Countdown: Special Comment on the Bank Bailouts and Corporate Greed-Enough!

[TheBardsofBalance]

What we have is corporate socialism.

[starmanskye]

@TheBardsofBalance -- What you mean is Privatized Profits paid by Publicized Debt... What a fuckin racket, Casino Capitalsim aka Vampire Capitalism, the inevitable result of Fascism. If the FED were nationalized and run as a non-profit publicly-owned utility, the minor fee of modest interest loans to ordinary people as well as businesses w/ reduced overhead costs could replace income taxes. Corporations are anathema to Democracy! Usury is poison! Diversify business ownership & public resources!

[TheBardsofBalance]

What we have is corporate socialism.

[xgenra]

we should bring back crucifixion.

and crucify one CEO or bernie madoff, etc every week on the halftime of the monday night football show.

[oldhank2003]

ok enuff. the entire whitey society is a giant ponzi scheme. Why send madoff to prison, when he was only doing what all financial/insurance/taxing systems are doing. No matter what the economies condition, the sun always rises each day and the world keeps on turning. Im sure that in a communist country you didnt hafta worry about being mugged/ carjacked by a crackhead.

[combatoverridebutton]

Dear Olbermann,

While GE, the parent-company of your network, was negotiating a $126 billion taxpayer-funded bailout, you signed a new contract raising your salary from $4 million to $7.5 million annually. You have used your show as a platform calling for the resignation of corp executives accepting excessive bonuses on the backs of taxpayers who are picking up the tab for these atrocious bailouts, yet you yourself have no problem in the same class economic rape that you accuse them of.

[Poole1Dan]

rediculous

[realratatat]

continued...and I'm so impressed that Overbite has so much dough that he does not want..? or need..? any more...so he is going to work for free now...and donate his time cause he feels guilty about the ridiculous amount of money he suckered the networks out of...?

[autonamous1]

"Overbite" is not being payed with our tax dollars.

[realratatat]

swaggajee....never..ever..put a cap on the amount of money someone..anyone...can EARN...you want to blame and hold accountable all people for the actions of those that...Get ready for this...played by the rules set forth...The GOVERNMENT set this situation up..and they reaped the money from it just like the execs...hell they left gov. to become lobbyists and show execs...how to manipulate the system...So blame Chris Dodd if you will, these guys were within their gov. contract...get it..?

[autonamous1]

Almost true, but there was criminal activity between institutions like AIG and the ratings agencies which intentionally understated the probability of default on the morgages which AIG and others sold insurance packages on in exchange for AIG's (and others') business.

AIG did not "EARN" thier money. They created it out of thin air. I agree though that the government made it really easy.

[realratatat]

autoamous1...pulling money out of "thin air" seems to be a trend these days...but Hell..the Fed Treasury doesn't want to be topped...so "Poof" a trillion dollars has just materialized out of "thin air"...funny thing though...is it materialized out of the air in the Fed Reserve..which we then put up Treasury bond to secure this air...so it looks like it materialized out of " thin air" with INTEREST...now that is something to marvel at and be pissed about..it's more than a measly $165 million..

[realratatat]

autonamous...."criminal activity between AIG and agencies with intent to understate capitol loss probability" is a shell game our government plays with us every fricken day...it was just legitimized into law to the tune of..what..?..800 billion..? and the CBO just said on Fri. that the Treasury Sec. missed his estimate by 1.3 trillion...now you see why I am not so interested in looking at wages paid "by contract" to AIG when there is this "big fish" to fry in the other pan..."OUR GOVERNMENT"

[realratatat]

I for one would like to know how much of percentage our wages, cost for products purchased...and manufacturing...that is shipped out of the country...and into the banks of foreigners....back in the day the golden rule was to buy American...I want to know how much wealth we have lost since this practice was shut down for globalism...any one...not just the trade imbalance but the percentage now..compared to then..

[blu65gibson]

bunch of criminals.they blame the working man for buying a house he or she can't afford,which has happened but not everyone did that.alot of people COULD afford the home they bought,they however could not afford it after their job went to china,mexico,india etc.... corporate america is getting away with slavery south of the border and overseas.

