1 Topic by Joe Bonamassa (edited by Joe Bonamassa 2009-02-20 13:36:17)

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Topic: Another new low for the banking industry..

Hey Everybody,
        I am watching the news after a long day.  I just wanted to say that seeing the recent rash of extremely brazen bank frauds has prompted me to say this.. With "Sir" Allen Stanford accused of stealing 9 billion dollars I mean I sit here confused on how low people will go for a dollar.. When asked about John Henry I say that people sometimes forget the difference between being famous and Infamous..  Here is a classic example.  All I can do is encourage people to do things with the utmost honestly and integrity.  Quality is key, the work is hard, but they w

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Re: Another new low for the banking industry..

Joe Bonamassa wrote:

Hey Everybody,
        I am watching the news after a long day.  I just wanted to say that seeing the recent rash of extremely brazen bank frauds has prompted me to say this.. With "Sir" Allen Stanford accused of stealing 9 billion dollars I mean I sit here confused on how low people will go for a dollar.. When asked about John Henry I say that people sometimes forget the difference between being famous and Infamous..  Here is a classic example.  All I can do is encourage people to do things with the utmost honestly and integrity.  Quality is key, the work is hard, but they w

It is very disheartening to hear that Madoff is still shacked up in his luxury Central Park digs while his clients have been bilked of everything, many having already lost their homes... Sad state of affairs to be sure.

You Can Do Anything You Want To Do

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Re: Another new low for the banking industry..

Well, greed and anxiety make the financial world go round. It´s sad but how to change it? The Buddhists have a good answer: to be aware of your attachments and trade them for more freedom. But who is prescribing meditation to bank(gst)ers?
Günter

Rock On and Keep the Faith

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4 Reply by BluesMan (edited by BluesMan 2009-02-20 19:40:03)

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Re: Another new low for the banking industry..

98% of the people I have worked with in my life are truly honest and sharing people. Unfortunately, it's the 2% that makes us all look bad. It's the way of business and politics. When times get tough, many of these people are exposed for what they are and that's what is happening now. It's all part of human nature. Pull out the movie "Wall Street" and watch it again. Kind of sums up greed and what its effects are. Very sad.....

Roy

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Re: Another new low for the banking industry..

I attended a funeral yesterday. A friend and customer of 25 plus years. He chose to leave this world because of financial crisis everyone is caught up in. He chose a permanent solution for a temporary problem brought on by the greed and unscrupulous behavior of others. In New York they jump out of windows. In Oklahoma you use your shotgun. We would only be so lucky if guys like Madoff and this guy would do the same.

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Re: Another new low for the banking industry..

In my life, I think the state of things is the lowest of lows.  What happened to integrity? The youth of America, who can they trust, what terrible examples they are witnessing.  I have to quote John Lennon again...How Do You Sleep At Night???  I hope Madoff rots in jail, (the sooner the better), in solitary confinement with crappy food & no sunshine for the rest of his life. He'd get off too easy if he jumped. The government needs to stiffen the penalties for white collar crime since they have no morales what so ever; they are robbers without a weapon the way they steal, no different than a sneaky thief in the night. Sometimes these folks are sent off to glorified country clubs, more checks and balances needed...

If Tim Russert were alive today, I wonder what he would think and say about the state of things since he died in June; his moral compass would think it was having a nightmare or on a LSD trip!

Jim-I'm very sorry to hear about your friend, that is very, very sad. sad

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Re: Another new low for the banking industry..

Jim, so sorry to hear that about your friend and customer. We are still unfortunately uncovering the iceberg of all of this. It is soooo widespread and pervasive that we will all know of someone/some business who/that has suffered dearly from this unscrupulous behaviour whether it be a small ski hill operator in Canada or a friend and customer in Oklahoma....

