Eliot Spitzer -- The Fed is a Ponzi scheme, an inside job

[FourScore]

Run time: 08:39 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAtSmR7Z-Kg   Posted on YouTube: July 25, 2009 By YouTube Member: Views on YouTube: 0   Posted on DU: July 26, 2009 By DU Member: FourScore Views on DU: 4729

 

[dixiegrrrrl]

1. NS, Sherlock. Good to see it on MSM, tho.

[vt_native]

11. Support the Audit the Fed Bill/ Ask your reps to co-sponsor

Audit the Federal Reserve: HR 1207 and S 604

[Cali_Democrat]

2. Eliot Spitzer for Treasury Secretary!

nt

[meowomon]

3. Maybe after he deals with his sex addiction.

[Iwillnevergiveup]

5. I couldn't care less

who he sleeps with or pays to sleep with. His brain is his best functioning organ.

[meowomon]

7. Not when it trumped by an addiction that brings him to commit a crime.

I am for the legalization of prostitution so don't think I am a prude. He is just another power hungry politician who thinks with his sex organs and not his brain. If he were reasonable and not addicted, his predilection for adultery would have been of the legal sort. As it is, he committed a crime which shows his lack of judgment and insight. I don't want him in any public office.

[greiner3]

8. Oh come on;

Predilection for a crime. In many states the mere act of adultery is a crime much less certain sex acts between two consenting adults. I believe that sex is such a damn hot button issue for so many self righteous groups and their spokespeople that one person's addiction is cause for their public condemnation.

Just saying.

[Sanity Claws]

10. He was using prostitutes from large prostitution rings

I don't know about that particular ring but a lot of the rings are connected to human trafficking and the mob. Very dangerous for someone with a high political profile to get involved with them. Blackmail is a real possibility.

Also, Spitzer used to be the state Attorney General and prosecuted this crime. What a hypocrite! This is what really bothered me.

[sabrina 1]

14. That's nonsense, seriously

You're saying that cheating on your wife in a 'legal' affair would have been better? Maybe that is for a wife to decide.

I think ditching your wife and family for another woman is far less preferable than simply satisfying a physical need with a prostitute.

As far as power-hungry politicians go, I think we need a few on the side of the people. So far, all the power-hungry politicians are working for someone else. So, I have no problem getting a few of them on our side, if that's what it takes.

And no one was better at exposing the greedy, Wall St. power-hungry, criminals than Elliot Spitzer. What he does in his private life is not our business.

Prostitution should be legal and would be if we did not live in such an immature, puritanical society. True, he broke a 'law', a law which he himself prosecuted others for. That was his job. True, it's hypocritical but he's paid for that by losing his job.

If hypocrisy ever becomes a crime, let me know. Looking at Congress, it seems to be a crime only for Democrats who are good at their jobs. Until it causes both Repubs and Dems to lose their jobs, I think we ought to keep people like Spitzer around, flawed though he may be in his personal life, because he is so good at the job that so badly needs to be done right now.

Democrats are always so 'righteous', which is fine when we are not in a state of emergency. But with the country being robbed blind right now, we need warriors like Spitzer to go after the bad guys. Typical of Dems though, in order to 'look good' to the RW, to toss a good warrior under the bus because he has a few human flaws.

[sandyd921]

30. Good post.

Totally agree. We desperately need to get some people into the administration who know what they're doing and who are on our side. His personal life or mistakes have nothing to do with whether he is qualified to do the job. We certainly have plenty of unqualified repubs (who are on the side of the corps) who have retained their jobs after scandals were revealed.

[DaLittle Kitty]

16. I Do NOT Care Who He F*cks! He Is A Voice For Justice... AS Is Johnny E. BTW As Well!

That's WHY the MSM is using their prior sexual escapades as a lever to discredit their very legitimate efforts to expose Fascist efforts that harm the average American. :think:

[debbierlus]

21. Nor do I. The exposure of this mass theft is what is important. If every politician was exposed

For their sexual deviances, the vast majority would have skeletons in their closets.

I do not care.

[Mithreal]

19. He satisfied a biological need. Damn the deity for not designing us better.

He broke a law where there should be none if it weren't for prudish puritans. God bless America though because we sure do have our shit together. Priorities are people and this country first, anything to do with their bedroom habits should be off limits. Sex is a rightwinger taboo they only use against our folks, so why feed the hate.

