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TARP Watchdog: "Let's Make Sure In The Future, The Treasury's Public Statements Are Accurate And Truthful"
Another man wondering why the American people are so eager to be lied to day after day by those in charge. As for how much money (if any) taxpayers are going to see back: expect some truly historic "write offs."
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Eager to be lied too? You betcha. Too many people do not want to hear or seek out the truth, that's too much work. They want to hear what will validate and justify their apathy, ignorance and laziness. Treasury officials as well as so many other in the financial oligarchy know this and use it to their benefit.
"Secretary Paulson wasn't forthright." So former GoldmanSachs CEO Hank Paulson is a liar? I'm shocked. Shocked I tell ya.
Get rid then of »crisis managers«, »behavioral economists«, one »post Keynesian apologist« with its ill awarded ”award”, certain secretaries, heads of at least three Agencies and one “Federal institution” plus the one heading its »NY offspring«, possibly one whole president with his whole "party" and certainly all the lawyers & spinners flying rounds as turds come due. Not to forget striking that “BIS”.
Then again that could leave US with an empty bag of nothing that smells even worse than when it was full of all that doodoo.
Becky Quick spends half the interview making excuses for TPTB. Sleep depravation is to blame for TARP et al? One wonders if her head is found in the lap of WB, if she will blame the episode on a bout of narcoses brought on from sleep deprivation? Go ahead Comcast, make Immelt's year.
Becky Quick's comments can be more easily understood when you see her not as a business reporter but rather as a semi intelligent cheerleader and all around pretty face.
CD,
No offense to you, but I've seen much, much prettier. Also, not disagreeing with you on CNBC producers' intentions vis-a-vis Ms. Quick and her female colleagues at CNBC, but if the true objective were to have some "money honeys", these guys should be canned. Pronto. Or maybe these were the only applicants who succumbed to the producers' advances.
Cursive,
I never said or implied "money honey". I said all around pretty face. IMHO there is little doubt that the average CNBC "reporters" job is to act and look somewhat intelligent while at the same time be a cheerleader.
The key is plausible deniability. This is why they don't have out right dumb (male and female) but beautiful "repeaters" reading from the teleprompter. They desperately wish to maintain some credibility with the average viewer (and the person being interviewed) something they lost years ago with the investment professional.
BTW, this is why the person interviewed submits "notes" in advance of their appearance (how many times have you heard "according to your notes") to give the producers time to come up with intelligent sounding questions. In fact, I heard (rumor alert) that some interviewees are encouraged to offer "sample" questions along with their notes. Not saying that's true, just something I've heard often enough.
How many times have you heard one or another "reporter" saying on air something like "I'm trying to stay positive" or "Let's look for the positive" or even "I know we are supposed to stay positive...." which to me is very indicative of their marching orders.
CD,
We are on the same team. Didn't mean to infer that you implied anything. No argument here, I was merely carrying your argument the last mile. I guess "plausibility" (and I'm not poking fun of your words) is maintained by having a lesser-attractive, smarter-looking window model. For my viewing pleasure, I'd prefer Robo's avatar friend.
Where IS Robo lately? Now that the momo computers have been toned down a bit for a week or so, I've seen little of Robo.
Or should I say I've seen little of the girls he pimps....er displays.....er promotes........Oh hell, where oh where is Robo and his girls? :>)
" TARP still has more head room ".
Gubmintspeak = there are tens of billions more available to be pissed down even deeper rat holes.
More head for the taxpayer to kneel down and suck hard on?
...."why are they so eager to be lied to?" ........ because most of them are young & idealistic & inexperienced ! And, the older people have no fight left in them! I do believe those in charge realized the demographics.... stupid young people / feeble old people.
As a 24-year old young person, I would note that my experience and observations contradict your statement, to a degree. The old are certainly feeble, but the young are not necessarily stupid, just impotent. So many of my peers see the problems around us and understand the obstacles facing our nation, but we lack resource control. 50% of my peers are unemployed and entirely unrepresented by the "leadership" in Washington. When we collectively cry bullshit, none of it matters. The condescension with which we are met by our elders is staggering. I can't tell you how many times I've heard the blind rhetoric: "you'll understand why the government needs to do these things when you're older." In my experience, the elderly (who have been inundated with government lies their entire lives) embrace cognitive dissonance, while young adults acquiesce to the inevitable disillusionment accompanying a complete disregard on behalf of our "elected" officials for all the values in which we were taught to believe.
It is a wretched time to be a young American, and I'll be damned if we're supposed to clean up the mess our elders made. Consider me an expat in the making.
