Not only did Wells Fargo promote and profit from the toxic asset home mortgage bubble, it also promoted and profited from the proliferation of toxic waste and wholesale environmental destruction in coal country.
Monday, March 28, 2011
OEA Town Hall, 3/26/2011: Bob Mandel Calls for Civil Disobedience at Banks
More than 300 Oakland teachers and community members attended a Town Hall on the crisis in education organized by the Oakland Education Association. Watch this video, where OEA executive board member Bob Mandel calls for civil disobedience against the banks.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
FT.com / Capital Markets - Big banks investigated over Libor
FT.com / Capital Markets - Big banks investigated over Libor
There seems to have been no end to the ways in which the big banks cheated and looted in the run-up to the fall 2008 bubble-burst and near-meltdown. The FT article at the above URL describes yet another.
There seems to have been no end to the ways in which the big banks cheated and looted in the run-up to the fall 2008 bubble-burst and near-meltdown. The FT article at the above URL describes yet another.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Bank debt never went away: It became public debt Profits have improved because working people paid for them.
In short, the bad bank debt that triggered the crisis in 2008 never went away -- it was simply shifted on to governments. Private debt became public debt....Put differently, the economic crisis of 2008-9 did not really end. It simply changed form. It mutated.
With that mutation, the focus of ruling classes shifted towards a war against public services. Concerned to rein in government debts, they announced an age of austerity -- of huge cuts to pensions, education budgets, social welfare programs, wages, and jobs. In so doing, they effectively declared that working class people and the poor will pay the cost of the global bank bailout.
...
Put simply, profits have improved because working people have paid for them, through layoffs, wage cuts, reduced work hours, and the decimation of social services.
The above is from a must-read book that views the world financial meltdown of two years ago as the opening of a global systemic economic and social crisis. The book is Global Slump by David McNally, PM Press (2010)
With that mutation, the focus of ruling classes shifted towards a war against public services. Concerned to rein in government debts, they announced an age of austerity -- of huge cuts to pensions, education budgets, social welfare programs, wages, and jobs. In so doing, they effectively declared that working class people and the poor will pay the cost of the global bank bailout.
...
Put simply, profits have improved because working people have paid for them, through layoffs, wage cuts, reduced work hours, and the decimation of social services.
The above is from a must-read book that views the world financial meltdown of two years ago as the opening of a global systemic economic and social crisis. The book is Global Slump by David McNally, PM Press (2010)
Monday, March 14, 2011
How Wall Street Ripped off Wisconsin Public Schools
Nearly two years ago, Les Leopold posted a gripping and disturbing -- if all too believable -- account of how Wall Street looted several Wisconsin school districts, leaving them drowning in debt when the real estate bubble burst in the fall of 2008.
http://www.alternet.org/story/140208/
It's an excerpt from his book:
The Looting of America: How Wall Street Fleeced Millions from Wisconsin Schools
By Les Leopold, Chelsea Green Publishing
http://www.alternet.org/story/140208/
It's an excerpt from his book:
The Looting of America: How Wall Street Fleeced Millions from Wisconsin Schools
By Les Leopold, Chelsea Green Publishing
Bailout Schools Not Banks and Stop Foreclosures
The opening demonstration in a campaign by Oakland Education Association and Community Allies.
Video by Craig Gordon
This brief video shows the beginning of a campaign to bail out schools and services, instead of banks, and to stop home foreclosures. The Oakland Education Association and community allies rallied at three bank branches on January 13, 2011, on the eve of the Martin Luther King, Jr., weekend. We chose this time, because King pointed out that in order to address racism and poverty, there must be "a radical redistribution of political and economic power." Similarly, we will not achieve quality education for all without, as King said, taking on the "captains of industry."
Here's my writeup of the demo, which I posted to several lists back in January.
Jack
Oakland Teachers Say: Bailout Schools, Not Banks
by Jack Gerson
January 14, 2011
On January 13, more than 50 members and allies of the Oakland Education Association (OEA, the Oakland teacher union) staged a spirited protest calling for reversing priorities to bail out schools, not banks, and to end foreclosures. The demonstrators delivered their message at three Oakland bank branches -- Wells Fargo, Chase, and Bank of America -- all in the Rockridge Shopping Center. Their message was that the $4.7 trillion bailout of the big banks came at the expense of schools, essential public services, and the nine million families who have lost their homes to bank foreclosures. This message resonated with the many passing motorists who honked their horns in support, and with bank customers and shoppers who voiced their agreement that something is very wrong when banks are "too big to fail" but schools, workers and families are apparently just the right size to sacrifice.
