Rolling the Dice Again by Ralph Nader [View All]

[G_j]

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/09/12-5

Published on Saturday, September 12, 2009 by CommonDreams.org

Rolling the Dice Again

by Ralph Nader

The Wall Street gang is at it again! It's been one year since Wall Street's collapse and bailout took trillions from taxpayers and the sinking economy. The speculative instruments that pulled down the economy were those super-risky sub-prime mortgages, credit default swaps, collaterized debt obligations-you know-Las Vegas East, using other peoples' savings.

As if to elaborate their gigantic con job, the investment banks, guaranteed by you the taxpayers, are now packaging life insurances policies in what sane, on the ground businesses would consider deranged exotic money plays.

Here is how the New York Times described the new securitization packages emerging from such corporate welfare goliaths as Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse and their eager rating agency, DBRS.

"The bankers plan to buy ‘life settlements,' life insurance policies that ill and elderly people sell for cash--...depending on the life expectancy of the insured person. Then they plan to ‘securitize' these policies...by packaging hundred or thousands together into bonds. They will then resell these bonds to investors, like big pension funds, who will receive the payouts when people with the insurance die.

"The earlier the policy holder dies, the bigger the return-though if people live longer than expected, investors could get poor returns or even lose money."

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