Topic: It's the economy, stupid! (Read 73133 times)

Burrito Al Pastor · « **Reply #320 on:** March 22, 2009, 02:01:57 PM »

I read as far as

Quote

...psychopaths on Wall Street whom we allowed to gang-rape the American Dream.

I'll read his article when he can have the civility and professionalism that you'd expect from, say, a news magazine. (Rolling Stone, last I checked, is a music magazine. This may be why their journalistic standards are so lax.)

Brentai · « **Reply #321 on:** March 22, 2009, 02:11:45 PM »

Right, because the, uh, more-mainstream media never engages in that kind of hyperbole.

I just stopped reading because I didn't really care to hear any more of it.

Thad · « **Reply #322 on:** March 22, 2009, 02:26:22 PM »

Quote from: BATTLE-READY BATTLE DRACULA on March 22, 2009, 02:01:57 PM

I'll read his article when he can have the civility and professionalism that you'd expect from, say, a news magazine. (Rolling Stone, last I checked, is a music magazine. This may be why their journalistic standards are so lax.)

Yeah, because Hunter S Thompson never did anything important or worthwhile.

Fortinbras · « **Reply #323 on:** March 22, 2009, 02:57:06 PM »

Saw the bit Dracula quoted and knew before I even looked at the article that we were talking about Taibbi. I love that guy. The article's loaded with hyperbole but it knows it is, of course it is, it's Hunter Thompson the Second writing.

Transportation · « **Reply #324 on:** March 23, 2009, 08:55:13 PM »

The article was actually a decent rundown on the lead-up to the financial crisis and the subsequent hilariously mismanaged bailouts. The general point of the article being how the corporation were involved in most of the steps. I've heard of most of it before, but it's nice to have a summary all in one place.

Of course the wording in the title implies it's some kind of cabal orchestrating everything instead of rich people independently pursuing their short term best interest. But it's still correct in a strictly literal sense.

Mongrel · « **Reply #325 on:** March 24, 2009, 05:00:21 PM »

Something nice today.

An excellent look at some of the more 'big-picture' thoughts about the current state of the global economy and where it is going.

It's not all 100% and in places it gets vague, but it's a fairly decent read that raises some interesting points.

JDigital · « **Reply #326 on:** March 24, 2009, 06:11:31 PM »

Congress Passes Wide-Ranging Bill Easing Bank Laws (1999)

Quote

''Today Congress voted to update the rules that have governed financial services since the Great Depression and replace them with a system for the 21st century,'' Treasury Secretary Lawrence H. Summers said. ''This historic legislation will better enable American companies to compete in the new economy.''

The decision to repeal the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933 provoked dire warnings from a handful of dissenters that the deregulation of Wall Street would someday wreak havoc on the nation's financial system. The original idea behind Glass-Steagall was that separation between bankers and brokers would reduce the potential conflicts of interest that were thought to have contributed to the speculative stock frenzy before the Depression.

Mongrel · « **Reply #327 on:** March 24, 2009, 06:24:51 PM »

Nice find.

Brentai · « **Reply #328 on:** March 24, 2009, 06:43:49 PM »

Oh wow. I remember hearing that exact statement back in 1999 and thinking, "This sounds like something that could totally fuck us in 10 years."

I probably said so at the time, too, but I was 16, you know? By the time I was able to vote Bush was already in office, and by the time I was able to ACTUALLY vote we all thought our impending doom was coming from some dirty men living in caves.

Anyway, chalk that up to yet another "When I'm Right is When Nobody Listens to Me" moment.

Royal☭ · « **Reply #329 on:** March 24, 2009, 07:17:39 PM »

Hey it's almost like that exact law was mentioned in the article I linked.

Seriously, though, Phil Gramm is the devil.

Dooly · « **Reply #330 on:** March 25, 2009, 08:24:10 PM »

Quote from: Penultimate Good Brentai on March 24, 2009, 06:43:49 PM

Oh wow. I remember hearing that exact statement back in 1999 and thinking, "This sounds like something that could totally fuck us in 10 years."

There are senators quoted in that article saying the exact same thing, with senator Byron Dorgan even giving us the same ten-year time frame.

Romosome · « **Reply #331 on:** March 25, 2009, 09:11:47 PM »

and we're going to do it again, because everyone is still saying that taxing big businesses is unamerican and socialist and we need to just get wallstreet back on its feet and it'll all be fine

Mongrel · « **Reply #332 on:** April 04, 2009, 07:38:11 PM »

Former Chief Economist at the IMF has some interesting commentary on the current state of the US Economy.

Brentai · « **Reply #333 on:** April 04, 2009, 07:48:00 PM »

The nasty-ass thing about our country is that there seems to be this prevailing idea that we're all ready to tighten our belts, get ahold of ourselves, pitch in and do what we can to fix this mess. Everybody without fail wants to make personal sacrifices to help. ...except for every single person whose actual fault it is, who are whining very very loudly that the boiling oil they stuck their hands into is burning them.

I hate to sound like a 9th-grade anarchist, but I'm seriously starting to believe that the only way to save the country is to make certain people go the fuck away forever.

Doom · « **Reply #334 on:** April 04, 2009, 08:20:52 PM »

Considering that the actions of the richest amount to "You all can die", yeah, there's a bit of a class war afoot.

Brentai · « **Reply #335 on:** April 04, 2009, 08:34:00 PM »

I guess it just bugs me because we're actually reaching out our hands to help these people, slithering bloated pussbags that they are, and they're responding by screaming "FUCK YOU!" and trying to punish us for giving a shit.

...shit, Jesus, I feel like I'm dating Rush Limbaugh now.

McDohl · « **Reply #336 on:** April 05, 2009, 10:07:47 PM »

Invite us to the wedding, Brentai.

Brentai · « **Reply #337 on:** April 14, 2009, 08:16:54 AM »

Bernanke sees vague evidence that we may not be going to hell as quickly as before.

Well hooray, I guess.

Brentai · « **Reply #338 on:** April 26, 2009, 08:16:51 PM »

Japan possibly more fucked than we are.

Actually that holds true for a lot of countries. About the only ones coming out ahead in all this bullshit are China and Sweden, and guess which one of those isn't terrifying me.

King Klown · « **Reply #339 on:** April 26, 2009, 08:35:58 PM »

I still remember how angry I felt when I was watching T.V., and someone asked the Car Company CEO's if they'd be willing to sell their private jets to help their companies. And to show if they would be a show of hands.

Not a single hand.

News:

Author Topic: It's the economy, stupid! (Read 73133 times)