Part 2: Occupy Wall Street’s misguided anger
Yesterday, I shared part of my analysis of the financial meltdown with you. I said clearly that I sympathize with many of the protesters about the failure of Wall Street in regards to the financial markets. I still remember watching the value of my home collapse, watching as one by one people close to me were let go and laid off from their jobs, and seeing foreclosure signs popping up in my neighborhood. While all that was happening, Wall Street executives were taking billions of dollars in bonuses. AIG went so far as to have Chris Dodd and Timothy Geithner change bailout language to allow them to pay their failed executives $165 million dollars in bonuses with some of the $170 billion dollars in taxpayer bailouts.
Decisions made on Wall Street literally destroyed millions of American lives, and it was their lack of prudence that caused skyrocketing unemployment and plummeting home prices. They failed the American people and while we suffered incredible hardship, they used their influence in government to keep their gravy train going. In a free market, they would have suffered the consequences of their bad decisions, but they had an ace up their sleeve: they controlled the Federal Reserve and the Treasury.
When they needed a bailout, former Goldman Sachs CEO Hank Paulson was there to deliver $700 billion dollars worth of bailouts. Paulson and Fed Chair Ben Bernanke scared Congress into passing the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) under the premise that Paulson would use that money to buy the toxic assets that we talked about yesterday. After passage, Paulson changed his mind in favor of giving the banks a “cash infusion,” or gigantic handout. Paulson, Bernanke, and Timothy Geithner had already manipulated the free market when they arranged shotgun marriages between Merrill Lynch and Bank of America, and Bear Stearns and JP Morgan. While they helped consolidate power for some, they also let Lehman Brothers fail. After letting Lehman fail, they changed policies and opened up the Federal Reserve discount window to investment banks. This policy shift would have saved Lehman, but conveniently for Goldman Sachs it came just hours too late. Hank Paulson used his government position to eliminate one of his firm’s largest competitors.
Despite promises to the contrary, Obama continued Wall Street’s control of fiscal policy by reappointing Wall Street favorites Ben Bernanke (Fed) and Timothy Geithner (Treasury). Obama famously said to 13 Wall Street bankers, “I’m the only thing between you and the pitchforks,” and he has been delivering for them ever since.
I sympathize with the “Occupy Wall Street” protestors because when I joined the Tea Party movement, I wanted to see the criminals who caused this mess serving long prison sentences. I started researching how the whole thing happened, and what I found was that the people who needed to be put in prison were GOVERNMENT officials. The irresponsible Wall Street executives deserved to fail and suffer the same fate as the American people they stole from, but the true criminals are the corrupt government officials who betrayed the American people by manipulating the market in exchange for favors. As the ranking members of the House and Senate committees that oversaw fiscal policy, Barney Frank and Chris Dodd were the worst offenders. They were joined by a long list of bipartisan bastards who sold us all out, and as I learned, I focused my anger towards both defeating the corrupt politicians and electing patriots who would investigate their criminal behavior.
I could go on and on about how the government, at the behest of Wall Street, engineered the financial collapse, and for the sake of brevity have left out information about Clinton’s deregulation, the “Affordable Housing Act,” and hundreds of other corrupt policies purchased for pennies on the dollar from crooked politicians. Hopefully, the “Occupy Wall Street” protestors will realize the same way I did that the only reason Wall Street was able to rob the American people -searching to satisfy their unquenchable greed – was that a large group of corrupt politicians took control of a government that had far too much control over our lives. The solution is not MORE government; the solution is FAR LESS government.
I believe in limited government, personal responsibility, and FREE markets. The markets have been manipulated by a government that is far too powerful. I hate the corrupt bastards whose reckless gambling sank our economy, but I blame the corrupt government that both let them do it, and then protected them from the consequences that they had earned. I pray that these protestors will educate themselves and make the logical decision to join our political movement that is going to restore our great nation.
25 Responses to “Part 2: Occupy Wall Street’s misguided anger”
Leave a Reply
Nice job of placing the corruption on the correct people…..pls keep it up unending ’til the election.
You are right on man, I hope the protester’s see the light and join our cause for the election of conservative constitutional goverment reps. Keep up the great work.
Dustin: I completely agree with your analysis and conclusions…these government officials must be called to accountability.
Dustin, any chance you would be willing to write a book with all the facts you have uncovered? I’d like to read it…
You really are an optimist. Have you seen and listened to any of these anachists and losers that are in the so-called Occupy group. They either don’t have a clue or want this country to become a communist collective. Don’t hold yuour breath thinking that they are going to come aroound.
