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Fraud*
According to the Collins English Dictionary 10th Edition fraud can be defined as: "deceit, trickery, sharp practice, or breach of confidence, perpetrated for profit or to gain some unfair or dishonest advantage".[1] In the broadest sense, a fraud is an intentional deception made for personal gain or to damage another individual; the related adjective is fraudulent. The specific legal definition varies by legal jurisdiction. Fraud is a crime, and also a civil law violation. Defrauding people or entities of money or valuables is a common purpose of fraud, but there have also been fraudulent "discoveries", e.g. in science, to gain prestige rather than immediate monetary gain
*As defined in Wikipedia

Saturday, September 24, 2011

"Continuing coverage of the decline of Goldman Sachs - Featuring Larry's Corner


Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.
After Hours:
94.94 0.24 (0.25%) 
4:59PM EDT

Even Goldman Sachs, the well-known investment bank, now could be headed toward recording its second quarterly loss in a dozen years -- its first quarterly loss since the financial crisis -- according to a report in The Wall Street Journal. ...

JP Morgan Chase & Co.
Common St (NYSE: JPM )
After Hours: 
29.60 0.01 (0.03%) 
5:22PM EDT 
52wk Range: 
28.53 - 48.36
The glitter might just be coming off and the old saying "what goes around, comes around" might just be taking effect.  Even in terms of employment, GS has lost its luster as a recent report indicated that GS was no longer the "best" place to work on Wall Street.  
Unfortunately, that honor went to another cohort - J.P. Morgan.  But, they too shall fall from grace as the people in this country (and around the world) begin to wake up.  The pending crisis in Europe will also be traced back to our two favorites above.  When those in Europe wake up there will be no where to run.  
Even as these two companies expand their operations in China, the Chinese will not be fooled by them either.  They know full well who the main players were in the worldwide economic crisis.  China's large stake in our country will diminish as a result and I believe that China will not take it sitting down.  
Picture by Fred R. Conrad/The New York Times
  
The Social Contract
This week President Obama said the obvious: that wealthy Americans, many of whom pay remarkably little in taxes, should bear part of the cost of reducing the long-run budget deficit. And Republicans like Representative Paul Ryan responded with shrieks of “class warfare.” 
It was, of course, nothing of the sort. On the contrary, it’s people like Mr. Ryan, who want to exempt the very rich from bearing any of the burden of making our finances sustainable, who are waging class war.

As background, it helps to know what has been happening to incomes over the past three decades.
Detailed estimates from the Congressional Budget Office — which only go up to 2005, but the basic picture surely hasn’t changed — show that between 1979 and 2005 the inflation-adjusted income of families in the middle of the income distribution rose 21 percent. That’s growth, but it’s slow, especially compared with the 100 percent rise in median income over a generation after World War II.


Meanwhile, over the same period, the income of the very rich, the top 100th of 1 percent of the income distribution, rose by 480 percent. No, that isn’t a misprint. In 2005 dollars, the average annual income of that group rose from $4.2 million to $24.3 million.

So do the wealthy look to you like the victims of class warfare? 
Read More...click here

About Mr. Krugman:
Paul Krugman joined The New York Times in 1999 as a columnist on the Op-Ed Page and continues as professor of Economics and International Affairs at Princeton University.
Mr. Krugman received his B.A. from Yale University in 1974 and his Ph.D. from MIT in 1977. He has taught at Yale, MIT and Stanford. At MIT he became the Ford International Professor of Economics.
Read More...click here

The question of taxation is a large one. There is no doubt that our entire tax code must be re written, amended and shortened.  I for one am in favor of a flat rate tax on everyone.  Keep it simple and keep it low.  However, I must admit, I do not know the answer and am not in the same league with Mr. Krugman - not even in the same hemisphere as he.

But what I do know and am expert at is living life as a middle class American.  I am expert in knowing that the financial crisis had a very devastating affect on me and my family.  I am expert in knowing that it is difficult to survive with the costs of basic necessities of life - food, lodging, fuel, telephone service and more rising with no real reason I can see other then the "greed" factor of corporations in this country today.

But in my expert opinion as a middle classer living life in the U.S. today, I must admit that Mr. Krugman does point out some very interesting stats that makes a good argument for class warfare.

I also see how the Republicans seem to be leading the charge and are the aggressors but the Democrats are equally leading the charge as aggressors as well.

We all know that our politicians are obligated to their benefactors - their campaign contributors.  We know that both sides Dems and Repubs have large corporate benefactors that they need to "report" to.  We also know that these large corporations - like the one we fight against here - employ those wealthy Americans that pay relatively little in taxes compared to the diminishing middle class.

Through their greed and often ill gotten corporate gains, these wealthy Americans - leaders of our many Too Big To Fail corporations derive their wealth as a direct result of  "the fleecing of America" - the middle class".
According to new estimates by the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, one-fourth of those with incomes of more than $1 million a year pay income and payroll tax of 12.6 percent of their income or less, putting their tax burden below that of many in the middle class.
Again, I offer no real solutions for the tax issue, nor do I take a partisan stand on this or any other issue.  Where I stand is on seeing an end to this "class warfare" and "political warfare".  Let us right the wrongs of the past, address the issues of the day and allow justice to work as it was meant to in this country.

