The Obama administration is engineering its new bailout initiatives in a way that it believes will allow firms benefiting from the programs to avoid restrictions imposed by Congress, including limits on lavish executive pay, according to government officials.
The looting of the public continues, aided by the Obama Administration. (I almost typed Bush. Wow.)
As explained in On the Urgency of Restructuring Bank and Mortgage Debt, and of Abandoning Toxic Asset Purchases:
Indeed, the only way for the toxic asset sale to increase shareholder equity is if the buyer overpays for the asset. To accomplish this, the Geithner plan creates a speculative incentive for private investors, by effectively offering them [...]
As Timothy Geithner has apty demonstrated, if you’re well commected, you get a free pass for tax evasion; and a promotion to manage the department that includes the IRS. In further evidence that being wealthy gives you a pass, the IRS is apparently going to give tax cheats who hide their assets offshore a [...]
Several must read articles just from the past couple days.
No Return to Normal Why the economic crisis, and its solution, are bigger than you think. James K. Galbraith.
The Big Takeover. The global economic crisis isn’t about money - it’s about power. How Wall Street insiders are using the bailout to stage a revolution. [...]