Bernanke, Paulson, Merkin---salivating to divvy up the taxpayers' billions.
Posted on 01/10/2009 6:46:32 AM PST by Liz
Two high-profile culprits in a pair of colossal economic scandals bit the dust yesterday.... * Robert Rubin, Clinton's onetime Treasury secretary, resigned as senior counselor at Citigroup. * Madoffian J. Ezra Merkin resigned as GMAC Financial Services Chairman, effective immediately. Rubin architected risky debt strategy that brought once-great Citi to its knees, costing it $20 billion in losses the past year alone. ....shares fell to 10% of as Rubin was collecting $115 million in salary - plus stock options. Now America's taxpayers are forced to bail out Citigroup to the tune of $45 billion in cash and $306 billion in guarantees......and are bailing out GMAC with $6 billion......
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
Bernanke, Paulson, Merkin---salivating to divvy up the taxpayers' billions.
Isn’t there a whistle-blower somewhere in the house?
I thought you were kidding with the headline. Google the definition of “MERKIN” (warning: adult content)
....Bob
.
Here’s a good breakdown of the culpability of Wall St. in this mess. Speaker called them financial meth labs.
http://www.clipsyndicate.com/publish/video/801852/lessons_from_warren_buffett_fixing_the_economy
This such a small start. And these guys will
“resign” and segue into some Think Tank (probably with 6 figure incomes for writing papers to “advise” Bambi) plus ballooning golden parachutes that guarantees their personal wealth.
What about PAULSON!!!!!! Possibly the biggest hustler in US HISTORY??? and GREENSPAN? Is Alan’s 401K slipping away?
And these are two of Bush’s chief advisors on this Titanic journey of US adminstration...
From Karl Denninger- whistle blower extraordinaire:
http://market-ticker.org/archives/680-Is-Government-To-Blame.html
“Removal of leverage limits system-wide. Fannie and Freddie, when they blew up, were running at 80:1 leverage. Goldman Sachs CEO Henry Paulson, now Treasury Secretary, personally appeared in front of the SEC and Congress to ask that leverage limits on investment banks be removed.
He was turned down in 2000 under Clinton’s SEC and came back under Bush’s in 2004 and got what he asked for.
Every one of the institutions that has failed in this debacle was running leverage in excess of the previously-mandated limits by a factor of two or more and the last, terminal phase of the housing bubble could not have happened without this change in the law. For this Henry Paulson is DIRECTLY AND PERSONALLY RESPONSIBLE.”
And look who bullied the President and Congress to give him $700 Billion in 48 hours without debate or controls, and in totla disregard of public demand, and look who he’s given it to - and refusal by all to answer questions about how they used it
...the very banks ruined by PAULSON’s lobbying while at Goldman Sachs- for deregulation on leverage!!!!
and look who Paulson brought into Treasury to help run TARP. Another Goldman Sachs executive.
WHERE IS THE CONGRESSIONAL OVERSIGHT!!!!!!!!
as for Greenspan:
http://market-ticker.org/archives/680-Is-Government-To-Blame.html
” Deregulation of derivatives. Greenspan’s Fed (along with the CFTC, also under government control) permitted the writing of unregulated derivatives over-the-counter with absolutely no capital or margin supervision. Essentially-unlimited leverage was thus permitted, and AIG’s explosion (along with Lehman and Bear) was the result. Congress allowed this outrage, praising it as “financial innovation”, when in fact it was nothing other than bank robbery (literally) by deceit”
WHERE ARE THE CONGRESSIONAL HEARINGS?
Which Republican will have the balls to tie Rubin to the crooks in Congress? This country is seriously lacking a statesman or two.
The Government is not made up of the various puppets in red or blue costumes we elect to office. Congress will hold whatever hearings it is told to hold, and none other.
;-)
Ever since this putz has became a 'pubic figure', I snicker every time I see his name.
If I was him I'd have changed it loooong ago)
“MERKIN”
I first saw this word in the scifi book the barbie murders.
pubic wig?
Maybe Obaba's COS Rahm Emanuel will come forth (snicker):
Rahm is perfection itself---Rahm's so perfect he's downright scary. An amazing career path---straight-to-the-top trajectory---and Rahm did it all by hisself (sniffle).
RAHM'S EFFORTLESS RISE TO THE TOP Even voted "Mr Perfect" by Democrat candidates looking for donations from financial outfits.
"Mr Perfect" resigned his position as an advisor to Bill Clinton, in 1998 to become a Wall Street investment banker with Wasserstein Perella, (now Dresdner Kleinwort), where he worked until 2002. In 1999, "Mr Perfect" became managing director at their Chicago office. According to Congressional disclosures, Emanuel made $16.2 million in his 2 1/2 year stint as a banker.
Amazingly, "Mr Perfect" became a multi-millioniare overnight----and he wasn't even voted "Most Likely To Succeed" (sniffle).
At Wasserstein Perella, Mr Perfect worked on eight deals, including the acquisition by Commonwealth Edison of Peco Energy and the purchase by GTCR Golder Rauner of the SecurityLink home security unit from SBC.
