Once bankers and doctors actually knew whom they were serving- that age has passed. Plus the borrower/patient has some share of this mess which you fail to address.
On Oct 14, 12:42 am, "\"Lone Wolf\"" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Banks dictate conditions of US financial bailout > By Alex Lantier > 14 October 2008 > > The 936 point rise on the US stock market yesterday was the American > ruling elite’s initial verdict on the extraordinarily favorable terms > the government is granting to financial firms in the $700 billion > bailout passed by Congress on October 3. Far from heralding improving > economic conditions for working people, the Wall Street surge reflects > the financial establishment’s success in extorting massive sums of > money from taxpayers. > > Several factors played important roles in the market’s rise. A > technical correction was likely after the massive falls of last week, > when the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 2,236 points, or 21.33 > percent, to 8451.19. The announcement of bank bailouts in Europe > totaling trillions of dollars—under conditions where national > governments are competing to rescue their respective banks—contributed > to expectations that Washington would continue to bail out its own > banks. Another major factor was undoubtedly a series of announcements > by US officials underscoring that US banks would essentially dictate > the terms of the bailout. > > Late yesterday morning, news broke that the CEOs of the largest US > banks would meet with US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, the former > CEO of Goldman Sachs, to discuss the terms of the bailout. The Wall > Street Journal wrote, “Expected to attend were banking executives > including Ken Lewis, CEO of Bank of America; Jamie Dimon, CEO of > JPMorgan Chase; Lloyd Blankfein, CEO of Goldman Sachs Group; John > Mack, CEO of Morgan Stanley; and Robert P. Kelly, CEO of Bank of New > York Mellon.” > > A Treasury spokeswoman said, “Treasury and [the Federal Reserve] are > meeting today with leading financial market participants to finalize > details on a financial market stabilization initiative.” The Journal > wrote, “One person familiar with the matter said Mr. Paulson is > expected to discuss details of his new plan to take equity stakes in > financial firms, among other points.” > > The meeting’s roster underscores the social character of the bailout. > A handful of current and former top banking executives gathered for a > meeting, publicly announced a few hours before it took place and > closed to the public, to discuss the conditions under which they will > receive hundreds of billions of dollars in public funds. The fact > that, in a healthier political climate, these executives would face > investigation and prosecution for overseeing the predatory lending > practices that led to the housing and credit crises was simply > ignored. > > In this meeting of the godfathers of American finance, no one was > present who represented the overwhelming majority of the American > population. Indeed, the participants live in a world of wealth and > power that has no resemblance to the existence of ordinary working > people. > > One could start with Paulson himself, whose former bank stands to > benefit handsomely from the bailout which he has authored. While at > Goldman Sachs, Paulson amassed a personal fortune of $700 million. > > The list continues: > > According to Forbes magazine, Ken Lewis last year brought in a salary > of $20.13 million, and his holdings of Bank of America stock are worth > an estimated $112 million. > > Jamie Dimon received a 2007 Christmas bonus of $14.5 million and holds > $190 million in JPMorgan stock. > > Lloyd Blankfein received a Christmas bonus of $68 million and his > holdings of Goldman Sachs stock were worth $414.5 million last year. > > Vikram Pandit received a $165 million signing bonus from Citigroup > last year, together with a $2.7 million salary for a few months of > work and $48 million in stock options. > > John Mack received $41.8 million in compensation last year, and his > 2007 holdings in Morgan Stanley stock were worth $220 million. > > These firms’ stock, and particularly that of Goldman Sachs and Morgan > Stanley, rose rapidly on news of the meeting with Paulson. Goldman > stock rose 25 percent to $111 a share, and Morgan Stanley stock rose > 87 percent to $18.10 per share. > > Other financial stocks also rose significantly. Citigroup rose 13.25 > percent to $15.98, Bank of New York Mellon rose 15.77 percent to > $30.68, and Bank of America rose 9.2 percent to $22.79. JPMorgan stock > fell in initial trading on fears of further write-downs, but after the > meeting announcement it rose from just over $40 per share to close at > $41.64. > > Neel Kashkari, the assistant secretary of the treasury and ex-Goldman > Sachs executive who is overseeing the $700 billion bailout, confirmed > in a speech yesterday that his goal—in purchasing both equity (shares > of stock) and assets of financial corporations—is to concentrate money > in the hands of the biggest banks. > > Kashkari told a Washington DC meeting of the Institute of > International Bankers: “We are designing a standardized program to > purchase equity in a broad array of financial institutions. As with > the other programs [in the bailout], the equity purchase program will > be voluntary and designed with attractive terms to encourage > participation from healthy institutions.” > > This emphasis on bailing out supposedly “healthy” banks reflects the > increasingly shaky position of many of the major banks. They are > jockeying for influence over the government handouts that will > determine which banks profit, which suffer, and which close. > > Writing 125 years ago in the third volume of his masterwork, Capital, > Marx noted, “So long as things go well, competition affects an > operating fraternity of the capitalist class... But as soon as it is > no longer a question of sharing profits, but of sharing losses, > everyone tries to reduce his own share to a minimum and to shove it > off upon another. The class, as such, must inevitably lose. How much > the individual capitalist must bear of the loss, i.e., to what extent > he must share it at all, is decided by strength and cunning, and > competition then becomes a fight among hostile brothers. The > antagonism between each individual capitalist’s interests and those of > the capitalist class as a whole then comes to the surface...” > > This anti-social struggle between the various factions of the > bourgeoisie is expressed in the secretive and exclusive character of > the planning of the bailout. > > The Treasury has set up the bailout’s asset purchases—which are to be > carried out by private firms—so that only the largest companies will > be able to participate and rake in the lucrative fees the government > will pay out. Kashkari said: “Our initial procurements set high > capability standards: for example, securities asset managers had to > have at least $100 billion of dollar-denominated fixed-income assets > under management. This is critical given the magnitude of the program— > up to $700 billion. Treasury believes it would not be fiscally prudent > to ask a firm that only had experience managing only a few billion to > manage $100 billion.” > > The Treasury is reserving the other roles in the bailout for an elite > group of financial and legal firms. Kashkari stated that the Treasury > Department had considered only three candidates for the role of > “master custodian firm,” whose function, according to Kashkari, would > be to “hold and track the assets we purchase as well as run and report > on the auctions we use to buy the assets.” The Treasury also contacted > six law firms as potential consultants on the bailout’s stock-purchase > program. Kashkari added, “We received two proposals, and selected [top > New York law firm] Simpson Thatcher [& Bartlett] on Friday.” > > The result of this bailout—a major consolidation and restructuring of > the US banking industry—will be quite harmful to the interests of the > population. The smaller number of surviving banks will have even more > market power to set interest rates and control access to credit for > working people, students and small businesses. > > While the best-connected firms will profit immensely from the bailout, > the bourgeoisie and its political representatives insist there is no > money for elementary social needs of the working class, such as > foreclosure relief, universal health care and the right to a secure > retirement. The major presidential and vice presidential candidates > have uniformly called for cuts in existing, already inadequate, > programs such as Social Security and Medicare. > > The stock market’s rise today is not the advent of a new era of > prosperity for the American people. Rather, the bourgeoisie is > celebrating the Great Heist of 2008. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more. -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