[omega minimo]

22. With a spigot?

:wow:

[sandyd921]

29. I'd rather have someone running treasury who consorts with hookers

than someone who consorts with the prostitutes of the banks and corporations.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

36. What crime ...sex?...he didn't use any tax dollars whereas Paterson did use tax $'s for sex

[omega minimo]

23. Then he might lose that impish grin he wears all through the segment

:evilgrin:

[Chisox08]

24. I don't care who he is sleeping with

all I care about how he does his job. The last President was faithful to his wife but he sure fucked the country.

[99 Percent Sure]

27. Right on. As for Shrub's faithfulness - was he? I seem to recall SoS Rice's

slip of the tongue when she publicly called him her husband. OTOH, IF he was faithful, it was probably because no one would schtupp him. :)

As for those judging Spitzer unfit because he got stung committing adultery and fornication: That is a matter between God, Spitzer and his wife, as was the adultery of John Edwards and Billy Jeff Clinton. Far be it from me to cast any stones at ANYONE else for their shortcomings, since I have more than a few myself. I'm only in a position to judge the woman in the mirror; I know that when I point a finger at someone else, my other three fingers are pointing at me. "For ALL have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God."

Did Spitzer mess himself up with the hypocrisy? Sure, he did, but that doesn't have anything to do with whether he was a good governor or not (IMO he was), nor does it mean that because he got caught and embarrassed himself and his family, he is now tainted and too stupid to have the ability to correctly make an analysis about the US financial situation and be right about it.

Because, IMO, he is correct in his assertions; the Fed and the Treasury are as crooked as a three dollar bill. We have only to look at the facts as we know them today to agree with his assessment.

[BlueJac]

32. It's about the country not his sex life.....

worry about the right shit and not his dick!!

[Iwillnevergiveup]

4. Eliot Spitzer

needs a wider audience and more serious attention.

K&R

[omega minimo]

6. "biggest theft of Americans and coverup fraud............." What's in the GARBAGE bag?

:evilfrown:

[dipsydoodle]

9. K & R

.

[inna]

12. does anyone have a link to the transcript (if there is one)?

i have no sound :(

i hope he'll publish an article (preferably in NYT) about this!




and i just have to say this - his sexual behavior/marital problems notwitstanding, this man would've made a TERRIFIC AG.

(but then again, so would've John Edwards. :P i know, it doesn't hurt to dream... :hide: )

[orbitalman]

13. But WALL STREET...

Spitzer is very bright and may be right, but I believe Wall Street is allowed to be the greatest Ponzi scheme of ALL.

[FLAprogressive]

15. and THIS is why he was targeted.

[McCamy Taylor]

17. Excellent!

[jamesatemple]

18. The contents of the "garbage bag"? K & R!

My guess...nothing but garbage. Our tax money seems to have bought worthless financial instruments at an extraordinarily high price, removing the junk from and rewarding the very institutions that made a killing by creating the stuff in the first place.

It seems to me that our Government gave the banks a tremendous infusion of cash in the hope that those institutions would begin to loan money to small businesses and individuals. Instead, it looks like those same banks used the money with which the taxpayers bought junk instruments and rewarded stockholders and high-level managers with dividends and bonuses while refusing to make the loans we need so badly.

If so, that begs the question, "What can be done about it?" The folks that are empowered to do anything at all seem very reluctant to do so. I don't understand the cause of the reluctance but I suspect that many of the empowered have financial ties to and rewards from the banking industry.

The whole situation is far beyond the ken of an old, small town Texan. But, thank goodness, the internet may begin to shed a bit of light on the matter. I bet that part of the solution is to begin to elect men and women who represent ordinary working and middle class citizens. Trouble is, where are you going to find them? Working class and middle class folks don't have the funds to conduct campaigns to get them elected ~ particularly in the face of those monies that Corporate America provides to the campaigns of those who represent their interests.

Campaign reform? Election reform? Rooting out the "status quo" is a mountain of a problem. Maybe such reform is beyond the ability of anyone below the level of the corporation or the super-rich. If so, that leaves the "concerned" ordinary citizen with only two allies: a spotlight called the "internet" and the election box. The "spotlight" we have but the election box remains our battleground where we try the defeat the willfully ignorant, the vacuous, the Corporate masters, theocrats, and that very able minority, the "filthy rich".