I don’t feel sorry for any of them. when you REELECT these career criminals that is exactly what you will get. most voters are BRAIN DEAD. they know everything about sports and nothing about the thugs in congress. THE TEA PARTY IS STARTING TO GET IT TOGETHER. VOTE THE PUNKS OUT AND PUT IN OUR PEOPLE. THE FEDS AND IRS ARE ILLEGAL. DID YOU KNOW THAT? I do. Pete Sotos, CLU financial adviser / tax authority.
who created the feds and irs at the same time in 1913. it was called the FEDERAL RESERVE ACT OF 1913. was it a bunch of bankers and a wall street financier and only one PUNK treasonous senator, named Nelson Aldrich form Newport, R.I. and where? Jekyll Island off the coast of Gerorgia. I thought only legislators created laws in congress. See what I mean by brain dead.
I thought it was from Woodrow Wilson who needed the money to help finace America through World War 1. After the war, nobody repealed the law so here we sit, paying our income taxes, 98 years later. I say screw that. Abolish the act, give the IRS their pink slip, and let the states pick it up.
Dustin, you nail it in everything you say but I agree with RB, these are the same Marxist/anachist that show up at every economic summit in the world to destroy property that others prodced and just raise hell. I wish they could all be forced to read “the Federalist Papers” and a few of Ayn Rand’s books, (Anthem) would be a great start! But first the need to shower and be de-liced!
Dustin: … good info for sure. Have you seen the movie ‘Inside Job’ ? It chronicles much of the same information you are presenting here. I wondered if you had input on that movie production effort?
We are a terrible ‘fix’ in this country and I see NO short term escape from it. It took years to get in this jam, and here we are.
It will take years to right this wrong.
As long as ‘sports/athletics’ is KING in America, don’t look for much change toward a better direction……..
I think you need to be very careful in linking the Tea Party to these left loons protesting on Wall Street. There is no similarity in the goals or the vision of these two groups. The fact is…. to covet another persons success or possessions says more about the character of these individuals. There are people in this country who make decisions in their lives that lay the foundation of where they will end up. I look at the people of the Tea Party and then look at those protesting…. both want change…. but the wall street protestors want more government oversight…. Tea Party wants less. I think you seem to think they are on the same page…. they aren’t.
Melody,
I think Dustin’s invitation to the protesters to join the Tea Party is tongue in cheek. He knows who these people are.
Gregg
Enjoyed reading your comments, and believe that most of them are spot on. However I must disagree with one premise you support, one that is widely held. There is no “Free Market” or true capitalism in the US. By definition, free markets and capitalism are made effective and efficient by competition. There is no effective competition in the US. Only 3 major oil companies exist in the US. Package delivery is controlled by 2 companies. There are only 2 significant steel companies, 2 computer manufacturers; the list goes on and on. I know this is likely heresy in your thought process, but it is only by government intervention that we are not subject to monopolistic abuses in some of these areas.
Mergers and buyouts have destroyed any true capitalism left in this country. So blindly relying on “free markets” save us is no better than relying on government.
All well said. However, I will not discount these people. The Tea Party was also written off initially, and look at them now. Money started to show up in New York. Catered food stands, water stands, and a number of other nice things that “someone” is paying for.
I suspect Mr. Soros is involved in this somewhere along the line. But you can be sure, his involvement is insulated from direct association so he can claim this is an organic thing. They said the Tea Party was ‘astro-turf’. I say, these people & groups along Wall Street, are the real astro-turf. This is vintage Sal Alinsky tactic with a huge dose of socialist drivel to boot. (Heck, even the UN may be a sponsor!)
The media will champpion this effort, make it look & sound like its a real America thing, and attack anyone who questions it.
BTW… notice these folks tear apart & want to create hassles to get arrested plus cause trouble, while the Tea Party folks actaully cleaned up after a number of their rallies.
Wanna bet these folks will not clean up after themselves??? Any takers????
Weren’t the seeds of this whole mess sown by the Democrat Congress and Jimmy Carter in 1977 through the Community Reinvestment Act? It seems to me that not only did the government permit the misbehavior and then protect the perpetrators, but it created the environment that allowed the situation to develop in the first place.
The Progressive,ie Communist party in the U.S. has a 100 yr history of moving us in this direction. 2008 gave us a perfect storm of having all the right people in the perfect position to carry out its plan. These bills were already written and waiting in the wings for the right opportunity, and the electorate unwittingly gave it to them. Any doubts, google Agenda 21, and the Bilderburger Group, the Fed. Nobody in Washington dares to stand up to them for fear of harm to themselves or thier families. Our history is littered with politicians who tried and paid for it with their lives.
Dustin…..why don’t you follow up on this article by naming ALL members of congress that voted to fund TARP so we can decide whether to support or oppose these politicians?????????
This is an excellent article.
Thank you for clearing up this bank/government chaos. Everything would work again in the USA, if same goes back to the “We the people, by the people, for the people” again. This country also needs worry about itself and not the rest of the world. We owe China over a trillion dollars..say what?. How about staying out of Israel’s business, and let Palastinians go to Jordan. Mixing will never work, it’s just an Arab foothold, for eventual takeover.Just read what the Prez of Iran had said about destroying lsrael. The USA is even giving the shaft to Taiwan by not selling more jets, don’t want to piss off our landlord China. Wake up USA before it’s too late. Finally, maybe 1in10 protesters aren’t the Amnesty Internat’l types, or th Anarchists.
This is an excelent article and brings to light some issues. I feel that this misguided anger is just a diversionary tactic… call it a gut feeling. Jans post is probably more in tune here. This communist/socialictic thing has been around before but with disastorous endings. It is about control by a few over the masses. It is a way for the banker/elites to rob, cheat, steal, plunder and even murder everybody that is not in their circle. It is conquest by subversion. This satanic idology has gone around the world and has finally come here to America roost. Only a few enlightened souls see through this sham while the rest are just pawns for the cause while not realizing it. Its been done before and it is being done again, but with one difference… in America. All I can say is good luck to all. It is time to prepare for the blood bath that is about to begin. That is what Socialism/Communism really is all about.
I must disagree with the articles writer about the motives of the Wall Street protesters. The main purpose is to disrupt the financial stability of the United States. Mr. Lerner, an old union friend of the this administration, along with others, have made it theur mission to see the United States brought down. Mr. Lerner’s main theme in speaches he has given for months has been to bring the same type of upheavel and riots, which were going on in the Middle East during the spring and early summer to the United States. Their purpose is to undermine the economy. By creating economic turmoil the those factions believe they can breakdown our economy thus hastening a socialist government in its place. Many have warned about this and been scoffed at, now it is coming to fruition. Do not mistake this for anything else than the subversive actions.
I agree the main culprets in the financial meltdown were our own politicians and their selfgrandizing legislation. They positioned their friend and cronies in these financials houses then passed legislation benefical to both groups. The implimentation of the legislation along with the resulting rules and regulation kept both parties pockets well lubricated. Once the meltdown happened then the finger pointing began, it was all the bankers fault, even thought they got their jobs through political influence. Then, there is the audacity of Washington to put Barney Frank and Chris Dodd in charge of coming up with a solution to the situation, is absurd in itself.
Dear Mr. Stockton:
Your premise is like saying that the drug mule is more guilty than the drug kingpin who hires, trains and pays him.
Sure the politicians sold us out. And they were bought and paid for by Wall St. and banks and the rest of the military industrial complex.
If a politician does not perform they don’t even have to give them money now. They just threaten to spend millions on viscous attacks at election time.
Corrupt politicians took control of government alright because they were carefully conscripted and financed by those who have the most to gain from corrupting government, Wall St. the banks and multinational corporations who are already richer than many nations. Democracy cannot exist in a plutocracy.
Democracy and plutocracy cannot coexist. Which side are you on?
Guy Josserand
guyjsoh3@gmail.com
The moveon.org is now backing the wall street idiots. I wish our feds would take a year off. Everything they legislate has consequences that are not considered. Barney frank should be thrown out of the congress for his insistance that fannie and freddie were doing great. The feds order to the banks to finance anyone so they could buy a home when they could not ever pay the loan back started this whole mess. And then guarenteed that the banks would not have to suffer the consequences is stupid. If the feds would leave everything alone and take the unecessary regulations off free enterprise and kill the epa, the USA would recover quickly.
Good one, Dustin.All these scum sucking cretins deserve what Mussolini got for his fascistic abuse of the people. I would urge you to publish for your readers/donors an expose about the real ROOT problem we face, which is the Federal Reserve and the private banking families who control it. They are in the process of destroying the middle classes worldwide, not just here in America. When the people understand that the Fed is a “private” criminal enterprise in business for the sole benefit of it’s shareholders, then we will see a turn around in our country and the world.
Ron Paul knows this. It’s what he has preached for 30 + years. He is the truth, the light and the way out of this mess and it is why he is ignored by the main stream corporate owned media. He can’t be controlled like a Perry, Romney, or a Gingrich candidate and this is also why he is feared and maligned. The Tea Party movement needs to understand this and get behind his candidacy, because anyone else is just more of the same, because the Corporatists who own the government also own both political parties. My God, the corruption is so breathtaking and the uprooting of this evil will be very painful, but it is worth the effort…….. for us and for the generations to come.
Dear Mr. Stockton:
Fabulous report! Is there a statute of limitations on this type of criminal activity? Let’s hope the “Occupy Wall Street” protesters actions cause new light to be shined on these cockroaches and they are made to stand trial.
Sincerely,
Steven