The action began with a rally in front of the Chase branch at 4:30. At 5 PM the protesters marched to the Bank of America branch, where they picketed before moving on to Wells Fargo, where they presented the branch manager with a letter to be delivered to Wells Fargo President John Stumpf. The letter called on Wells Fargo to organize a bank bailout of the Oakland school debt; to publicly endorse increased taxation of bank and corporate profits; to endorse a "split-roll" property tax to tax corporate property at higher rates than homes; and to end foreclosures by adjusting mortgages to reflect homes' reduced market values.
The responsiveness of passersby shows that there's broad understanding of the direct relationship between the trillions ripped off by the banks and the mounting unemployment, foreclosures, homelessness, and hunger. Despite the impression conveyed by Obama and the mass media that the $800 billion TARP (Toxic Assets Relief Program) was the entire bailout, and that the banks have repaid nearly all of this, the fact is that TARP was only a small part of the federal giveaway to Wall Street. In fact, the banks were given $4.7 trillion of our money, and they haven't paid back $2 trillion. ($2 trillion is more than the entire debt of all states, counties, and cities combined -- including all unfunded public pension liabilities. It's also nearly double the total amount spent thus far on the Iraq War.) Most of the money given to the banks was done without even Congressional authorization, because it was disbursed by the Federal Reserve Bank. Clearly, the banks left their paw prints all over their Obama-aided appropriation of trillions of dollars of our money.
The Real Economy Project of the Center for Media and Democracy has put together a table that breaks down the full extent of the Wall Street bailout. That's available here:
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Total_Wall_Street_Bailout_Cost
As that table shows, in addition to the $4.7 trillion handed to the banks, the Fed and Geithner's treasury department gave the banks guarantees that the government would stand behind another more than $9 trillion of bank debt and obligations. That's $14 trillion for Wall Street. Taken from working and unemployed people. Taken directly from jobs, from schools, housing, libraries, shelters, and all the other essential services that have been cut back or eliminated.
The Oakland community's sympathetic and enthusiastic response to the OEA banks' protest is not an aberration. Just below the surface, the potential is there for mass action against the savage attacks on the working class. Last year's California-based fight to save public education provided a glimpse of what's possible. But much more is possible. This protest was only the beginning of a campaign, and hopefully it will take off in other communities.
Join the campaign. Go to oaklandea.org
Video by Craig Gordon
This brief video shows the beginning of a campaign to bail out schools and services, instead of banks, and to stop home foreclosures. The Oakland Education Association and community allies rallied at three bank branches on January 13, 2011, on the eve of the Martin Luther King, Jr., weekend. We chose this time, because King pointed out that in order to address racism and poverty, there must be "a radical redistribution of political and economic power." Similarly, we will not achieve quality education for all without, as King said, taking on the "captains of industry."
Here's my writeup of the demo, which I posted to several lists back in January.
Jack
Oakland Teachers Say: Bailout Schools, Not Banks
by Jack Gerson
January 14, 2011
On January 13, more than 50 members and allies of the Oakland Education Association (OEA, the Oakland teacher union) staged a spirited protest calling for reversing priorities to bail out schools, not banks, and to end foreclosures. The demonstrators delivered their message at three Oakland bank branches -- Wells Fargo, Chase, and Bank of America -- all in the Rockridge Shopping Center. Their message was that the $4.7 trillion bailout of the big banks came at the expense of schools, essential public services, and the nine million families who have lost their homes to bank foreclosures. This message resonated with the many passing motorists who honked their horns in support, and with bank customers and shoppers who voiced their agreement that something is very wrong when banks are "too big to fail" but schools, workers and families are apparently just the right size to sacrifice.
The action began with a rally in front of the Chase branch at 4:30. At 5 PM the protesters marched to the Bank of America branch, where they picketed before moving on to Wells Fargo, where they presented the branch manager with a letter to be delivered to Wells Fargo President John Stumpf. The letter called on Wells Fargo to organize a bank bailout of the Oakland school debt; to publicly endorse increased taxation of bank and corporate profits; to endorse a "split-roll" property tax to tax corporate property at higher rates than homes; and to end foreclosures by adjusting mortgages to reflect homes' reduced market values.