Bad times ahead folks

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Re: Another new low for the banking industry..

jim m wrote:

I attended a funeral yesterday. A friend and customer of 25 plus years. He chose to leave this world because of financial crisis everyone is caught up in. He chose a permanent solution for a temporary problem brought on by the greed and unscrupulous behavior of others. In New York they jump out of windows. In Oklahoma you use your shotgun. We would only be so lucky if guys like Madoff and this guy would do the same.

Jim, this hurts my heart. So sad. Worse for his survivors. I wish them peace. I have to stay strong in my belief in Karma. I may not see it happen, but I have faith that it will. There's a whole lot of things humans do to one another that are beyond my comprehension. I'm glad I jumped out of the market when I did. I wasn't that heavily invested, but I watched the value plummet until I couldn't stay any longer. It is scary. I'm laying very low until the trip for the RAH. Food, heat, a roof over your head...all over rated...NOT!  Cathy

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Re: Another new low for the banking industry..

With the stimulus bull now signed into law, I have some questions for the new messiah:

Your giving money out taxpayer to people who lived beyond their means. They took out mortgages for homes the knew they couldn't repay, the very same who over extended themselves with credit cards they had no intent on repaying, but now you wish to reward them with cash grants? Why reward cheats and liars? What will you do for the people who did without because they refused to take on debt, who lived and survived within their meager income? Those are the people who rightfully deserve to be rewarded. We shouldn't be rewarding those who play the system at the burden of those who work for what little they've been able to obtain. We are raising yet another generation of welfare recipients. Yes corporate welfare recipients too.

Where does the buck finally stop?

Frankly I about a shot away myself. I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired.

Think reality
Spider

10 Reply by Guenter (edited by Guenter 2009-02-20 21:43:00)

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Re: Another new low for the banking industry..

Spider wrote:

Your giving money out taxpayer to people who lived beyond their means. They took out mortgages for homes the knew they couldn't repay, the very same who over extended themselves with credit cards they had no intent on repaying, but now you wish to reward them with cash grants?

Sure, you are right, Spider. But in the first line it is not paying for these people: it´s peanuts in comparison with the money going to the banks which made a hell of profit all the years and now want the government (=tax payer) to pay for their loss. It is incredible that the same people who were preaching about taking responsibility for your life, not relying on social welfare, the same people who used all their influnence to minimize social welfare are now whining about "the crisis", stand with hands open and beg for more.
The most upsetting idea is that the government has to do so because otherwise the whole financial system woul crash. Sometimes I think that this would maybe the better option in terms of coming back to normal life.
Günter

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Re: Another new low for the banking industry..

People must have hope that a better day is coming soon or at all, or this global economy is only going to get worse for a long time and when it emerges on the other side things will surely be different and maybe not better.
  As far as all these unregulated  bailouts, I'm afraid that once again the real beneficiaries will be the super rich. Ultimately poor is poor. The working man eventually will be referred to as the working poor - a whole new class.
  It also feels like our government is starting to become the biggest counterfitters of all time. The dollar is being devalued at an allarming rate. Isn't all this paper supposed to be backed up by something of value? Now it feels like its backed up by I.O.Us.
  Feeling better yet? Thanks for letting me rant a little bit here. I'm more than a little concerened for our collective futures.

fuzzy

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Re: Another new low for the banking industry..

fuzzy wuzzy wrote:

  Feeling better yet? Thanks for letting me rant a little bit here. I'm more than a little concerened for our collective futures.

fuzzy

Not only for our futures Fuzz, but what about our children's who are going to inherit this horrific debt? Nearly 10.8 Trillion dollars and counting!

http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock/

Roy

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Re: Another new low for the banking industry..

I agree with all of you. It's a big mess.

I NEVER EVER trust people in nice SUITS  and wearing  TIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

When I was in highschool about 40 years ago we had a teacher who taught economics.
He then already said in his lessons:

People with suits and ties fraud more together then all social benefits cost together!!

He was and still is right.

Here is the proof again with these financial @#$%

The profits are for the capitalists, the losses for the mass. Sad but oh so true!

