"Jobs, homes vanish but Wall Street back in black"

[WhiskeyGirl]

as the US economy continues to struggle, much of Wall Street is minting money - and looking forward to a return to hefty bonuses.

Many Americans wonder how this can possibly be. How can some financial institutions be prospering so soon after a financial meltdown, even as legions of people worry about losing their jobs and their homes?

When will Washington work for Main Street?  It seems like Washington is not accountable for all the money they spend and borrow.  The Federal Reserve is owned by mystery people, keeps big secrets, and what have they done for Main Street lately?  Debt?

Titans like Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase are making fortunes in hot areas like trading stocks and bonds, rather than in the ho-hum business of lending money..

No consumer exposure?  What was the point of bailing them out?  Job creation?  Saving a few jobs on Wall Street while Main Street is underwater? 

''But we have just shown them that they can have the most frightening things happen to them, and we will throw trillions of dollars to protect them. I have big concerns about that.''

Privatized profits for Wall Street, losses socialized and paid for by generations on Main Street"

But the decline of certain institutions, along with the collapse of once-vital competitors like Lehman Brothers, has consolidated the nation's financial power in fewer hands. The strong are now able to wring more profits from the financial markets and charge higher fees for a wide range of banking services.

''They are able to charge more for all kinds of services because companies need banks and investment banks more now, and there are fewer strong ones to help them,'' said Douglas Elliott of the Brookings Institution.

Maybe the government will help the bankers and folks on Main Street compete with the 'to big to fail' crowd? 

Goldman Sachs and its perennial rival, