tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23631160.post2282651162261989291..comments2023-10-26T07:25:54.379-04:00Comments on The Old New Englander: Give it backThe Old New Englanderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16526429029137678701noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23631160.post-80380568449448249532010-05-07T16:21:06.897-04:002010-05-07T16:21:06.897-04:00To answer your question: Goldman got $12.9 billion...To answer your question: Goldman got $12.9 billion in bailout money but gave $10b back almost immediately. All their credit default swaps were with AIG who ended up with close to $185b in taxpayer cash, but promptly had to pay the bulk of that out to Goldman. The rest went to Deustche Bank, Royal Bank of Scotland, Morgan Stanley, and Bank of America among others.<br />The Fabulous Fab was an insolent prick under oath hiding behind the "sophistication" of the financial instruments involved. In other words, "Don't question me about things you yourself do not understand."<br />If I were a senator present during the questioning, I would have stepped down from the dais, walked over to the little insubordinate jerk, slapped him in the face and told him to just answer the f****** questions. <br />The only thing "sophisticated" about these tranches of bundled sub-prime mortgages was how the payouts were worked with Fitch, Standard and Poor, and Moody's in exchange for their AAA ratings of this crap.<br />Easiest two fixes: 1) Put derivatives up on the big board as there is no reason why they are not traded like commodity futures and 2) Severely limit the amount of leverage any bank is allowed to carry.<br />And let's not let Greenspan off the hook here. His last six years were a clinic on what not to do regarding monetary policy. If only he had regarded Ayn Rand as the B-list Hollywood scriptwriter that she was.<br />And again, as long as they're successfully siphoning our money, the free moarket works great! But the second they need to be saved from themselves, their embrace of "socialism" is both public and complete.<br />Blankfein give money back? It is to laugh!Chris Gagnonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23631160.post-57146860498534643082010-04-29T11:23:20.135-04:002010-04-29T11:23:20.135-04:00Follow the money is once again the answer to your ...Follow the money is once again the answer to your rhetorical question. Recent reports show G-S big money going to senators from both parties, so they're watching their backs, protecting themselves from retribution by G-S criminals like Blankfein when this is all over. <br /><br />Only if and when G-S is totally declawed would the Senators do what you suggest.(Don't hold your breath.) Another question might be why don't the senators give back G-S campaign contributions?Leanderthal, Lighthouse Keeperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17398230668313436866noreply@blogger.com