It's a beautiful thing to see the circle of life continue like this. Remember, a lot of the elderly you're ranting and raving about used to be filthy pothead hippies who felt the same way about their elders that you do now. Fears about the decline of civilization are almost as old as civilization itself. It's no different this time. To paraphrase Churchill, this is the worst of all times to be young, except for all the others. If things are so lousy, what are you doing to fix them? If you're not marching in the street or embedding in the system to destroy it from within, what have you done to "cry bullshit"? Isn't fixing the errors of previous generations part of the American values you supposedly were taught to believe (see: Civil Rights Movement, Civil War, etc.)? Do you believe in them, or were you just taught to?
Sir,
The young can always control one resource, the streets. While the over 50 crowd, of which I am one, are guilty of plenty, I've been totally surprised how muted the 18-25 generation has been.
Where are the street demonstrations, the activist movements lead by the young, the college administration building sit ins, the book burnings and so on? Where are the young people and why aren't they protesting?
It didn't stop my generation just because we had no resources. And this self professed hippie was a part of it. So where is the younger generation today?
BTW, the elderly don't embrace cognitive dissonance, they avoid it. CD is the emotional pain one feels when facing conflicting pieces of information or so called "facts." Not something most people young or old embrace.
25, UK
Where are the street demonstrations, the activist movements lead by the young, the college administration building sit ins, the book burnings and so on? Where are the young people and why aren't they protesting?
Because we're a generation raised by women.
Our young men have had their testicals tied off at school, freeze dried at Uni and driven of the first tee at the golf course 'service sector'.
:D i know what you're saying and I wonder why am I not doing anything? Because I can't even get enough friends together for a five-a-side match any more never mind a public demonstration. I should I know but what use, the manic street preacher?
From my perch 40+ years away, the 18-25 year old generation has been raised by the boob tube, also know as the TV for those who only know flat screen technology.
Worse, they were raised by Nintendo, PlayStation and XBox with the latest the online multi player video game. IMHO, for many, the video game is more addictive than drugs or alcohol and the primary reason we have raised a generation of zombies.
Just the way our government likes it.
Agreed. History is unfolding like a terrible low budget sci-fi nightmare. But this is real. And a great many continue to go through the motions day after day like zombies.
These are the times that try mens' souls.
This guy sounds like someone easily ignored. The sky is falling, the sky is falling.
Barofsky has no shame. You would think that after his July report was widely criticized for totaling up a number that had no basis in reality ($23.7 trillion), Barofsky would take it down a notch. He must figure the public really has no long term memory. Hard to take Barofsky seriously when Barofsky is critical of someone for not being honest.
Speaking of long term memory, I remember Oct 13, 2008. Only a person without any knowledge at all would have thought all 9 banks were "healthy" and would have recognized Paulson's rhetoric for what it was. Nobody believed Paulson's statement or paid any attention to it, everybody recognized it as Paulson's spin.
Even CNBC did not believe all 9 were healthy. If I remember right, CNBC ranked the worst to the best as follows:
1) Citigroup
2) Merril Lynch
3) Wells Fargo
4) Morgan Stanley
5) Bank of America
6) Goldman Sachs
7) State Street
8) JP Morgan
9) BONY
I don't know of anybody who thought that the first 3 would ever be termed healthy.
So despite Barofsky being technically correct, Barofsky only demonstrates that he did not understand what was happening at the time.
Americans as a whole are willing to accept being lied to day after day because they have been captured by Wall Street. Even Joe six-pack has a 401(k) and/or a traditional pension that invests in the stock, bond and real estate markets.
So like it or not, the average person needs Wall Street to win in order for him (and her as well) to not only enjoy a decent standard of living but to retire with that same standard.
The idea that people will forgo economic benefit in the pursuit of social justice is a myth. People will ignore social injustice and outright corruption when they feel their economic situation is in peril. They rationalize it by saying "Oh well, what can you do."
The readers of Zero Hedge need to remember that they ("we" as I'm part of this as well) are a very small subset of the American public (meaning aware and self actualizing) and don't represent the average person. Please don't project your belief system and worldview upon the average American because it's not representative.
Yes, threaten peoples' 'retirements' with a crashing stock market, and count on compliance with 'whatever it takes.' Amazing how virtually everyone now believes that they have to keep all of their life savings in the stock market somehow up until the day they retire in order to possibly make it.
Don't invest with the crime syndicate anymore myself. It cost me too much already.
I guess I learned my lesson the hard way.
Some info on Obama's plan to control free speech.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/01/AR200910...
I am sure that Rahm has a perfectly innocent reason for re-writing the oldest laws of the land. Change you can believe in.
Of course, in the name of "national security" anything can be considered contrary to national security when it's the government doing the picking and choosing.
Even a non-conforming muck raking blog such as Zero Hedge. And its readers of course. Welcome to the slow decent into 1984 and the national security state.