We can do this! We got a centrist elected; have made some progress since that time; and hope of more to come. I won't live long enough to see our beloved Republic become anything close to what it should be. But, to not try to do what I can is to fail in my responsibility to my grandchildren...and yours.

[dixiegrrrrl]

34. Welcome to DU...

:hi:

It would be nice if the bankers and the bag men and Cheney type people were as concerned about their grandchildren as you are.

[jacksmind]

37. Alternative: Dont by the bag, Hello Great Depression 2.0!

Even if you don't buy that, isn't it POSSIBLE that Bernanke thought so? (I'll grant you that it is possible that the fed is hiding something, will you grant any other possible explanations). I know we all want the FED to be a horrible institution. They're only out to help the bankers! Yeah, down with the FED! I wonder why the fed wants to be "independent" but "transparent". Hmmm I wonder what someone that doesn't automatically assume that everyone in the government is inherently evil would say:


http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/15/petition-for-fed-independence/


Hmmmm. But 182 economists HAVE to be on the side of the bankers....




Bernanke (who is not a WallStreet guy, remember) is trying the best to be transparent without hurting the economy...

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/video/share.html?s=news01pa98

Oh but he has to be evil! He only wants to help out the bankers! It HAS to be! What other explanation can there be? The fact that the FED did not have the legal framework to let the banks fail gently and the fact that Bernanke would rather err on the side of not causing the second great depression is irrelevant!

Go ahead armchair economist, start your lecture. I'm sure you know better than the 182 Economists above. I'm sure you have all the facts, I'm sure you know the internal mental states and all the important circumstances that led up to this mess with your hindsight armchair perspective because obviously the EVIL fed HAS to be the answer, there is not even any other POSSIBILITY!

[debbierlus]

20. This is EXCELLENT - If the media would break down everything this simply and honestly

It would go a long way in motivating people to demand real change.

I am sure many of the political junkies an policy wonks knew this from day one, here on DU. However, the key is reaching people who DON'T know or don't understand. That is suppossed to be the entire point of the media!

Good job!

[destes]

26. Does no one notice that the guy representing the "FED"...

...in the little teaching moment had very little to say. Is it because the Fed prefers to remain silent? They still hold the note you know. In the words of Butch Cassidy, "just who are those guys?"

Everyone knows bankers are bad guys from watching The Beverly Hillbillies reruns. The Fed remains inscrutable. Chinese influence?

I just think that if you put enough trust funds together in a big pile you have a lot of "vested interest". Where does the nomadic "world bank" sleep tonight?

[Uncle Joe]

31. That part was the most accurate and that's because the banks have the FED and Government by the

short hairs, but it didn't need to be that way.

I would highly recommend anyone to take the time and watch the five installments of "Debt as Money" which ORDagnabbit posted on the thread I have linked below, the current banking system is unsustainable and is so structurally flawed, it can only lead to corruption and collapse.

I believe the current banking system creates an adverse dynamic that will continue to rape the planet without regard to the consequences and weaken the government's ability to represent the best interests of the American People.

I also believe after watching those five installments, the same investment banks which were just bailed out with the American Peoples' tax dollars have an inherent interest or motivation to prevent or lobby against universal single payer health coverage, because the banks; need the people to remain in perpetual debt in order to prosper and our dysfunctional costly health care system is their tactic for doing so.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x342745

[Truth2Tell]

25. Can't Rec this one enough. nt

[Uncle Joe]

28. This scenario is somewhat misleading, the fundamental problem isn't that banks

can produce bags of overvalued garbage, the real problem is that banks can print money period; only the government should be allowed to do that.

Allowing banks to print money can only lead to neutering government's power to regulate the economy while also creating an adverse carcinogenic dynamic that will consume society and the environment, in short the current banking model is unsustainable.

Banks should be non-profit and not allowed to charge interest, and they damn sure shouldn't be printing money; they can only be corrupted by that power.

[ShamelessHussy]

33. WOW - I hope Obama caught this

This is the SCAM of the millennium.

They (FED & Enablers - Banks+Congress) are realizing though that the moral hazard they have endorsed is now encouraging the regular folk to walk away from their debts, too.

Now what r they gonna do?

[and-justice-for-all]

35. The FED is a private banking institution..nt