Global Banks Ruling the World...

[Snowman]

Trader was not a hoaxer, says BB

"For most traders, we don't really care that much how they're going to fix the economy, how they're going to fix the whole situation - our job is to make money from it."

"Personally I've been dreaming of this moment for three years. I have a confession, which is I go to bed every night, I dream of another recession."

"Governments do not rule the world, Goldman Saks rules the world.."

No big surprise: Wall Street rules

And I do find it strange that protesters have been picketing Wall Street and being arrested for two weeks with very little is being said on CNN, FOX or MSNBC about it. Kind of sounds a little like the news blackouts by middle east governments when their people began to protest this last year.

Wall Street protests: 100 arrested so far as protests continue into 11th day

Just think of the kind of influence that must be in play in order to keep news networks off this story and on contaminated cantaloupes...

[cptschlongenheimer]

It's not new that the mainstream media won't publish these stories.

Lucky for you Mother Jones is on the case:

http://motherjones.com/politics/2011...ca-chart-graph

http://motherjones.com/politics/2010...s-took-america

Just to get you started...

[Ghost]

Problem is, as ever, that there's nothing we can do about it--money talks and we have (essentially) no power since we have (essentially) no money...

[laspariahs]

Problem is, as ever, that there's nothing we can do about it--money talks and we have (essentially) no power since we have (essentially) no money...

You are completely wrong, we have ALL the power, we just have to exercise it, and I'm not talking about voting. The reality is most people in counties at the top of the food chain, have too much to loose, even in a recession we have so much that people aren't willing to risk it. As long as we have out internet, our tv, warm houses, food, cars, motorcycles, etc, we just don't risk it. And then on top of all that we have the idea that we have no power, woe is us we must just carry on our decadent lives and take what is served up, that's simply not the case.

[cptschlongenheimer]

Problem is, as ever, that there's nothing we can do about it--money talks and we have (essentially) no power since we have (essentially) no money...

Much truth there.
It's almost as if the feudal system is back. (or never left)

[Snowman]

You are completely wrong, we have ALL the power, we just have to exercise it, and I'm not talking about voting. The reality is most people in counties at the top of the food chain, have too much to loose, even in a recession we have so much that people aren't willing to risk it.

I agree. I saw a documentary a while ago, Born Rich.
In it an heir to the Johnson & Johnson fortune interviews his family and others and asks them hard questions about money and how they think about being so rich, compared to the rest of the world. Their reactions are interesting, most of the time he can't get a straight answer and they come off as very scared, that if they say anything the population will rise up and make them live in boxes on the street. They even threaten to cut him off for making the film.

The rich in this film had no clue about what an every day person does and deals with. I got the impression that is they had to moved into a 4 bed 3 bath home with a nice yard and a two SUVs and a lexus with a 6 figure job, they would become suicidal...

[cptschlongenheimer]

couple more to get you riled:

http://motherjones.com/politics/2006...ich-get-richer

http://motherjones.com/politics/2006/07/poor-losers

[Ghost]

You are completely wrong, we have ALL the power, we just have to exercise it, and I'm not talking about voting.

Again, this is what people like to think--that they're not powerless and utterly screwed--but go exercise your "power" and come let me know when you've changed the world by yourself...

Much truth there.
It's almost as if the feudal system is back. (or never left)

Problem is, in the feudal days, the peasants hated their lords, they saw that the life of a nobleman was way better than theirs and so they'd get pitch forks and riot and eventually got the Magna Carta.

Here, all the peasants think they're the part of the nobility, as their $50k/yr job and new SUV "prove", so they'll never revolt.

And, unlike castles on the hilltop free of shit, here all the rich are hidden from view behind gated communities, so the poor (wrongly) assume that the rich live the same lives as the "middle class". Of course, in truth, money buys the best of everything, from health care to leisure time to better food...but...no one seems to notice...

The rich in this film had no clue about what an every day person does and deals with. I got the impression that is they had to moved into a 4 bed 3 bath home with a nice yard and a two SUVs and a lexus with a 6 figure job, they would become suicidal...

And, if you reversed it, and if the poor/middle class actually saw how the rich lived on a daily basis, and was aware of all their perks and "entitlements" then I think the political climate would be very, very different. Instead, everyone's convinced they're "just like us"...