Empire building begins with oppression abroad and repression at home.
I think the final straw was when Huff(y)nton Post started deviating from the party line.
Breaking "Goldman Parachute" at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ with link to
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/9170b5f2-b10f-11de-b06b-00144feabdc0.html
sarc/ Seriously, you call _that_ journalism?? That is almost as good as taking a shot at the Treasury Secretary. sarc/
Neil Barofsky is one of the key criminals in the administration. His law firm represents AIG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Conflict of interest. But not for Barofsky. You see, he is Special. His skills are soooooo unique that they couldnt select of the other 50 million laywyazzzz in hte US. Make no mistake, his czar edicts will be in the best interest of the AIG and corresponding banksters in new york.
Just because the dog barks a little doesn't mean he bites. One of the tricks of the magician is to convince you that you know what's going on.
Of course, you really don't. But you think you do.
I've yet to see any real teeth marks from Neil Barofsky. I don't think I ever will, other than the occasion loud bark, followed by vigorous chasing of a sacrificial lamb. Gotta keep up the appearances at least.
When the US had the S&L Crisis....over 1000 were indicted....
Now we have a financial calamity dwarfing the S&L crisis...and those responsible are paid even more than before....and rewarded more market share....to the extent of violating anti trust regulations....
Is this not a certain statement of the current state of affairs....
Why not rob a bank....and for punishment....get the money from 3 more banks gratis US justice....????
The reasons for the current calamity stems from US Facism....American Style....
What to do about it ?
Just how does the average American fight Fascism ?
What tools do they have ....????
Considering that Mr. Barofsky is going to be as politically correct as he can in the situation, his admission that Paulson was not completely truthful in his statements to congress and the American people, is fantastic.
I have confidence in Barofsky, and certainly hope he can get the truth out,
For the next election, could a publicly derived contract consisting of 10 executive orders (i.e. commandments) be signed as a binding legal document by candidates choosing to be elected? The contract would stipulate all orders are to be signed into law on the first day of office, and would give the public direct control of a politicians actions once elected. Failure to comply and follow public wishes on this would automatically subject the candidates personal fortune to retributions in civil court. Lets start compiling the list...
On a related note, the banks who missed making a TARP repayment:
http://www.businessinsider.com/number-of-banks-who-didnt-repat-tarp-incr...
interesante, thx
We shouln't need a government official telling us this. Damnit, common sense is dead.
Becky Quik's opening remark, "TARP pulled us back from the brink" is like saying that it was good to burn down the Redwood forest and STEALING TAXPAYER MONEY AND THEIR FUTURE IS OK SINCE NOW WE HAVE A MARKET THAT IS GOING UP.
Barofsky's position effectively institutionalizes the "OKNESS" of these crimes...like an inspector general of the burned down Redwood forest being called in to see if the fire fighters are not punching in early or punching out late as they take turns fighting the fire--we wouldn't want to pay too much, so we need Barofsky to make sure it is all on the up and up. Barofsky sets the stage for more crimes saying that there will be more bailouts...
It is funny that he says the lying "hurt treasuries credibility" and Quik says that people were "working without sleep"--bank robberies can be grueling work!
Elizabeth Warren of the Congressional Oversight Panel is the only hope...if she would just resign with her bag full of evidence that the bailout itself is suspect and we need to call everyone involved in for their very own grand jury.
I wanted to think Barofsky could help, but all he is doing is making the stealing more public and then getting it past the public with the notion that it had to happen for the good of the country.
BY the way, if there could ever be a "retroactive" audit of MS, GS and C, you would find that they were all bankrupt on the day before Lehman went down--the AIG bailout and IT'S SIGNATURE BACKDOOR US TAXPAYER MONEY PASSED to GS et al, the subsequent rush for bankholding status, and planned passing of billions of dollars gave them all enough to get by til they had a few months of trading in front of the president's working group agenda to look like they never needed TARP. OUR COUNTRY IS A BANANA REPUBLIC...JUSTICE AND INTEGRITY ARE GONE, BUT NOT FORGOTTEN.
Exactly.
IMHO Barofsky isn't the fox watching the hen house, he's the foxes' assigned representative. With a pocket full of sharpened pencils and a solar powered calculator (in case the power fails) bad guys watch out because Neil's on the job and watching the hen house.
In the best of the officially sanctioned embezzlement's, they make sure no one's cheating the cheaters. Call me cynical but Neil's there to prevent the guys on the "in" from getting too greedy and the guys on the "out" from getting any.
It is MONUMENTALLY SICKENING AND SO BLATANT the levels of criminality and support of our government in the heist..and the MSM finally to implant it in the minds of the public that it just had to be!
