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Guest Post: The Face of Corporatist Hypocrisy
Submitted by John Aziz of Azizonomics
The Face Of Corporatist Hypocrisy
From Bloomberg:
“Retirement ages will have to move to 70, 80 years old,” former AIG CEO Robert Benmosche, who turned 68 last week, said during a weekend interview at his seaside villa in Dubrovnik, Croatia. “That would make pensions, medical services more affordable. They will keep people working longer and will take that burden off of the youth.”
Now, as a guy who is living in a taxpayer-funded villa after his bank-insurance-derivatives-hedge fund-ponzi company blew up, we know Benmosche is a hypocrite. In my view, management should be held personally liable a long time before taxpayers. That’s right, I believe in personal responsibility and that means no hiding behind limited liability and bailouts, no matter how “systemically important” you claim to be.
But let’s set aside disgust at government for first setting up this scenario via Gramm-Leach-Bliley, and then in 2008 throwing money at hypocritical grifters like Benmosche.
Is he wrong about social security and medical services?
Spending costs money. You can spend as much as you like so long as you have the revenues to do so. But the US government is failing to fund its current spending, let alone the $61.6 trillion (that’s a low-end estimate — the high end estimate is $127.5 trillion or 737% of GDP) of future welfare liabilities that the US government is mandated by law to spend.
So can America get the money to match future commitments without significantly raising the retirement age?
In theory.
In theory the Federal government can squeeze taxpayers. Perhaps Occupy will get their wish of raising taxes on the 1% to whatever figure they have in mind (though the way corporations and lobbyists have successfully colonised Washington, that seems exceedingly unlikely). But this is a globalised world, and the higher they tax the more activity will leave to lower-rate jurisdictions, and the less activity will be taxable. Tax evasion and avoidance will soar.
In theory America could have an organic recovery and start generating significant amounts of organic GDP growth. But right now, that’s a fantasy. Pinning your hopes to potential future economic miracles like 3D-printing, nanoengineering, widespread solar energy and synthetic petroleum is hardly good accounting practice, even if they are realistically the best hope of a rosy future.
In theory taxpayers could agree to accept less spending, as Benmosche suggests. But Americans overwhelmingly support social security and medicare, and politicians hawking cuts make themselves into political pariahs. Promises are promises, and politicians have suckered the electorate by promising so much for so little. If Greeks rioting over the retirement age seems raucous, wait ’til a politician tries to slash SNAP, medicare or social security.
Much more likely is the current trend of escalating deficits and printing money to pay the bills — and bail out washed-up corporatists like Benmosche (and his “systemically important” equivalents in Europe). Policy-makers can balance the budget and raise aggregate demand and GDP to whatever level they like (the “highest” level presumably being toilet paper) by throwing newly-printed money out of helicopters.
Trouble is, with the US dollar no longer functioning as the globe’s reserve currency it’s going to get harder and harder to hide the inflation overseas or on primary dealer balance sheets. Welfare recipients will keep getting welfare, but in the long run it may not buy much.
No, nations chose their paths long ago. America chose the path of big spending, big warfare, big bailouts and big welfare, and bailout-recipients like Benmosche who plead “systemic importance” are heavily responsible for that slide into fiscal irresponsibility. It won’t be the politicians, bankers and corporatists who created the mess who will have to deal with the fallout; they have foreign villas, foreign ranches, foreign bank accounts, and barbed-wire-shrouded EMP-proof survival retreats. It will be the average American who has done nothing wrong other than believing the words of politicians.
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Even, that is a load of Krap, steaming and fresh/ I think you believe it to be true, and you have probably been brainwashed into such in your re-education camp, AKA "public Skool" Where they will transfer you to another prison, called a "prison" if you skip roll call.
At the time of the Industrial Revolution and early 20th century maybe they didn't have on demand cable like now, maybe they didn't have Red Bull for that extra pep, but your description of the era is exactly half of the story.
While the (proles) were struglin in this country perhaps, if things were really all that bad-- can you explain for me why THE WHOLE FRIGGIN WORLD then as now was beg/stealing/borrowing their way just to get here? I mean you describe a dire-ass damn place. I would think everyone would have been conspiring to get the Hell out? Why were they streaming in?