We must stop the fleecing of America once and for all.  Allow price gouging laws to be enforced.  Enforce price fixing laws and prosecute those who violate these and other laws.  End the greed that empties the coffers of our once great middle class and allow our kids the opportunities that once existed. Bring us back to a time when true prosperity flourished by hard work, manufacturing and services.  The paper profit games that only a few can play must end as does the paper purchase (easy credit) game that further strips our economy of real value and at the same time further destroys our middle class.

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13 COMMENTS:

Crumbs said...

Sorry Larry...the social contract was discarded a long time ago...Krugman is on the teet...he empathizes to provide comfort through  a faux debate...to placate the masses. All these bureaucrats, academics, politicians, etc what do they produce? Where does their paycheck come from? perks? the privilege? You ever wonder how they do it?Exactly...it's hard to bite the hand that feeds you!


Saturday, September 24, 2011



How the Banks Take Down Politicians (Elizabeth Warren Edition)




Big banks are very powerful, and they destroy politicians they
don’t like. Obviously, they don’t do it directly, but operate through
front groups. Some of these organizations are known as “media outlets”,
such as the New York Post, which outed one of Eric Schneiderman’s lawyers as a dominatrix to embarrass and intimidate his office.

On a Federal level, the most prominent front group through which
bank-friendly and corporate-friendly smears happen is the Politico, a
powerful establishment trade publication that caters primarily to media
insiders and politicians, but gets nearly all of its substantial
advertising revenue from lobbyists seeking legislative favors. As an
example, almost every single print issue from 2009-2010 had a full-page
back page ad from Goldman Sachs.

http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2011/09/how-the-banks-take-down-politicians-elizabeth-warren-edition.html

Badsituationgetsworse said...

.3% of all “US business firms” generate 56.5% of all private payroll.
That represents an amazing amount of economic and political power.

The King Report: Parsing the Fed
The bottom line

Stocks are in a bear market; the global economy is teetering; Europe
is imploding; the global banking system is dysfunctional; most sovereign
debt no longer is ‘risk free’; nations have spent trillions trying to
prevent the collapse of socialism and crony capitalism; central banks
have monetized trillions trying to paper over collapsing living
standards, unaffordable government spending and zombie banks.

So pray tell, what will possibly spark an economic rebound? Lower
rates? Government deficit spending? Consumers taking on more debt?
Trillions have been spent on a miserable economic dead cat bounce.

The only solution is a massive purge and then the restructuring of
government, banks and consumer balance sheets and spending habits.



http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2011/09/the-king-report-parsing-the-fed/

GS666 said...

Crumbs, I don't disagree with you.  But I do have to agree with some of the observations in upper class vs. middle class incomes and that is the point I am trying to make here.  While middle class declines, upper class increase.  While middle class pays more by percent on tax, upper class pays less by percent.

There is no doubt that Krugman has certain political leanings and that is obvious.  However, that is another point I have been trying to make.  If you listen, most everyone (I say most not all) have something good to say and sometimes offer valid solutions.  We need to take what's good from everyone and formulate our thinking into policy that could work for the masses not just the classes.

AS to "How the Banks Take Down Politicians (Elizabeth Warren Edition)"

Stay tuned. My next post and its' source should be interesting. 

Crumbs said...

I'm not saying "what" Krugman says is incorrect or invalid, nor am I making a political argument. I do not believe they are representing anything or anyone. They make arguments...and will play and can play both sides..like a good lawyer. It gives the system legitimacy. It allows you to believe you are not alone...you are.


Example...From one of your posts...who does he represent?

'Jeez, Larry, that gives you an awful lot of power to shape everything,' and Larry sort of says, 'Yeah, that's the point.'

Confidence Men

"A
young economist ... [once told me that Larry once said] 'Here's the way
it works. ... I can win either side of the argument. That's my genius.
That's what I do. And then I win both sides and I think about which side
I won more fairly when deciding which is right. Sometimes I decide
otherwise,' " says Suskind. "The young economist who recounts the story
says, 'Jeez, Larry, that gives you an awful lot of power to shape
everything,' and Larry sort of says, 'Yeah, that's the point.' And
that's kind of how Larry sees it — the economic policy will be what
Larry decides in consultation with a president who has very, very little
in the way of training in economic theory or practice."

http://infoproc.blogspot.com/2011/09/confidence-men.html

Crumbs said...

One more thing....we now have people slowly being ground down financially...in most part good decent people that played by the rules...yet they'll suffer...

Low-interest CDs are eating up South Florida retiree nest eggs

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/fl-seniors-low-interest-rates-20110923,0,4680813.story



doesn't take a phd in economics to see this would have happened..that is forsake the masses for a narrow interest group...BUT...go see how much debt was raised by private equity types to do leveraged recaps over the past 3-10 years, whereby they gut the financial soundness of a company by slobbing on huge amounts of debt to pay out dividends at that lower tax rate...ahhh they live it up and then when the company's cash flow dwindles it layoff time...those bastard workers..we can't compete...look what they did they moan on tv..they wouldn't accept lower wages, etc...but they never mention the hundreds of millions that the insiders carted off ...with no recourse...and you want me or others to believe someones in the peoples corner? Nah they're playing us!

