Going after the bad banksters
Gotta love those nice banks (who, of course, being corporations, are people - and the best people of all sorts of people). The taxpayers bailed them out during the financial crisis because they were too-nice-to-fail, and yet, after having the bulk of that money to give huge bonuses to themselves for a job well done, they then turn around and do this:
Lawsuit accuses 22 banks of manipulating US Treasury auctions
"Twenty-two financial companies that have served as primary dealers of U.S. Treasury securities were sued in federal court on Thursday, in what was described as the first nationwide class action alleging a conspiracy to manipulate Treasury auctions that harmed both investors and borrowers. The State-Boston Retirement System, the pension fund for Boston public employees, accused Bank of America's Merrill Lynch unit, Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, JPMorgan Chase, UBS, and 14 other defendants of illegally trying to profit on the sale of Treasury bills, notes and bonds at investors' expense."
Sounds good, eh? Go, justice, go! Finally, the bad, bad banksters will end up where they belong: behind bars. Right?
Wait, what are you saying? Not so fast, you say? If anyone gets caught at all, their most probable punishment will be a two-year stint on the South of France, a GulfStream jet, and 5-star resort all-inclusive expenses paid for by ourselves the stupid, unwashed, gullible serfs who'll be always footing the bill for their corruption?
But seriously. The precedent has been set a long time ago already. Guys like these have all the financial and judicial power to loophole themselves out of any such situation, and buy their way out of criminal misdeeds, and continue conducting semi- or fully-criminal activity left and right. Let's be realistic here. If you make 1 bn profit and pay a quarter of a bn to escape punishment, and you do escape eventually, who wouldn't want to do this over and over again?
Yep, the precedent has been set. The law did allow these misdeeds at the time. It wasn't illegal. That's the argument that we keep hearing. And whenever it happens again, people will always bring up the fact that well, in such and such case, we allowed it. What's so different now?
So yeah, basically, welcome to the United States of Corruption. Even if the big banks occasionally find themselves in trouble for conducting unethical practices for profit, maybe one or two guys would go do jail - if at all. Then the rest of them can proceed enjoying their bonuses, and continue to massively contribute to campaign finances, and own congress and thus, the judicial system. Because, you know, after all, corporations are people. The largest, most powerful, and best people of them all. And money is speech. Free speech. The freeest of all sorts of speech.
Why not just leave the markets alone? The markets will surely correct themselves. A free-running unmolested market is the only way to solve all the problems. Sure, you may get a rogue wave once in a while, and millions of people could metaphorically drown in the process - but it's all worth it. For freedom. Don't worry about anything, guys. The market will sort out everything, one way or the other.
Lawsuit accuses 22 banks of manipulating US Treasury auctions
"Twenty-two financial companies that have served as primary dealers of U.S. Treasury securities were sued in federal court on Thursday, in what was described as the first nationwide class action alleging a conspiracy to manipulate Treasury auctions that harmed both investors and borrowers. The State-Boston Retirement System, the pension fund for Boston public employees, accused Bank of America's Merrill Lynch unit, Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, JPMorgan Chase, UBS, and 14 other defendants of illegally trying to profit on the sale of Treasury bills, notes and bonds at investors' expense."
Sounds good, eh? Go, justice, go! Finally, the bad, bad banksters will end up where they belong: behind bars. Right?
Wait, what are you saying? Not so fast, you say? If anyone gets caught at all, their most probable punishment will be a two-year stint on the South of France, a GulfStream jet, and 5-star resort all-inclusive expenses paid for by ourselves the stupid, unwashed, gullible serfs who'll be always footing the bill for their corruption?
But seriously. The precedent has been set a long time ago already. Guys like these have all the financial and judicial power to loophole themselves out of any such situation, and buy their way out of criminal misdeeds, and continue conducting semi- or fully-criminal activity left and right. Let's be realistic here. If you make 1 bn profit and pay a quarter of a bn to escape punishment, and you do escape eventually, who wouldn't want to do this over and over again?
Yep, the precedent has been set. The law did allow these misdeeds at the time. It wasn't illegal. That's the argument that we keep hearing. And whenever it happens again, people will always bring up the fact that well, in such and such case, we allowed it. What's so different now?
So yeah, basically, welcome to the United States of Corruption. Even if the big banks occasionally find themselves in trouble for conducting unethical practices for profit, maybe one or two guys would go do jail - if at all. Then the rest of them can proceed enjoying their bonuses, and continue to massively contribute to campaign finances, and own congress and thus, the judicial system. Because, you know, after all, corporations are people. The largest, most powerful, and best people of them all. And money is speech. Free speech. The freeest of all sorts of speech.
Why not just leave the markets alone? The markets will surely correct themselves. A free-running unmolested market is the only way to solve all the problems. Sure, you may get a rogue wave once in a while, and millions of people could metaphorically drown in the process - but it's all worth it. For freedom. Don't worry about anything, guys. The market will sort out everything, one way or the other.