[realratatat]

Hey blu65gibson..couldn't agree more...you should send Pres. Clinton a letter thanking him for giving China "Favored Trade Partner" status....every fucking thing produced in the US is underpriced by goods from China...which are subsidized BY China we can't compete with this and our gov. does nothing..fucking nothing about it...

[GriffinPilgrim]

Right on, Keith!

[Relugus]

Keith is spot on.

Conservatives go on about Welfare Queens but these corporate crooks are taking absolutely gigantic welfare handouts and spending it on luxuries.

They regard us taxpayers as slaves who exist purely to feather their nests.

[smialek316]

Relugus that was very well stated in fact, i could not have said it better myself. I have co-workers that are conservative, and I try to state the point that you made all the time.

What these criminals at A.I.G and other corporations have done is treasonous and they should all be thrown in jail. These Conservatives can never again bitch and moan about Illegal Immigtants,etc. with all of the corporate welfare these executive criminals are getting.

[kiwimac]

Olbermann, as usual, has the right of it!

[areki38]

I knew Olbermann was courageous when he took on the Bush administration. But taking on big capital like this is his ballsiest move ever. I'm always like "When are the masses just gonna go in there and hang the bloody bastards?". But for a TV anchor to make clear that it's really just the goodwill of the people that lets the finance-goons keep their heads upon their shoulders is a one-time classic. This special comment will be remembered as the horn which sounded the signal - enough!

[swaggajee]

Why doesn't Obama set the Wall Street goons down and give them 1 of 2 options.

Either they listen to what the government says or else face the wrath of the general public.

I know those Wall Street bitches won't wanna see me cause I'll shove a broom up their ass and take a couple of their hundreds of millions they own. So they better listen to the government since they will try to remain civil.

[realratatat]

swaggajee...cause that is the stupidest thing they could do or you could suggest..

[swaggajee]

Really? It's stupid for the government to dictate to the CEOs what they can or can't do with OUR money?

Sorry but these CEOs need to realize that if they were REALLY the "best and brightest" then we wouldn't be in this fucked up situation.

They're lucky that we don't put them in jail for 150 years like Madoff. And they need to realize this.

[realratatat]

and if your so upset..then why don't you ask Keith Overbite here to cap his salary or maybe he should only be paid for one job..instead of sports broadcaster and Tv commentator and all the shit he is tied too...fuck you won't here a peep out of him if we made a big hub bub about his pay...but no..lets go after people who followed the requirements of a contract that was mediated and signed off by Dodd..the house and senate commitee and the POTUS...lets go tax the money back the earned...

[swaggajee]

They earned???? THEY EARNED???? Ummm seeing as how combined they've all lost over a TRILLION dollars I don't think they earned a damn thing!!!

They should be fired and when you get fired you ain't gonna get a damn bonus. At least not in THE REAL WORLD that 98% of us live in!!!!

BTW you talk about KO being "overpaid" but you're the ignorant fucktard who missed KO on Real Time saying he doesn't want or need anymore money.

[realratatat]

swaggajee...once again you want to hold everyone at AIG accountable for what some in only part of a corporation did...that ones that did not flee the sinking ship...were contracted to wind down certain accounts before the could be paid for it...this saved hundreds of billions that otherwise would of been lost...your not going to get some fry cook from McDees to work this complicated system..so the pay was ADEQUATE for the service..once again write to Clinton for the apology..he signed the law..

[swaggajee]

Ugh, where do I sart?

Once again...stop being so freakin ignorant. Did Bill Clinton sign it in? Yes, and he does hold SOME blame to it. But who was it that WROTE it up and pressured Clinton into signing it? Bill Graham, you freakin retard.

It was one of Clinton's last signings and who knows if he was able to understand the loophole Graham had put in there to let companies like Enron & AIG to use OUR money to try and make a profit and lose it all.

[realratatat]

swaggajee...swaggy...no need to be hostile...my point is Graham (yes a repub) wrote it but the pres signed it into law...it would be like me holding congress and senate to blame for the last 2 years...abut it is the pres with the final authority..and if anyone...anyone ...should know what the consequences of that bill are...he is the last man to sign it and put it into law...period..end of story.....so I believe he knew exactly what the loopholes offered and went along for the ride..

