Mel Brooks should sue Lehman Brothers and AIG.

[ColbertWatcher]

If I were Mel Brooks, I'd hire a lawyer on Monday and sue the CEOs of Lehman Brothers and AIG for infringing on his copyright for the movie The Producers.

You know the story, penny ante Broadway producer Max Biyalistok explains to an accountant, Leo Bloom, how his negative balances are not as bad as they seem ultimately convincing him to join in his next profitable failure, Springtime for Hitler.

Doesn't that sound like what these companies are doing? Taking money from people, who really don't have the money to spare for such adventures, as investments in questionable schemes and then profiting from them as everyone else loses their shirts!?

Hey, Mr. Brooks, if you're reading this (not likely, but maybe someone on your staff might, you need to lawyer up and shut down this second-rate version of your classic now before they think of doing an unauthorized remake of Young Frankenstein.

[mucifer]

1. Bravo!!

[ColbertWatcher]

2. Thank you! n/t

[Rabrrrrrr]

3. AIG is an insurance company, not an investment bank, so they aren't taking money

"that people can't afford" - the only investing they do is for High Net Worth people.

Secondly, Lehman Brothers IS an investment bank, but they do institutional investing and also only do personal investing for High Net Worth people. They do not do investing or brokerage at all for people with less than 10 million (or so) to invest.

And so, your theory that they are taking money from "people who can't afford it" is erroneous there as well.

And in both cases, the only loss that any clients would see is if they got the clients to invest in either AIG or Lehman, or got them into investing into the mortgage fiasco.

[ColbertWatcher]

4. But, aren't they falling apart because of the mortgage mess?

And weren't those loans made to people who couldn't afford them?

[Rabrrrrrr]

7. Yes, the mortgage mess did it - BUT, neither of those institutions made loans to individuals.

They bought loans from the banks that made the loans, and are probably at least one more step removed from that, buying loans from brokers that buy loans from banks.

It was stupid investing on the part of Lehman and AIG and others, sure; but, I don't think they can be made culpable in the screwing of the average Joe - that's the fault of the banks who made the initial loans, knowing damn well people couldn't afford them.

Lehman and AIG and others should have known that the loans were shitty, but they took the risk, and now they're screwed.

Maybe they are partly culpable in the fiasco - perhaps if they weren't buying up the loans, the loans wouldn't have been made; but I have a feeling those loans WOULD have been made, and someone else would have bought them.

The real culprits here are people who should have known better than to take great big loans, and the banks that misrepresented and lied to the loanees that, yeah, taking a $400,000 loan when you make $50,000 a year is just hunky dory. And perhaps some failure should go to the Republicans for fucking over our schools so that we have so many people who don't know shit about money and were so easily duped by asshole bankers, and the Republicans for pushing an agenda and culture of MORE MORE MORE!! and BUY! BUY! BUY!!!! for the last 30 years.

[ColbertWatcher]

9. "The real culprits here are people"

No, that's Andrew Sullivan's denial.

The people didn't create the laws which gutted Glass-Steagle.

Sorry.

[Rabrrrrrr]

12. That's not what I said, but thanks for attempting to misrepresent me.

:eyes:

[ColbertWatcher]

13. Unless you change it, that's what it looks like you said. n/t

[Rabrrrrrr]

14. No, what I said was that it was the people AND the banks AND the Republicans

Read entire sentences and paragraphs, and don't quote out of context.

[mucifer]

5. In the movie the little old ladies had lots of money. They just needed love and

Biaystock gave it to them :) . Remember Bialystock and Blum ended up in jail. Let's hope this ends up the same way.

[ColbertWatcher]

6. *Fingers crossed* n/t

[mucifer]

8. I am cracking up at the idea of Mel Brooks ringtones from the ad on this page.

:rofl:

[Ian David]

10. Jeff Gannon = Max Biyalistok? n/t

[ColbertWatcher]

11. Okay, now I just threw up a little. n/t

[ColbertWatcher]

15. Monday kick n/t