I'm a teacher and I have to teach (from our goverment) the children requirements? and values!!
With Bankers and governments like these!!^

Impossible, but I try to be a good model for them and believe in humanity.

The best proof is this forum with fans, Joe, and all people involved!!
Different people, different nationalities, always helping,supporting, advising,supporting eachother!!

If the people on top would be like all of us I think the world would be a better place for all people living on it!

Andre Wittebroek

14 Reply by Stu Craig (edited by Stu Craig 2009-02-21 00:03:19)

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Re: Another new low for the banking industry..

A Trillion is such a hard number to comprehend. I saw a youtube video recently that tried to put it into perspective.

A million seconds = approx 11.5 days
A billion seconds = 32 years
A trillion seconds = 32,000 years

The video explained if a person started spending 1 million dollars a day on the day Christ was born, and you continued to spend 1 million dollars a day ever since, you still would not have spent 1 trillion dollars as of today.

To think that our national debt is something like 10 or 11 trillion dollars is really scary to me. I don't know how we can sustain this.

I just found the video...check it out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPfY0q-rEdY

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Re: Another new low for the banking industry..

Unless your an American citizen and are a registered US voter, I respectfully ask that you refrain from commenting on American politics.

We don't need bailouts. We don't need Welfare, corporate or otherwise. We need the American people, it's businesses AND it's government to stand up and take care of itself. It's long past time to take it one on the chin. If you can't pay for it, don't buy it! Yes it is really that simple. I don't expect anyone to clean up after me. Don't ask me to come and wipe your a$$ after you $hit all over yourself.

You placed your signature on an agreement to repay your debt. So now it's time to pay up sucker!!

Fuzzy we have been off the gold standard for years. There is nothing to back up the dollar except confidence in the US government. The stock market clearly shows there is no confidence in this administration.

American working poor has been a "class" since before the revolution.

Speaking of revolutions. The US is overdue for another. It's once again time to water the tree of freedom with the blood of tyrants.

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Re: Another new low for the banking industry..

Accentuate the positive.  You can see it if you look. You can create it if you don't and tag onto it where you do.  Hang in there and well, let's hang together (in the good context), or, as the saying goes, we shall all surely hang together (in the bad context).

The reward of honesty, intregrity, and hard work is....maybe not fame, likely not fortune, but I know damn well it matters.  The mirror, mirror, on the wall will tell you so also wink


Minimize the negative, Rock On & Keep the Faith,
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Re: Another new low for the banking industry..

Stu Craig wrote:

The video explained if a person started spending 1 million dollars a day on the day Christ was born, and you continued to spend 1 million dollars a day ever since, you still would not have spent 1 trillion dollars as of today.

To think that our national debt is something like 10 or 11 trillion dollars is really scary to me. I don't know how we can sustain this.

It is very hard to comprehend a trillion dolars Stu. According to the U.S. National Debt clock, since Spetember 28th, 2007, the national debt has risen on average 3.52 billion dollars a day. That's 3,520 times the 1 million dollars that you were talking about spending per day. I must say, someday that check will come due!

Roy

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18 Reply by gsj (edited by gsj 2009-02-21 02:33:21)

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Re: Another new low for the banking industry..

Hard times all around us. It's been said that the meek shall inherit.........if there's anything left. It seems that those who work the hardest are usually the one's that get shafted the most but hey, my parents brought me up with the 'work ethic' and that's how I'm made. It's the only way I know and it goes for my friend's too.

And Andre, I wear a suit to work nowadays, sometimes a tie as well, so don't go dissing all of us that have to 'dress accordingly' mate. We're not all money grabbing low lifes. Don't tar us all with the same brush.

And Spider....."Unless your an American citizen and are a registered US voter, I respectfully ask that you refrain from commenting on American politics." Sorry but what happens there happens here too eventually....and has a had a huge 'knock on' effect on the economy for the rest of the world so I reserve the right to comment whenever I see fit.

Geoff

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