Condemned to Repeat It...

“It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends on his not understanding it.” Upton Sinclair

Everyone take a minute to read Paul Krugman's take on what needs to happen to fix this mess we're in. It is a very broad base article that summarizes what has happened. We've been in a mess like this before with the savings and loan crisis and the taxpayers bailed everyone out. Again, a level of deregulation has lead us down the same path and again our money has bailed them out. When will we learn? When will they clear away all the B.S. in front of their eyes and take a look at what's really going on so maybe, just maybe some necessary changes in the greatest country in the world will take place.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/14/opinion/14krugman.html?_r=1&ref=opinion

"God's Work"

Lloyd Blankfein believes Goldman Sachs is doing "God's work". If God was on Goldman's side, I don't think He would have needed TARP money. This is a sad joke and I truly hope Blankfein chose his words incorrectly and isn't being serious. Amidst the controversy over the size of GS's employee compensation and the general discontent of Main St. towards Wall St., Blankfein found it appropriate to declare that GS serves a "social purpose." All of this commentary coming from an interview with London's Sunday Times. Blankfein says they're doing social work. "Social work," eh? Well to those who have lost their jobs recent and who's monthly budgets cost less than Lloyd's shoes, this social work hasn't quite helped society. Also, these guys sure get paid a lot for doing social work, don't you think? Well, maybe it's not such a great deal. My cousin Ron joked that aside from the humongous salaries public school teachers make in the south Bronx, they also get a 10% discount at the museums! Now THAT is a great deal. I don't know what it is with these executives, but Jeffrey Skilling (ex-CEO of Enron) also believed that he was "on the side of angels."

So, let me recap. Lloyd says that he and his crew are doing "God's work" and are serving a social purpose. He is equating GS and himself to likes of any Saint, and great social workers like Martin Luther King, Jr. My brother, Pete, had a great idea; maybe we should conduct a re-vote of the Nobel Peace Prize and give it to Blankfein instead of Obama. According to Lloyd, he is just continuing the work of Mother Teresa, the hand of God.

It's scary, they have lost touch with reality. The culture that they live in surrounded by like-minded people and their money has made them believe they really are adding something to society. Sheesh.

MWD

Get Angry

Hey Penn State! On the drive home from Michigan this weekend I stumbled upon this article in the Detroit Free Press by Mitch Albom. It covers some of the atrocities happening on Wall Street right now with a few of the financial institutions bailed out by the U.S. government (i.e. us). Mitch Albom does a spectacular job of dumbing down complex problems, cutting through the fog and getting right to the point. Even if you don't follow nor understand the economy, give this a read and you will most likely understand the issues as explained by Albom. I feel that it's very important our younger generation understands what is happening right now (I know we don't because if we do, we'd be burning down buildings on Wall Street). It's nice that the government is attacking problems like executive pay, but the root problem still stands that these banks are getting passes (and taxpayers dollars) that you and I don't. Fair? Nope! Look, I agree that what the government is trying to do is good, but they are just trying to appease the public and draw our attention away from the real problems (banks deemed too-big-to-fail are even bigger, the same issues that got us into this mess). Pay close attention to the first two, and last two paragraphs; if it gets your blood boiling, join the club. Enjoy...

Mitch Albom, "Bankers dislike pay cuts? Join the club"

Mike Donchez

Check This Out

Hey everyone! I was forwarded a very interesting article about the collapse of the financial system by my brother, Pete, today by New York Times op-ed contributor Calvin Trillin. It has a college theme to it and thought some of our readers might find it interesting!

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/14/opinion/14trillin.html?ref=opinion