“The AIG bailout, in effect,” writes Matt Taibbi at Rolling Stone, “was Goldman bailing out Goldman...rich bankers bailing out rich bankers, using the taxpayers’ credit card.” The bailout is as much about power as it is money.
Today on GRITtv MATT TAIBBI, JANE HAMSHER, and ROBERT JOHNSON discuss what can be done to take that power back from the financial institutions that have wrecked the economy and, along the way, our democracy.
New regulatory powers for the treasury?
Who’s regulating whom?
By GRITtv on March 25th, 2009 at 11:02 am
isn’t the full question – does it go (dominating powers that still be) deeper than the banks/fincl instutions? it’s well time to get on that thought, or decide it is not.
perhaps the title ‘button, button, who’s really got the button?’ could be the lead for thought..
thanks for all efforts!
prayers always.
By kbreality on March 25th, 2009 at 11:16 am
Hey, I’m on with Rob, Matt and Laura. If you’ve got questions, leave ‘em in the comments.
By Jane Hamsher on March 25th, 2009 at 12:14 pm
The question “Who runs the country” is obivious to a cynic like myself. The same people who have always run the country. The rich, the powerful, the bureaucracy, the permanent mid to upper level civil servant. The 2 tier justice system(one type of justice for the rich and powerful, a second for everyone else) shows us exactly who runs the country. 1 guess and it is not the people that we elected.
Will Obama be able to enact his budgetary plans? Not if the senior civil service is not behind him.
In my 28.5 years of federal service I watched many ideas from the appointed heads of the various agencies of govt fall into oblivion because the senior civil service staff did not like them. The DoD is especially noted for this type of (in)action
By timr on March 25th, 2009 at 12:37 pm
Great discussion. Here’s something we all can do about this::
http://anewwayforward.org/demonstrations/
National grassroots protests for breaking up the banks and actually reforming the financial industry. If the power structure running our country right now are going to be stopped, people need to get out in the streets and show that they are mad. But it’s not just blind anger, we have a clear message:
“If it’s too big to fail, it’s too big to exist.”
By donnydonny on March 25th, 2009 at 12:46 pm
The bureaucrats revenge? Study it and wait.
By Synoia on March 25th, 2009 at 12:47 pm
DIGG IS OPEN
By acquarius74 on March 25th, 2009 at 1:25 pm
Thank you, Laura. This subject which is so well covered here in your video is so important that I’m giving the link again here to Matt Taibbi’s article entitled The Big Takeover, dated 03/19/2009. It covers this whole stinking mess from its beginning to today.
IMHO, Goldman Sachs is robbing this country much the same as J.P. Morgan and the Robber Barons did to cause the 1929 crash. We need a truly honest, objective investigation and audit of Goldman Sachs and all their off-shore branches/subsidiaries. That just might answer the question of “where is all that money gone?” It just might reveal the names of all the government officials who are in GS’s pocket.
By acquarius74 on March 25th, 2009 at 2:05 pm
Hi Laura,
Started on your site recently thru FDL and I think it’s the format of the future for the Net.
Very well done and informative.
Thank you
By LittleG on March 25th, 2009 at 5:50 pm