Guess what? Corporations have first amendment rights, just like regular people. And Republicans across the land offered up a mighty chorus of “Glory, glory, hallelujah!” when the Supreme Court righted decades of discrimination by recognizing — and protecting — the essential people-ness of our corporate citizens.
Now, at long last, corporations will enjoy a [...]
Obama Aide Declines Visit to Bank Board – New York Times (7/20/09)
The White House chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, has decided not to speak to the board of JPMorgan Chase when it meets here on Monday, he said Sunday after considering the invitation for several days.
Mr. Emanuel is a longtime acquaintance of the bank’s chairman [...]
(1) Doubly Screwed
Let it never be said that Geithner is not a true disciple of Hank Paulson.
Paulson screwed us on the way in, when we bought all those lovely securities in troubled banks for way more than they were worth then:
The Treasury secretary has made 174 purchases of banks’ preferred shares that include certificates to [...]
On his resume, Vikram Pandit only claims to have a Ph.D. in Finance from Columbia Business School. But it is increasingly becoming clear that he must also have a second Ph.D., even though he doesn’t like to boast about it. A Ph.D. in Simply Not Getting It.
After all those losses and bailouts, rank-and-file [...]
The notion of conflict of interest seems to be going out of style. For starters, neither the New York Times nor former Attorney General John Ashcroft care very much about the concept:
You can say one thing for John Ashcroft: he’s not short on chutzpah.
In an op-ed in today’s New York Times, the former [...]
U.S. Says Bank of America Needs $33.9 Billion Cushion – New York Times (5/6/09):
The government has told Bank of America it needs $33.9 billion in capital to withstand any worsening of the economic downturn, according to an executive at the bank.
The government’s determination that Bank of America doesn’t need as much capital as it has [...]
Treasury Secretary and self-proclaimed free-market ideologue Tim Geithner (1/29/09):
“We have a financial system that is run by private shareholders, managed by private institutions, and we’d like to do our best to preserve that system,” he said.
President Barack Obama (4/14/09):
The reason we have not taken this step has nothing to do with any ideological or political [...]
(1)
How is this not extortion?
Sens. Richard Shelby (R-AL) and Jeff Sessions (R-AL) announced today that “they are blocking President Barack Obama’s nomination of Ashton Carter as Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics.” The senators want assurances that Carter will not “change the criteria” on which the Pentagon considers a refueling tanker contract [...]
Carrots for banks, sticks for autos – Politico (3/30/09):
“The likelihood of failure here is too high to invest any more political or financial capital at the moment,” said a Democratic official close to the White House. “For all the negative aspects of structured bankruptcy [a likely outcome for GM], it doesn’t necessarily collapse the domestic [...]
G.M. Chief Is Said to Be Resigning in Deal With U.S. – New York Times (3/29/09):
The chairman and chief executive of General Motors, Rick Wagoner, is resigning, just hours before President Obama was expected to unveil his rescue plans for G.M. and the ailing American auto industry, a person close to the decision said Sunday.
Mr. [...]
