · 1 year ago

Perhaps Cuomo belongs on the short list to replace the "new" Secretary of State when her senate seat opens?

SouthernYankee · 1 year ago

Hell either Cuomo or even better to keep track would be Spitzer. He wasn't sent off to jail because he didn't use government money to play with the hooker. The republicans put the screws to him to get even. He would be great.