Hmm maybe the alternative was a bullet in the back of the head in USSR? Being deliberately staved to death by England if you were Catholic (in Ireland)
People flooded into this country for a reason? Can you help me understand this if it was so aweful? Anyway Fvkc those malcontent complainers, if they didn't like it here why on Earth did they come here? This (Capitalist) country provided food and life to a flood of humanity that came here. Socialism? Bullet in back of head. British rule? They starve you to death as policy. Here they lived and you want to complain?
You complain about working at age ten? Would you prefer if the family had no work and no land for that kid to work and they all just died? read up on "Holodomor" (which they never teach in public Skool hmm) and you might come away with a different view of Socialism
THE WHOLE FRIGGING WORLD
_____________________________________
In the 1900s?
Immigration pattern causes are known: people look for and follow resources.
Saudi Arabia, that big bad country, is an immigration magnet.
US citizens would like to think immigration is performed to seek for their US citizen liberty, truth and justice.
Why so many to flock to Saudi Arabia then?
As to no work available, going for depletion of resources is the best way to ensure that indeed, it will no longer be a matter of taste to go at work at ten or not working because no resources will be available to support work.
No resources in Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan. Not many in South Korea, Germany. Most Chinese citizenism's would rather live in one of those than resource rich China.
No resources in Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Germany?
I bet you have no food in your fridge either...
Greetings extended to "prole"
You've stated in response to something I posted as follows:
Capitalism cannot afford to pay pensions and healthcare.
"Capitalism didn't promise to pay such Socialist schemes, they were shoved down Capitalism's throat by your Commie hero Rosenveldt (or some other commie I don't remember)"
Thank you for that reminder that capitalism did not want to pay pensions and healthcare.
Let me here double check for accuracy of understanding: As you sit here today, do you want people who work in a capitalist, free market economy to receive pensions and healthcare as a part of their benefit packages?
By the way, if having had pensions and healthcare "shoved down their throats" is intended to express sympathy for capitalism and that it is a virtue for capitalism to have resisted those gains; pray tell, what are capitalism's vices in your view?
Greetings Comrade! Another day out of the Gulag is a good day Da Tovarich?
Let me here double check for accuracy of understanding: As you sit here today, do you want people who work in a capitalist, free market economy to receive pensions and healthcare as a part of their benefit packages?
I want them and especially me to receive pensions after two weeks of work, healthcare round the clock regardless of work, a free bunny for each resume attempted and a Ferrari for every year of labor completed.If a worker feels blue on any particular day, he should be furnished with an exotic dancer to provide him ~ er~ services, until his morale improves. You don't mind paying for all this do you?
What I really want is just for people to be free, and Commies like you to stop ruining what could be a glorious economy. If the Sheople didn't have 50% of their wealth stolen from them every year by clever prevaricators like you, to stuff the loot in your pocket while preaching compassion, then health care and having a few sheckels left over in old age would be a far more attainable matter. Especially considering that you are about to renege on Social Security anyway, to spite all your preaching and to make everyone the Horse in Animal Farm. (SUCKERS!)
By the way, if having had pensions and healthcare "shoved down their throats" is intended to express sympathy for capitalism and that it is a virtue for capitalism to have resisted those gains; pray tell, what are capitalism's vices in your view?
Capitalism was FAAAR to lenient with its mortal enemies. Jgughasvili, and Castro were both easily apprehended by the (not Commie if not exactly Capitalist) government of their countries. They were so singularly evil, that their extermination at that point in history would have saved the world untold rivers of blood shed (which you have never protested I gather?) but they let the fools free in acts of unwarranted, basically suicidal kindness. A huge mistake, esp for the Czar don't you think Comrade?
If you have any further questions please don't hesitate to ax
(that is a little insider Trotsky joke for you Comrade. Please don't send me to the Gulag for that)
Let's make it clear. When the USA was growing like crazy, and becoming rich faster than any country in world history, nobody had health insurance, and nobody had pensions. Period.
I do not want health insurance! And if I ever need health care, I will make sure to visit a doctor somewhere outside the western world, because most doctors "within the system" are just as corrupt as the predators who force such down our throats. The same goes for those who steal SS and other taxes from us for 40 years --- they have destroyed all who depended upon your claims and promises. You should be stoned to death, though in truth there is no punishment nasty enough to compensate for the astronomical scale of disaster you have caused.
Let me make it clear. I want zero of what government offers, promises or delivers.
Do you understand that? ZERO. They and their tacit/active supporters do not make life better, they make life hell. Go screw yourselves, predators and parasites --- those of us who are honest and productive need you and your scams like a freaking hole in our heads.
