Obama admits Wall Street fraud?

[thousandmilemargin]

Re: Obama admits Wall Street fraud?

Wall Street perpetrated fraud, Obama admitted it, now I WANT JUSTICE ! (I'm sounding a lot like Mega . . . good! He and I can take to the streets together when the time comes.)

The people are still in the "denial" phase. When they move on to "anger", a mob of unemployed accountants waving placards outside city hall might be enough to stir prosecutors to action.

[Nicholas Carroll]

Re: Obama admits Wall Street fraud?

Absolutely right for Obama to say "that they knew" is an accusation. Had he said "that they should have known", he would have stayed out of trouble. But Obama likes to put his foot in his mouth about once a month. It helps keep him grounded.

[Nicholas Carroll]

Re: Obama admits Wall Street fraud?

Quite right the lending banks and the borrowing consumers all are mutually to blame. The Fed however is in a class of its own and can't share blame with anyone. One thing that should be recognized always is human frailty in this case, group-think. The group-think monster in fact not only caused the bubble but now leads the way into the pessimism of economic depression.

[GRG55]

Re: Obama admits Wall Street fraud?

I re-read your original post . . . I am calm . . . and I still see it the same way -- it missed the mark in all the ways that I stated.

Since you didn't get what I was saying the first time, I doubt that repetition will have any effect. But let me leave you with an analogy . . . .

It's as if you and I are walking down the street, and I say, "Look there's a robber who just murdered that grocery store owner. He dropped his gun in the excitement, so let's go grab him."

You say, "That grocery store owner probably overcharges the people in this poor neighborhood, and they don't have anywhere else to shop. And, we have to remember that there are other criminals in this area who commit crimes even more heinous than this. Also, don't forget that if it wasn't for our government, which wastes money through corruption, there would be a policemen around here to catch the murderer."

I reply in frustration, "If you're not going after him, I am . . . he just killed a man."

Are you defending Wall Street? Yes.
Not directly, but by saying that there are many parties who are culpable, you lessen Wall Street's crime by dilution. Not only that, of the other malfeasance you mentioned, two of the four instances are minimal compared to Wall Street's grand theft.

Our president has just admitted that Wall Street has committed fraud, leading to trillions of dollars being sucked out of taxpayers' pockets. People need to take action. Your post was not helpful.

As I said, I think it's unlikely that you will see it my way . . . but as you may have noticed, I am not daunted by unfavorable odds . . . .

Wall Street didn't commit grand theft without a lot of help, including help from the very people [Congress and the Administration] that you expect should prosecute them. It's more like witnessing a grocery store robbery and discovering that the police service that you expect to help has previously cut a deal with the criminal class wherein grocery stores are fair game as long as they don't rob any of the bank branches.

I tend to agree with Satyajit Das in his blog "GFC Plotlines" [emphasis mine]:

"...Vast generalised overviews of the global financial crisis suitable to the soapbox or pulpit run the risk of simplifying a complex, highly nuanced problem where there are no real heroes or villains just pervasive societal fallibility. As Woody Allen once observed in “My Speech to the Graduates”: “More than any other time in history, mankind faces a crossroads. One path leads to despair and utter hopelessness. The other, to total extinction. Let us pray we have the wisdom to choose correctly.”...

[bart]

Re: Obama admits Wall Street fraud?

So can someone please tell me what I'm missing here . . . .

Is what he said not an admission of fraud, and I'm just not understanding that?

No

Is it somehow generally understood that even though this might be fraud, it could never be proven, so what's the point of getting excited about it?

There's some of that, and also fear of becoming a target.

Is the world so corrupt that everybody except me knows it's hopeless to try and do something about it?

No, but lots of fear, apathy and confusion do exist

Have I really entered the Twilight Zone? :eek: :eek: :eek:

Yes.

One of the things you may be missing (but probably not) is that the statements are partially intended to help defuse the various situations. Another is that its an implicit acknowledgment of how bad & rough things really are.