[Snowman]

And, if you reversed it, and if the poor/middle class actually saw how the rich lived on a daily basis, and was aware of all their perks and "entitlements" then I think the political climate would be very, very different. Instead, everyone's convinced they're "just like us"...

I agree with that as well, however you can't hide from the eyes of the peasants forever. At some point the differences are just to vast and the two sides become too clearly drawn. There has always been far more poor people than rich, and several revolutions have happened because the divide between the two become too stark. I see this happening again, and it will be interesting to see how this country will solve the issue.

[asp_125]

The banks rule the world because we gave them that power. If people took all their money out of the banks and kept them at home, the financial institutions would collapse. Unfortunately so would everything that depended on them. We did it to ourselves being greedy with easy loans and "free money" living beyond our means. If you have a mortgage or a car loan think of how much power the bank has over you. The gubmint is no different, only on a bigger scale. Deficit spending and bailout packages perpetuate the cycle and keeps the big banks fat and happy. The trader making money in a recession? Well that's just some smart moves .. nothing wrong to play both sides if you know how.

[DFab]

Problem is, as ever, that there's nothing we can do about it--money talks and we have (essentially) no power since we have (essentially) no money...

As individuals we have no power. If enough of us could agree to a set of demands, go on general strike and stage sit ins on all the state and national capitals, then I think we could change things.

[cptschlongenheimer]

I still think the real problem is CEO's and boards of directors who siphon off as much cash (and perks) as they can.

Huge corporate profits would be great for the shareholders if it got passed along but they inflate their own salaries to 100-500 times what their lowest paid workers make, call it the "cost of talent" and bail with a big contracted bonus when the company(shareholders) takes a loss.

I'm not against the ability to get rich, I'm against the ability to get rich at the expense of the company(shareholders) that you are supposedly getting paid to be enriching.

It should be illegal for any corporate executive (of a publicly held company) to make (in total compensation) more than 20-40 times what the lowest paid employee of that same company makes (in total compensation). That's what would be fair. There is still plenty of incentive to rise to the top, but it gives rank and file workers hope that they may achieve that too one day, if they work for it.

Many well respected economists have recognized this before.

If these proposals sound too communist/socialist, keep your company privately held.

IMHO

[Ghost]

I agree with that as well, however you can't hide from the eyes of the peasants forever. At some point the differences are just to vast and the two sides become too clearly drawn. There has always been far more poor people than rich, and several revolutions have happened because the divide between the two become too stark. I see this happening again, and it will be interesting to see how this country will solve the issue.

Revolutions won't work, too many peasants will side with the rich to protect their SUVs and Starbucks, and besides, in ancient revolutions, the military typically sided with the poor, not the case now...

But, beyond the impracticality/impossibility of a revolution, there's no desire to change things--everything that's been posted can be accessed by all the millions of Americans who have internet access, yet there's no roiling outrage...just meek acceptance and a belief that all this country's ills are the fault of the poor, not the rich...

As individuals we have no power. If enough of us could agree to a set of demands, go on general strike and stage sit ins on all the state and national capitals, then I think we could change things.

And who will leave their job to go do this? The midwest protests didn't accomplish anything, yet that was a relatively large protest. The Seattle riots of some years back didn't do anything either...

So, while in theory what you say makes sense, in reality there's no real power there...

I still think the real problem is CEO's and boards of directors who siphon off as much cash (and perks) as they can.

I loved how the Wall Street bailouts funneled money from the poor/taxpayers to the rich, that was an awesome coup...no restrictions, no limitations, just hold everyone hostage by threatening to collapse the system, and they'll all cough up money to keep those who caused the mess not only in power, but as richly appointed as before the mess...

CEOs here do make more than any in other industrialized countries like Japan and Germany, but with their political clout there's no way to even propose something like your idea and have any chance of it being taken seriously...

This is a country of, for, and by the Rich, and that'll never change...

[Snowman]

So you're saying we should all move to Canada...

[dirkterrell]

And I do find it strange that protesters have been picketing Wall Street and being arrested for two weeks with very little is being said on CNN, FOX or MSNBC about it.

But the CNN site has been keeping us updated every day for the last few weeks it seems, about what some jailed rapper (T.I.) is doing. This is in the "latest news" section too, not the "entertainment" section.

[Snowman]

^ GE can't afford to have their stock prices fall any further or they year end executive bonus structure will go out the window...

[Ghost]

So you're saying we should all move to Canada...

Alberta and BC are quite nice from what I've seen traveling there.

But, really, I'd rather this country grow up/change/improve...but, I know, that's too much to ask...

SO....New Zealand?

[vort3xr6]

Too much of this going on in this thread.




Seriously, they get paid a lot because THEY TAKE THE RISKS. The low level mail sorter doesn't make decisions that impact the future of the company. When you take the risk, you deserve the reward.

The banks are a fundamental part of society as is Wall Street. Yes, they make money during a recession because they take the risk to do so.

I don't understand why you all aren't mad at Steve Jobs and Apple for being the biggest company in the world and how many apple store employees don't make what Steve Jobs did.

Cry me a river. Become an entrepreneur and make your own success, rather than bitching about the supposed "undeserved" success of others.

/rant

[brennahm]

As much as it pains me...


^+1

We all live such terrible lives. We're so oppressed.

Is America perfect? Hell no, and we have a long ways to go, but I haven't heard one argument here based on anything other than "the rich have everything and it's just not fair."

[Snowman]

Ok, would you trust a reward to risk ratio that was 200 to 1?
When was the last time you saw anyone put $100.00 bucks on a Hard 6, 20 times in a row?
Steve Jobs are not risking 200 times as much as the programmer listining to how the little icon for a house in his new app should be shaped...

[vort3xr6]

Ok, would you trust a reward to risk ratio that was 200 to 1?
When was the last time you saw anyone put $100.00 bucks on a Hard 6, 20 times in a row?
Steve Jobs are not risking 200 times as much as the programmer listining to how the little icon for a house in his new app should be shaped...

I call bullshit. Steve Jobs said hey lets make a computer that is bigger than an iphone, but smaller than a laptop, with a mobile OS that won't do anything. Everybody INCLUDING the stockholders said he was bat shit crazy.

Look at tablets now. The programmer does what his manager tells him, the manager does what the director tells him, the director does what the VP tells him and so on and so forth. The CEO is the big dick mofo in the building and deserves every penny. Hell, making it through a recession without going tits up is enough to get a fat bonus.

[Shea]

The problem is less about there being rich people. (If you think taking all the money away from the "rich" would make your lives different, please tell me how...) The problem is more that we have allowed our political system to be influenced by those with economic power.

For example, just some news stories from today:

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories...09-28-19-59-35

http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/...aw_594593.html

http://dailycaller.com/2011/09/29/mo...an-guarantees/

Pay off the right people (aka, give a good campaign contribution) and you get a huge blank check to fund your pet project. Republicans are equally to blame in this. Solution: Prohibit any corporation, industry group, union or company from giving campaign donations of any kind (hard or soft). Since only citizens have a right to vote, only they should be allowed to contribute to a candidate.

Second issue is that we have given enormous power to the central government. Power = corruption plan and simple. Reduce that power and the amount of damage these massive banks/corporations can do to the system is mitigated due to the free market self-correcting mechanisms.

[rforsythe]

The CEO is the big dick mofo in the building

I am so putting that on my business cards...

[vort3xr6]

The problem is less about there being rich people. (If you think taking all the money away from the "rich" would make your lives different, please tell me how...) The problem is more that we have allowed our political system to be influenced by those with economic power.

For example, just some news stories from today:

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories...09-28-19-59-35

http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/...aw_594593.html

http://dailycaller.com/2011/09/29/mo...an-guarantees/

Pay off the right people (aka, give a good campaign contribution) and you get a huge blank check to fund your pet project. Republicans are equally to blame in this. Solution: Prohibit any corporation, industry group, union or company from giving campaign donations of any kind (hard or soft). Since only citizens have a right to vote, only they should be allowed to contribute to a candidate.

Second issue is that we have given enormous power to the central government. Power = corruption plan and simple. Reduce that power and the amount of damage these massive banks/corporations can do to the system is mitigated due to the free market self-correcting mechanisms.

Well said.

I have been a long time advocate for fixed budget campaigns. You have $500,000 to run for office. Good luck. That would weed out the fiscally unintelligent candidates fairly quick.