The responsiveness of passersby shows that there's broad understanding of the direct relationship between the trillions ripped off by the banks and the mounting unemployment, foreclosures, homelessness, and hunger. Despite the impression conveyed by Obama and the mass media that the $800 billion TARP (Toxic Assets Relief Program) was the entire bailout, and that the banks have repaid nearly all of this, the fact is that TARP was only a small part of the federal giveaway to Wall Street. In fact, the banks were given $4.7 trillion of our money, and they haven't paid back $2 trillion. ($2 trillion is more than the entire debt of all states, counties, and cities combined -- including all unfunded public pension liabilities. It's also nearly double the total amount spent thus far on the Iraq War.) Most of the money given to the banks was done without even Congressional authorization, because it was disbursed by the Federal Reserve Bank. Clearly, the banks left their paw prints all over their Obama-aided appropriation of trillions of dollars of our money.
The Real Economy Project of the Center for Media and Democracy has put together a table that breaks down the full extent of the Wall Street bailout. That's available here:
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Total_Wall_Street_Bailout_Cost
As that table shows, in addition to the $4.7 trillion handed to the banks, the Fed and Geithner's treasury department gave the banks guarantees that the government would stand behind another more than $9 trillion of bank debt and obligations. That's $14 trillion for Wall Street. Taken from working and unemployed people. Taken directly from jobs, from schools, housing, libraries, shelters, and all the other essential services that have been cut back or eliminated.
The Oakland community's sympathetic and enthusiastic response to the OEA banks' protest is not an aberration. Just below the surface, the potential is there for mass action against the savage attacks on the working class. Last year's California-based fight to save public education provided a glimpse of what's possible. But much more is possible. This protest was only the beginning of a campaign, and hopefully it will take off in other communities.
Join the campaign. Go to oaklandea.org
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
The truth about the Great Bank Heist: indispensable web resources
Here are a few things about the bank bailout you won't see in the mainstream media, and where to go to find more about this.
First, the media would have us believe that the banks have repaid "nearly all" of the Federal handout they received two years ago. And they'd have you believe that nearly all of the bailout money came from Geithner's TARP program. Actually, TARP was only a small part of the bailout. Most of the bailout money came from the Federal Reserve Bank, and was done without Congressional authorization. The Fed's handout dwarfed TARP. Go over to banksterusa to get the details, and to learn that the banks still haven't returned $2 trillion. (To put this in perspective: $2 trillion is enough to pay off the debts of all 50 states, PLUS pay off the debts of all municipalities in the country, PLUS cover the "unfunded liabilities" of public employee pension plans. Here's the link to bankster:
http://www.banksterusa.org/content/bailout-not-over-taxpayers-still-owed-2-trillion-federal-reserve-loans-and-tarp-program-fund
The info at the above link gives a good overview. For a detailed breakdown of all 35 federal bailout the banks handout programs and the outstanding balance sheets for each, you'll want to check out the Wall Street Bailout Cost table at:
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Total_Wall_Street_Bailout_Cost
Finally, make sure to bookmark the Real Economy Project of the Center for Media and Democracy, which is a great resource. Here's the URL:
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Portal:Real_Economy_Project
First, the media would have us believe that the banks have repaid "nearly all" of the Federal handout they received two years ago. And they'd have you believe that nearly all of the bailout money came from Geithner's TARP program. Actually, TARP was only a small part of the bailout. Most of the bailout money came from the Federal Reserve Bank, and was done without Congressional authorization. The Fed's handout dwarfed TARP. Go over to banksterusa to get the details, and to learn that the banks still haven't returned $2 trillion. (To put this in perspective: $2 trillion is enough to pay off the debts of all 50 states, PLUS pay off the debts of all municipalities in the country, PLUS cover the "unfunded liabilities" of public employee pension plans. Here's the link to bankster:
http://www.banksterusa.org/content/bailout-not-over-taxpayers-still-owed-2-trillion-federal-reserve-loans-and-tarp-program-fund
The info at the above link gives a good overview. For a detailed breakdown of all 35 federal bailout the banks handout programs and the outstanding balance sheets for each, you'll want to check out the Wall Street Bailout Cost table at:
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Total_Wall_Street_Bailout_Cost
Finally, make sure to bookmark the Real Economy Project of the Center for Media and Democracy, which is a great resource. Here's the URL:
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Portal:Real_Economy_Project
Jerry Brown Double-Deals -- But There IS An Alternative
Jerry Brown has dealt two cards face up and hidden the rest of the deck. Card one reads "Horrendous cuts to essential programs." Card two reads "Very bad cuts to essential programs and a regressive tax package." And, Brown warns, "There Is No Other Alternative".
Brown is smart, and carefully planned this scenario to stampede us into backing the proposal on card two by making us forget the other 50 cards in the deck. "We all must sacrifice" he says.