Wow, someone else gets it.
The system works backwards, it's the public that can't afford to pay for upkeep of the pigs.
Yes it can but only if the wealthy are forced to through gov't means. This issue was hashed out in the late 19th century/early 20th century.
If I am a ruthless capitalist, my ideal workforce would be entirely mechancial/robotic with no human workers needs and issues I have to deal or pay for. Frankly I would hate human workers. Robots require no pay, no sick time, no vacation, no medical illness, no overtime. Just simple obedient workers who will work as long and as hard as I desire with no backlash except physical wear/tear.
Yes it can but only if the wealthy are forced to through gov't means. This issue was hashed out in the late 19th century/early 20th century.
That is a 100% total lie, plain and simple. What Marxists we must have in high school pushing this crap on students. Henry Ford doubled his own workers wages, and made his own cars cheaper, win win win, this before the era of Commie intervention. He did this in order for his company to thrive, and to crush his competition who payed lower wages BTW
When your God government steps in, they disrupt markets, create shortages and/or price inflation, and basically skrew everything up.
Capitalism = Early Ford era, with a Capitalist in charge.
"Government means" = Soviet Union, North Korea, East Germany.
Maybe your argument is actually right! If killing a bunch of your own citizens at your border is a good thing, then East Germany was a winner!
The majority of right-wing bloggers on ZH are hypocrites. In order to even the economic keel, all wealth earned during the credit boom years would have to be confiscated. The wealthy did not earn nor did they create their wealth--they stealthy stole it from the public.
Even people like Bill Gates didn't become billionaires by producing something, Bill Gates became wealthy not because he sells software, he became wealthy selling stock and options to the public--leveraged financial asset.speculation. The offset to this leveraged asset bonanza is debt which is becoming publics' burden.
I agree in principle. I think we can agree that there is a small percentage of "very rich" who actually earned their wealth without much government or central bank jiggering. Unfortunately, that percentage is low... and gets progressively lower as we move from rich to super-rich to hyper-rich.
The first action needs to be the total elimination of federal governments, because without that action the predators and their lobbyists will never let go of their sweet deals. Then yes, figure out how much wealth was "earned" due to special treatment by government and central banks... and take that back. That's only fair.
And don't forget that over 1/3rd of the M'soft workforce in the 1990s were "temporary" workers. That put a lot of extra cash in Gates' pockets. The "M'soft Millionaire" phase occurred early in the company's history and ended rather quickly...replaced by the much more numerous and long-running M'soft temp phase. By 1997, the company was colluding (successfully) with the governor of Washington (democrat Gary Locke) to abolish overtime for high-tech contract (temp) workers.
It's not too late. Even if the "institutions" are TBTF, the management of these cesspools are not. Time for Ben-mosche and the rest of his buddies to enjoy UI or SS themselves. Fire them.
Just think what that would do for moral hazard. At the very least there would be no more interviews from these bozos.
Don't know if the man doesn't care anymore about his ancestry, is really dumb or what, but I think our friend Benmosche should have learned some more -past and present- history before moving to that beautiful city. And although most people are very friendly, there's still lots of loose cannons over there. Anyway... Don't Worry And Be Happy Ben!
"Neo-Nazis Fight On Croatian Side"(from Spiegel TV - 1992)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X54EHyKMTgM&feature=related
He is right about one thing - we are going to move back to a world where people (especially Gen X/Y in the US) are going to work until they either drop dead or are too mentally/physically incapacitated to work even part-time. This was how life was before WW2 for almost everyone except a few wealthy individuals and how the world will be again by the time I reach retirement.
You will work until you die or are unable to. People don't want to hear that but this is the paradigm of human history with only the last ~50 years as a blip.
This guy is living in a part of the world where there are literally tens of thousands of trained killers for hire. Amazing that he is still smiling.
That post sounded like questioning Radio Eriwan...
(They always answer "In principle, yes.")
Since he is living in a "taxpayer-funded villa," the address really needs to be publicly listed so that all taxpayers can visit and stay there from time to time. I'd really like to stay at a seaside villa one of these days.
