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| Taking Action in A Time of Crisis |
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“A wise man makes his own decisions, an ignorant man follows public opinion.”
— Chinese proverb
There’s a lot of turmoil on Wall Street with many giant financial companies going under. Severely affected by the sub-prime mortgage mess were Lehman, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and AIG. The money trail connects the dots.
As of this writing, a trail leading to harrowing tales of corruption of the men at the helm of some of these corporations are unfolding stretching as far back as 16 years ago. Initial investigative unconfirmed reports tracking where the money went are beginning to show that there are high profile personalities who personally benefited from some very cushy relationships making it possible for them to rack up millions as pay-outs between Wall Street businessmen currying favor from Washington politicians at the expense of the American people. And in the tradition of all other corrupt endeavors, books were cooked.
For the first time in the history of this country, a massive economic bailout to the tune of $700 billion will have to get Congress approval soon to help out these floundering companies. With the urgency of the situation, let us pray that this present Congress with the lowest all-time approval rating under Nancy Pelosi, the first woman to crack that ceiling will act decisively and place country before party interests. I’m not holding my breath though.
To understand the magnitude of this titanic economic mess, experts say we should imagine Ken Lay’s Enron disaster multiplied about 19 times with an estimated bill that will cost every man, woman and child in the US $2000 each over the next few years, to right this massive wrong. OUCH!
Several more unpleasant surprises may be waiting in the wings. Indymac went under a few months back. That experience was personal. A few people before and after me standing in that long line of anxious depositors in one Indymac branch that Monday morning after its declaration of insolvency in the news Friday of the prior week, were fretting and kicking themselves silly, since they had much more than the hundred thousand dollars bank deposit, the FDIC was guaranteeing. It took me only half a day to sort things out on this one but one wonders why these things are happening.
There is even unconfirmed talk in the blogosphere of billionaire groups hostile to the US, moving massive amounts of money in short bursts of trading in the US stock market to manipulate, game and destroy the US banking system to create instability and favor one presidential candidate with the ensuing financial meltdown. This, for me, smacks too much of a chilling Hollywood conspiracy theory. Still, one can’t help wondering.
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