[swaggajee]

Finally, where did I ever say a fry cook could be CEO of AIG or whatever? No, I'm pretty damn sure that 99% of them couldn't.

But there are hundreds of thousands of people like my stepdad who have run their own business for 30+ years and haven't filed for bankruptcy.

I'm POSITIVE that those people could RESPONSIBLY run AIG or GM without ruining them or having to get paid 30+ million a year. Their salaries are obscene and partly why they don't have money to sustain themselves.

[realratatat]

swaggy..the fry cook analogy was not meant for any other purpose than too highlight the intellect necessary to wind these instruments down...without causing a total melt down of AIG in what surely would of been a panic and run on the accounts...I'm sure your father ran a successful business to be proud of...but unfortunately these credit default swaps were written with very difficult terminology that even the managers could not understand them..hence we need smart MFrrs to unwind/unload them

[swaggajee]

I don't care about the complexities. That is just an old Republican trick for when they KNOW they fucked up. Ya'll try to muddy up and make the issue a lot more complex than it really is.

It comes down to RESPONSIBILITY to the COMPANY!!!

If you claim that these people are SOOOO smart then they certainly knew that the risk of their behavior could lead to their companies being ruined. But they still went ahead and behaved irresponsible.

[realratatat]

swaggy...1st off..I'm not a repub and couldn't give a shit about either party...it is however naive on your part to think that a multi national corporation would not have people on board with their own agenda...they were there to make money at all costs and could not care less if the company folded as long as they got theirs...that said...quit blaming everyone there for the damage done by the few..it is a fact this was a rogue outfit that destroyed the work of thousands around the world..

[swaggajee]

Sorry, I should have said Conservative trick.

Dude, wake up!! All the CEO needs is the board on his side which he has control with who gets put on the board.

Also, quit making excuses for "the few". The top 5% makes more than the entire bottom 50%. So yeah, they do run things and should be regulated.

[kaduisaui]

kill the federal reserve

[kargenlewis]

wallstreet has been scamming us for decades and they should have been put in jail long ago.

[xhagast]

If this was a really capitalistic society half of those bastards would be jumping out of their windows. Because the government would not have bailied them out, their banks would have collapsed without the Federal Reserve and their properties and stock would have lost most of their value. They would be as broke and homeless as most Americans they screwed.

Unfortunately we would be as badly off as during the Great Depression and the economy would have collapsed.

[bbbbmer]

HALLELUIA & AMEN!!!

[jarmtx]

word

[angelbe88]

The whole system is a Fraud.

[PatricksTime]

AIG sent 35 billion over sees!!!

13 banks receiving bailout didn't pay income taxes!!!

geithner allowed the bonuses to be paid out!!!

FIRE GEITHNER!!!

when is olbermann going to realize government is the problem?

[fastcats3]

I agree that Geithner needs to go but he approved the bonuses while head of the Federal Reserve. The Reserve is about as much a part of the federal government as is Federal Express. AIG paid billions to UBS who just settled a case with the US for tax evasion. So...our tax dollars are being used to pay the taxes of a corrupt foreign bank who refuses to turn over the 50,000 American names who they helped to hide funds from the tax collector! Geithner approved this too!

[swaggajee]

"when is olbermann going to realize government is the problem?"

And when is a damn fool like yourself going to realize that it was the LACK OF GOVERNMENT that got us into this mess in the FIRST PLACE!!!

It's not the government, dumbass. It's GREED!!! You think Geithner is the problem? Noooo, he's been sucking up to the CEO's so he can get a MAJOR PAYDAY when he's done playing the government role.

So it's not government. It's GREED that has been the problem of the economy.

[Scoppertop]

Keith-- I think if you bothered to check the Bankster Parties guest lists, you'd find all the people who stole our money.

[eschkg21]

yeah that was awesome, hes totally right...

[SpearMaster]

"Good Night and Good Luck." Wow, I'm fucking speechless after that.

[mrtdot]

nationalize the banks already

[jgoedereis]

That was a thing of beauty.

[DirtyDirtracer2006]

go keith. Exactly what I've wanted someone to say for the past year, except maybe regulation of media.

[eschkg21]

i agree, however, that the media ownership should be regulated...

[aver4e]

He talked about regulating media ownership, not the media itself