"the address really needs to be publicly listed"
Well here you have it #reTard: "Masarykov put 18, (20236), Dubrovnik, Croatia"
If you choose to visit him please have lots of fun drinking good wine and ' Watching the sunset with a loved one from the Jacuzzi overlooking the water.'
http://villasplendid.hr/index.php
(-August 1, 2006 -In 2000, Robert Benmosche, the recently retired chairman of Metropolitan Life, bought an 8,000-square-foot residence on the water near Dubrovnik for $1 million and spent nearly that much having local craftsmen renovate it. Though he declined to say what the property, built in 1935 for the king’s treasurer, is presently worth, he noted that one apartment in Dubrovnik selling for $500,000 in 2000 is now on the market for $3 million. Benmosche plans to spend five months a year in Croatia; he would like to buy a vineyard or build a small hotel. "The people are warm and gracious and take great pride in their country and heritage," he says. "And it’s the clearest, cleanest water anywhere in the world.")
But before going there, maybe it's better to have a little Tour first...
http://wn.com/villa_splendid_tour_mov
...or you can just stay home drinking cold beer and enjoying Ben's channel on YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/user/abenmoscheThe author seems ill informed on Benmosche. It pains me to have to defend the guy, but let's not take the same liberties with the facts that the main stream media does.
Benmosche owned his Croatian villa long before he was associated with AIG. Remember, he was the CEO of Met Life and retired in 2006. He was brought in in 2009, AFTER the bailout, to run the trainwreck. He's butted heads with Geithner and other people at Treasury. He's battled the government yes men on AIG's board. Yes, he's a creature of the unholy merger of Wall Street and government, but again, let's no make stuff up.
Wow, thanks for pointing that out!
Such cheap propaganda I was not expecting to find on ZH, not even in a guest post of a somwhat respectable writer.
Right, it was Willumstad that replaced Hank Greenberg and fucked everything up. It was actually Greenberg that started it.
"Three days before MF Global filed for bankruptcy-court protection, CME Group Inc. [MF Global's direct supervisor] was assured by the New York company of a $200 million cushion in accounts that ensured customer funds were being kept separate from the firm's own money," they write.
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/wsj-mf-global-erroneously-told-regulators-customer-funds-were-safe-2012-6?nr_email_referer=1&utm_source=Triggermail&utm_medium=email&utm_term=Clusterstock%20Select&utm_campaign=Clusterstock%20Select%202012-06-05#ixzz1wxqIkaJPGramm-Leach-Bliley? These fuckers wrote "insurance policies" with no capital backing. That's fraud in my book. You don't need regulations to prosecute fraud. You just fucking do it. If you start locking people up, others will stop doing it tout de suite.
So....we have high unemployment now and massive numbers of people not even in the labor force (because - surprise - they can't find any jobs) and our plan is to have everyone work till they are 70 or maybe 80?
This is what the CEO of AIG has to offer as a plan. There is a reason AIG went bust - its run by a bunch of loonatics - but I must admit he is well qualified to run for Congress or to be appointed as the successor to the Bernank.
"They will keep people working longer and will take that burden off of the youth.”
this guy is nuts...and where are the youth going to find the jobs if the old people don't move out of the system? Youth unemployment is already catastrophic!
So many people are pushing this point of view on the net and mainstream media, which should raise some red flags.
The only reason all this is happening is the wealth of the nation (a.k.a. the labor of the people) has been stolen and squandered.
Since women live longer than men, you can bet they will find a way to end social security. But they won't touch the Military Retirements of millions and milliosn of guys (and a few gals).
A neighbor was in the military for 20 years and during summers spends vacations on military owned (via the taxpayer) parks and recreational areas. He even checks out campers available to military personnel and retirees. This guy never spent an hour in combat. Nobody bitches about this. This is only one example of the UNFAIRNESS in blaming the Woes of the nation on "welfare".....Afterall, the Military is THE BIGGEST welfare system to date. It's just nobody thinks of it that way, because its a money maker for big contractors and mostly MALES collect the retirement benefits.
Women have lived longer than men for decades and thus are the primary beneficiaries of social security and medicaid which are largely paid for by shorter lived men. Back when there were pensions, survivor of a marriage kept getting paid so they made out from that as well. They also end up inheriting everything. And if there is divorce first, they get most of the stuff then including part of the future value of pensions if the man has one.
Anyway, women are allowed in military now. They generally don't have to go into combat though. If it's a good deal for men who might have to go into combat, it's a great deal for women.
Military is massive Welfare!! My wife used to work for Soc security, and said it is no longer a fact that women are cashing in on men's SS. They've been out earning their own. My sister's divorce left her poorer and her ex better off, but she says it was worth it to get rid of the beast (I agree). Men aren't the victims they want to pity themselves as.