Had enough politics yet? The Republicans have been shoveling it deep and stinky this week, and next week it's the Democrats turn. Oh joy.
I see that Citibank has agreed to pay $590M to investors they defrauded by selling them near-worthless sub-prime loans a few years back. So they make a couple of billion gross profit, they give back $590M...pretty sweet, huh? Nowadays banks just figure in fines and lawsuit settlements as part of the cost of doing business. Just like the light bill and the phone bill. I guess this is the new Business 101.
Just curious....Do politicians start out in banking to learn the art of sleaze, or do bankers learn how to defraud people with a straight face after doing a stint in Washington?
All is not lost, though. There is some good news out there: It's football season! And I mean REAL football....college football! You know, the kind where your team finishes the season with the same players it started with. Where players play for the love of the game. And a new car and a couple of thousand dollars a month "laundry money". *wink*
S
So lemme get this straight....we have a HUGE deficit which needs to be addressed before our economy can begin growing and new jobs can be created. At least that's what the Republicans are trying to tell us. We can cut spending, but that won't cut the deficit enough. We could at the same time raise taxes on those with lottsa money, but the Republicans tell us NO, NO, NO, that would be a job killer. The rich need to keep their money so they can use it to CREATE NEW JOBS.
But in reality what's happening? The rich, and the companies they have major investments in / control over, are buying up everything in sight. Texas Instruments is buying National Semiconductor, AT&T is trying to buy T Mobile, Google bought Motorola Mobility, United Airlines bought Continental, Delta Airlines bought Northwest, Southwest Airlines bought Airtran, United Technologies bought Goodrich, Kraft bought Cadbury, and in turn sold off part of itself to Nestle. The list of mergers and acquisitions goes on and on. I'm now waiting for troubled Bank of America to be gobbled up by....who knows?
Have any of these consolidations CREATED any new jobs? NO! They just lead to MORE LAYOFFS. It's called "synergy". Less payroll going to employees, more profits going to THEM. Many companies are even reporting RECORD profits. I guess it could be said that some of the laid-off employees who had shares in their own company (former company?) might benefit a bit on paper, but at what cost?
WE'RE GOING BACKWARDS!
Methinks the Republicans are feeding us a line of Grade A Prime BULLSHIT. And the Democrats aren't even creative enough to do that!
S