I have been taking a very loose survey of random people and have found that people UNIVERSALLY AGREE THAT THE "BAILOUTS" ARE REALLY BANKHEISTS, and strangely enough, they just don't have any concept of what to do about it.... and how can you blame them...without having leaders in place to take down the crime, what hope do we have? We have to go back to the days of extreme political activism on the part of a huge part of the population, in a unified voice if there is ever any hope for justice to correct the HUGE PROPAGANDA MACHINE THAT DECEIVES THE US PUBLIC ON WHY THE FINANCIAL/GOVERNMENT MACHINE SHOULD STEAL EVERY LAST PENNY OF OUR MONEY AND THE MONEY OF OUR CHILDREN FOR GENERATIONS TO COME.
extreme political activism!?
I don't know exactly what you mean by that, but where do I sign up?
Hi TumblingDice!
I think "extreme political activism" is probably simply stated, just one part of each US citizens civic duty, but, a part that we have written off and that is, taking responsibility for being informed, and protesting and voting against politicians who disregard our best interest.
The term sheeple has become popular because it is true that people have put their trust in the elected officials to be good and true, and they are sedated by the tv and the mainstreetmedia's constant lies.
I say sedated because, even with the sedation, people still somehow still seem to know what is true. I've taken a rough survey of people over the last 6 months on their opinion of the "bailouts" and an overwhelming majority of this loose survey's population believes that we should never have given banks money and that it looks like a bank heist...amazing that this could be such a common understanding while the web of lies is being woven in papers and in the MSM...so, again, when you cut to the chase, people are sedated, but they really aren't stupid when it comes to their money.
For now, political activism is passing on the truth, each and every day--as if we are walking DRUGE REPORTS--if we share with each other and everyone we know, you can guarantee that the people you talk to will then pass the word on and before you know it, we'll have a population informed and ready to vote out a whole group of people in favor of a new generation of politicians who won't be bought by the privately held federal reserve's agents, and who will know that they will be watched carefully and held accountable, unlike so many we currently have in office in Washington.
Other steps in this process,... i am sure you, TumblingDice and all the other good folks who come here to ZH to comment, have ideas of how get back to our roots of "extreme political activism" as our civic duty, so please, let's share!
I can't help but think that it would take radical steps, that have never bben attempted by the citizenry in order to straighten out this mess.
I thought what you meant by civic uty was this:
But mostly you are right. People just don't want to hear it. The people I talk to, which is the low 20's crowd, pay even less attention to politics than before. Thats because before they ha a clear scapegoat and bad guy in GWBUSH but now that Obam's got their back there no need to worry. But the people I do manage to convince that its all a sham, fraud, treason, and a crime against humanity what the politicians an technocrats are doing are awake for life. It is a slow process but it goes one person at a time, and the truth is spreading instead of being contained. Other than talking to as many people as possible about the subject I have few solutions right now that don't lead back to that quote from the DoI. The 2012 election will be my last straw. I know emocracy is dead but I'll give it one more chance.
Yes, that is exactly what i meant to say, and you said it...so if you don't mind, i will keep the quote as a better way of saying what i wanted to say...THANK YOU! I am not willing to believe that democracy is dead because there are plenty of us that are willing speak out loud and clear about the "long train of abuses and usurpations" that undermine our freedom and independence as a republic. Thank you again for restating and properly defining what i meant when i said "extreme political activism"...
Hi Cognitive Dissonance! And your name says it all--people just can't fit together what their gut is telling them about the "bailout" with what they read and hear in the MSM...voila, cognitive dissonance and it is paralyzing for the people of this country!
You said it, Barofsky is an official that puts the icing on the cake for the whole blackholebankheist by turning it into an:
OFFICIALLY SANCTIONED EMBEZZLEMENT
the size of which has never been seen before--this is Enron to the 10th power!!!!!
And to top it off, the fed is keeping the basic zero interest rate policy as the next leg of this scam--first you give bankrupt entites money to be paid by taxpayers for generations to come, then you keep rates low so these corrupt entities that packaged and sold fraudulent products can make a fortune on any loans they have or any casino like activities they might want to perform with deposits--and your deposits make zip, zilcho, nada...how is that for a racket--racketeering all legalized by the purchased agents of the privately held federal reserve and their babies the toobigtofail--that is, most elected officials!
I'm not eager to be lied to but I have people relying on my income. So that has been keeping me "out of trouble"
But I don't see that lasting much longer. Where is this extreme political activism outfit located??
That's the entire concept of wage slavery. I owe, I owe, so off to work I go. Everything we need costs us money and is controlled by corporations or government, who is beholden to corporate donations.
Unfortunately the people won't organize without a visible leader. And we remember what they did to the last truly non conformist visible leaders don't we, a la King, Kennedy and so on.