I agree with Bobert's last post in the previous thread. The "let's repeal Social Security" ploy isn't even the case here. Republicans know they can't outright repeal Social Security. But now they have an even better idea--use free government money to make obscene profits investing on Wall Street.

Frontline on PBS just ran a program on how the big investment bankers made obscene single day profits taking Internet companies public and "flipping" their shares when the IPO hit the trading floor. Not a one of them was involved in long-term investing, or gave one whit about the technology sector. To them, it was a case where clients were promised set-aside shares of huge blocks of company stocks at $13 at opening bell, which were then "flipped" and sold off within hours or days at $100+ per share.

Of course, Joe and Jane Everyperson investors lost their shirts, savings, etc on these deals because by the time there were any shares available to buy, they were advised (by the Wall Street analysts) to buy them at the top price per share when the corporate investors had already flipped their shares and taken all the profit that was going to be taken out of these corporations before they went belly up.

The stock analysts acting as cheerleaders worked for the investment bankers (Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, et al--all the "good" Wall Street houses), and when a former director of the SEC was asked about this, his response was "no comment." What a surprise.

The Social Security Fund for Investors the Bush administration is pushing would be nothing more than another scam for Dubya's wealthy buddies. Can you imagine, with the amount of money that goes into Social Security, how much scandal that kind of money would end up buying?

The answer isn't just campaign finance reform. We need sweeping reforms and strict regulations of Wall Street trading and investing. The SEC is a joke. It ain't even a case of the fox guarding the henhouse. It is a question of the henhouse guard being fired by corporate government, who then through open the door to the country's foxes, who just go on in and help themselves to the eggs, the hens, and anything that crawls.

That is what happened under Shrub 1's watch with the savings and loan and HUD scandals. The good ole boys made a pile of money "legally". Of course, we all know what they did was immoral, indefensible greed and graft. But hey! They wrote the laws just so's they could get away with robbing us legally!

Nothing wrong with taking profits, now is there sez the hear no evil, see no evil, do nothing Bush administration?

Phil Gramm. Tom DeLay. The Bush family. US Attorney office's entire Houston staff recusing itself. The Republican public utilities commissioner appointed by Bush's gubernatorial successor being forced to resign.

Yeah, I agree that the Dem sleaze bags are bad. But looking at who has been implicated in the Enron scandal, the Republicans are in much deeper, for much longer, and for most of the money and political influence.

Again--we haven't even seen what the Cheney meeting notes will reveal about the Bush/Cheney "energy policy" when the obscene profits were taken with the manufactured "energy crisis" in the West last year.

Remember--Bush said doing nothing was the right thing to do then, too!

DougR

Now with individual retirement accounts (IRAs) and 401K (savings invested in stock) plans, thousands of millions of dollars each week are placed into retirement accounts. It doesn't matter whether the market is up or down, all that money will be used to buy stocks and securities. It doesn't matter how crappy the stocks are, the investment managers don't have any option to just sit on the money until the investment climate is better, it goes directly into corporate coffers. Then, BANG! Suddenly, the money in corporate coffers is all gone and so is everyone's retirement account... go figure.

But wait... there is a solution, well two solutions actually. First we put our Social Security tax money in the corporate coffers because the corporations have shown such outstanding stewardship, next we'll fix the U.S. constitution so our children can prey about the problem whenever they are told to do so.

Now if we can find a legal basis for silencing all critics of the U.S. administration, all will be well.

      - Mark

DougR

      - Mark

Might of fact this entire "trickle down" economics is just bad business. It didn't work in the 80's and won't work now. What we need is some "trickle UP' economics.

DougR

ro1sin ron

Hey, man, this thread will just go off into eternity... Just 'cause me and Doug kissed and made up don't matter 'cause this is the biggest story on the Planet right now. Ain't nothin' lame about it. Now, being new to the Catbox, you might be the "lamest" poster in Catsburg history, but this thread had kept a few folks out of the pool hall for a few days, as my 87 year old dad says.

DougR

Wasn't Ricky Skaggs a member of the "Country Gentlemen" at one time. I'm pretty sure I saw him there one time too.

DougR

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2002/01/18/enron_scandal/index_np.html

As the articles says, it isn't just about what the Texas politicians (Bush, et al) did for Enron when the corporation was on it's way down, but what they did for it when it was on it's way up.

DougR

I got bombed right here in my own home town.

DougR

DougR

DougR

Follow that link to the homepage, and find out exactly what candidate owes what PAC. VERY interesting.

In an age when political office is by and large a purchaseable commodity, the people who can afford to buy office will be A) those who are independently enormously wealthy or B) those who are willing to court PACs for the funds necessary to buy office, while promising nothing in return C) Those who court PACs to buy office while promising loyalty and service. My cynicism tells me there just won't be many successful B's.

Jed, shame on you!

DougR