GS666 said...

I agree.  There are those who play both sides "like a good lawyer" and yes, they do make you "feel like you are not alone".  And yes, they are making arguments.  That's my point.  When they make an argument that makes sense we should listen to it and when if it makes sense we should act on it.

I am a big believer in Bi Partisanship. No one person or any one group has all the answers.  I learned very early on in my life that you could accomplish more by listening then by talking. 

Just for clarification, the Larry referred to above is Larry Summers not me.  lol.

GS666 said...

EXACTLY!!!
That is what got me into the blogging business of exposing the "truth" to those that would cover it or color it.

..."people slowly being ground down financially...in most part good decent people that played by the rules...yet they'll suffer."

Just one change, "they are STILL suffering". 

As I said in my post above:
"We must stop the fleecing of America once and for all."

"End the greed that empties the coffers of our once great middle class
and allow our kids the opportunities that once existed. Bring us back to
a time when true prosperity flourished by hard work, manufacturing and
services.  The paper profit games that only a few can play must end as
does the paper purchase (easy credit) game that further strips our
economy of real value and at the same time further destroys our middle
class."

Rollover said...

THE OTHER NEWS OF THE DAY;

A new report prepared by Russian Deputy Finance Minister Tatyana
Nesterenko about the Eurogroup meeting of the Informal Economic and
Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) in Wroclaw Poland on the growing
European debt crisis states that EU Finance Ministers were “left
stunned” Friday after they were told by US Treasury Secretary Timothy
Geithner that President Obama was “not in charge.”


According to this report, the “uninvited” US Treasury Secretary showed
up at the ECOFIN conference and engaged in what can only be described as
a “temper tantrum” where he slammed Europe’s economic policy makers for
their intransigence in provided further bailouts to Greece and when
queried by European Central Bank (ECB) Chief Jean-Claude Trichet as to
if this was “Obama’s position too” was told by Geithner, “He’s (Obama)
not in charge, I am.”

Even more stunning, this report continues, are revelations being brought
to light by the New York Times Magazine that Geithner, along with the
director of the White House National Economic Council Larry Summers,
formed an “unholy troika” with the banking behemoth Goldman Sachs to
literally steal the entire US economic system away from Obama and the
American people for the sole purpose of looting it for the benefit of a
few elite bankers, politicians and other such parasites.



http://baselinescenario.com/2011/09/23/the-price-of-gold-in-the-year-2160/#comment-84143

Mummstheword said...

Small Dictators, Big Bots
Yahoo didn't mean to censor emails about Wall Street protests. The truth is much more insidious.

We are ruled, in effect, by small dictators and big bots. And this unelected, inefficient, and sometimes-petty tyranny is throttling the growth of a vibrant, healthy Internet and fuels many problems ranging from inane "real name" policies on sites like Google+—where people can be asked for official proof of identity if their account is flagged as a nickname—to major disruptions in connectivity. This is terrible because the Internet is not just any widget—it's increasingly the heart of our networked commons. Dominance of a bad business model on the Internet doesn't just result in bad products; it results in unhealthy social dynamics.

http://www.slate.com/id/2304404/pagenum/all/#p2

Payoff said...

Why don't they take down goldman management like this?????

http://gawker.com/5843574/cop-throws-wall-st-protester-to-the-ground-for-no-obvious-reason

Worriedsick said...

Obama Goes Golfing with Bill Clintonby Keith Koffler on September 24, 2011, 2:34 pm
President
Obama this afternoon went golfing with Bill Clinton and White House
Chief of Staff Bill Daley, a rare case of Obama engaging in his favorite
form of relaxation with serious, high-level partners.

http://www.whitehousedossier.com/2011/09/24/obama-golfing-bill-clinton/

Guest said...

In the exact same fashion, conventional economics "understands" the workings of the economy
symbolically, and its "cures" play out in its artificial construct, the symbolic economy.

The symbolic economy is based on the cargo cult of "animal spirits", the
magical "humors" which ignite the economic activity quantified by the pseudo-science.
The witch-doctors at the Federal Reserve (the eminent, highly educated "expert" bleeders)
have been busy painting radio dials on rocks for the past four years, hoping that their
increasingly desperate pleas will magically reach the gods of "animal spirits."
The true nature of conventional economic's symbolic economy is best illuminated
by the cargo cult's increasing dependence on managing perceptions as the "tool"
to influence financial behavior. In other words, the "physicians" rely on
fundamentally symbolic actions to influence the symbolic economy. Simply put, no economy can consume more than it generates in real surplus. Rather than face
up to this constraint, the Fed creates phantom financial wealth which ends up in the hands
of politically influential concentrations of wealth--in essence, a self-referential cycle
of creating phantom wealth to serve the interests of current holders of phantom wealth.
http://www.oftwominds.com/blogsept11/bleeding-science-Fed9-11.html

Moneyandpolitics said...

Does money corrupt politicians?http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32450072/vp/44645552#44645552

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