Rahm then ran for Congress; luckily members of the securities and investment industry became his biggest backers, donating more than $1.5M to his campaigns dating back to 2002, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
Mr Perfect also leaned heavily upon the industry as 2006 Dem Congressional Campaign Committee Chair. Financial industry donors contributed more than $5.8M to the Dem committee, behind only retirees.
Pres Bill Clinton in 2000 named Mr Perfect to the Board of Directors for the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation ("Freddie Mac"). Rahm's position paid him $31,060 in 2000 and $231,655 in 2001. During the time Emanuel spent on the board, Freddie Mac was plagued with scandals involving campaign contributions and accounting irregularities. The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) later accused the board of having "failed in its duty to follow up on matters brought to its attention." Emanuel resigned from the board in 2001 when he ran for Congress.
=====================================
In between Rahm's career choices, he won a coveted scholarship to the prestigious Joffrey School of Ballet...he was that good in a tutu. There was just one LITTLE problem.
"We double checked with The Joffrey School of Ballet."
" Rahm solved that problem by stuffing a rolled-up sock in his leotard."
=======================================
Golly, selfless, altruistic Rahm even found time to serve with (or in) the Israeli military. Jeepers, can you believe Obaba has not responded to these Islamic smears that Rahm has had to endure (sniffle). Here's some helpful hints so that Obaba can respond (depending, of course, on which version of Rahm's story he believes):
SELFLESS RAHM HAS GIVEN OUT THIS VERSION He did not serve in the Israeli army. He was a civilian volunteer assisting the Israel Defense Forces during the 1991 Gulf War, repairing truck brakes in one of Israel's northern bases.
ALTRUISTIC RAHM HAS GIVEN OUT THIS VERSION, AS WELL During the 1991 Gulf War, Israel was asked by the United States not to militarily respond to the Scud missiles that Iraq was hurling at them. Israel did not .........and Rahm was in Israel to assist them in not responding militarily.
Obaba can settle this Islamic smear jihad ONCE AND FOR ALL. Obaba should obtain copies of Rahn's paychecks to demonstrate that payments to Rahm were NOT coming out of the IDF military budget. Cause if they did, that would wipeout Rahm's US citizenship (bawl).
Look for Rubin to be an unofficial, under the radar adviser to Obambam.
...I'm pretty sure he already is...I remember all during the last decade having Rubin thrown in the faces of Republicans & conservatives as the economic genius behind the prosperous Clinton years...turns out my hunch all along was correct...he was all smoke and mirrors...he was only good for gaming the system.
Rubin doesn’t care, he’s rich. It p*sses me off these arrogant so called public servants rip off the system and they don’t serve jail time.
Not if he put his money with "sure-thing" Madoff (evil laugh).
No question.
B/c Obaba LOVES losers....
Keeep in mind.....it was in mid-February 2008 that Citi (and 2 other major banks) pulled out of the CDO securities auction which, though not to blame for the current malaise.......was the trigger that setoff the meltdown.
Rubin's " financial genius" at work (gag).
NY POST, By PAUL THARP, 12/04/08
EXCERPT A new Citigroup scandal is engulfing Robert Rubin and his former disciple Chuck Prince for their roles in an alleged Ponzi-style scheme that's now choking world banking. Director Rubin and ousted CEO Prince - and their lieutenants over the past five years - are named in a federal lawsuit for an alleged complex cover-up of toxic securities that spread across the globe, wiping out trillions of dollars in their destructive paths.
Investor-plaintiffs in the suit accuse Citi management of overseeing the repackaging of unmarketable collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) that no one wanted - and then reselling them to Citi and hiding the poisonous exposure off the books in shell entities.
The lawsuit said that when the bottom fell out of the shaky assets in the past year, Citi's stock collapsed, wiping out more than $122 billion of shareholder value. However, Rubin and other top insiders were able to keep Citi shares afloat until they could cash out more than $150 million for themselves in "suspicious" stock sales "calculated to maximize the personal benefits from undisclosed inside information," the lawsuit said.
The amended suit called the actions of Citi leaders "a quasi-Ponzi scheme" to hide troubles - and keep Citi stock afloat while insiders unloaded about 3 million shares between Jan. 1, 2004 and Feb. 22, 2008 for huge profits. In addition to Citigroup, Rubin and Prince, the complaint names Vice Chairman Lewis Kaden, ex-CFO Sallie Krawcheck and her successor CFO Gary Crittenden.
Rubin cleared $30.6 million on his stock sales, while Prince got $26.5 million, former COO Robert Druskin got nearly $32 million and former Global Wealth Management unit chief Todd Thomson got $25.7 million, the suit said.
SOURCE http://www.nypost.com/seven/12042008/business/ponzi_scheme_at_citi_142511.htm
Rubin’s bailing out on CITI? Who’s going to move in to Rubin’s cube?
Heh——maybe Booby will find something useful to do besides playing with his portfolio.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.