The poor must suffer: Medical cut by $1.7 billion. CalWorks cut by $1.5 billion. Higher Ed must suffer: UC cut $500 million. CSU cut $500 million. Community colleges cut $400 million. Working and poor people must suffer through regressive taxation, too: extend Schwarzenegger's 'temporary' soak-the-poor taxes for another 5 years (i.e., until after the next gubernatorial election). And CTA and the State Federation of Labor say, "We must fight for this proposed budget. It is balanced. It mixes cuts with [regressive] taxes. We must fight for it because the alternative is so much worse."
But wait -- not everyone is sacrificing. Not the banks -- record profits, big bonuses, minimal taxes. Not the corporations, who enjoy huge tax loopholes. Not the oil companies. Not the rich. These are the names on the other 50 cards. Taxing them provides a real alternative. Why don't the State Federation of Labor, CTA et al. say to Brown, "We're not gonna take it any more. We're not going to accept more job losses, more pay cuts, more program cuts." Why don't we demand that they do? Now. Don't say it's too late, because this crisis won't be resolved soon. If we act, all sorts of things that seem impossible will become possible. Suddenly, more cards will appear on the table. And this means more money will appear. IF we act. IF we fight. Otherwise, we'll get a hybrid mix of Card one and Card two: more cuts than card two, to pay for more tax breaks for business. Because the Republicans will fight hard. They will stonewall and hold out for more concessions from Brown. And they'll get them. Unless we fight harder.
Time to stop kicking the progressive taxation can down the road. That's been done for years, because it's never the right time to fight -- it's always a 'long-term goal', to be muted in the present.
I guess that those who are for Brown's tax extensions are also prepared to go along with the cuts to medical care and welfare for the poor; for the cuts to higher Ed; etc. Because that's the package deal Brown is offering. And he'll offer more of the same next year. And the year after that. Unless we fight back. Wisconsin shows that if we fight, we don't have to fight alone.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
There IS an Alternative
When Michael Moore -- hardly the face of Bolshevism, as witness his hero-worship of the 14 Wisconsin Democratic legislators -- came to Madison to speak this weekend, the AFL-CIO refused to allow him to speak under their sponsorship, claiming that he "might go off message". So some of the prominent local labor, media and community activists set him up under their auspices on the other side of the Capitol. Sixty thousand showed up to hear him. He remained in town for several hours afterward, and the AFL-CIO leadership was again contacted. Again, no interest in promoting his message. (The following day, when he was safely out of town, the AFL-CIO leadership made a positive reference to his speech on their web site.)
Moore did have something to say that the labor bureaucracy does not want to promote: Workers ought not and need not be making "economic concessions". This society remains fabulously wealthy -- but corporate and individual wealth is using the fiscal crisis of their own making as grounds for scapegoating and punishing working people. The labor bureaucrats echo Gates, Duncan, Obama, Jerry Brown, Andrew Cuomo et al. in repeating the Margaret Thatcher mantra: "There Is No Alternative" to deeply cutting essential services while simultaneously reducing overall compensation (directly, and by 'furlough days' and by increasing taxes on working people, and ...)
If we don't recognize where the money is and aggressively go after it by demanding prioritizing human needs and human rights first, then the banks, the war machine, the health insurance / pharmaceutical complex, and Big Oil will continue to devour us. If it wasn't clear before, by now it ought to be evident that one big part of the war against public education and the accompanying scapegoating of teachers has been to set up and go after not just education but all essential public services, and not just teachers but the basic rights of all public employees. We have a job ahead: developing an antidote to the "There Is No Alternative" Kool-Aid, convincing people that there ARE alternatives and the money IS there and WILL be available -- IF we fight for it.
Moore did have something to say that the labor bureaucracy does not want to promote: Workers ought not and need not be making "economic concessions". This society remains fabulously wealthy -- but corporate and individual wealth is using the fiscal crisis of their own making as grounds for scapegoating and punishing working people. The labor bureaucrats echo Gates, Duncan, Obama, Jerry Brown, Andrew Cuomo et al. in repeating the Margaret Thatcher mantra: "There Is No Alternative" to deeply cutting essential services while simultaneously reducing overall compensation (directly, and by 'furlough days' and by increasing taxes on working people, and ...)
If we don't recognize where the money is and aggressively go after it by demanding prioritizing human needs and human rights first, then the banks, the war machine, the health insurance / pharmaceutical complex, and Big Oil will continue to devour us. If it wasn't clear before, by now it ought to be evident that one big part of the war against public education and the accompanying scapegoating of teachers has been to set up and go after not just education but all essential public services, and not just teachers but the basic rights of all public employees. We have a job ahead: developing an antidote to the "There Is No Alternative" Kool-Aid, convincing people that there ARE alternatives and the money IS there and WILL be available -- IF we fight for it.
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