“Decisions made during the final months of the Bush administration created an environment in which the most politically connected investment banks, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, not only flourished, but saw their competitors laid waste, with firms like Lehman in bankruptcy, and others, like Merrill Lynch and Bank of America, forced to merge in desperate hope of surviving.” (Read more from huffingtonpost.com)
Daily Archives: 20 March 2009
Goldman Sachs Wins Big In Secret Bailout Via AIG
In terms of power and influence, no other bank seems to come close to Goldman Sachs. Their name comes up a lot as you travel down the rabbit hole of government secrecy.
“In case you were wondering where on earth all that money went that you shoveled into the black hole known as AIG, we now have a pretty good idea.
* $13 billion of it went to Goldman Sachs
* $12 billion went to Soc Gen
* $12 billion went to Deutsche Bank
* $9 billion went to Barclays
* $7 billion went to Merrill Lynch
* $5 billion went to Bank of America
And so on.
All these firms did business with AIG voluntarily. All these firms knew (or should have known) the risks of doing business with an unregulated firm in an unregulated part of the market. All these firms were willing to take the risk that AIG wouldn’t be able to make good on its commitments.” (Read more from businessinsider.com)
A.I.G. Planning Huge Bonuses After $170 Billion Bailout
Thank to the bailouts, the line between government and industry is perverted. Banks have good reason to continue being irresponsible, as government will cover their losses with taxpayer money, and politicians have good reason to stick their selfish, stupid paws all over the decisions of private companies, as it’s politically expedient to create the impression of control and punishment.
Inflation Adjusted Dow Jones
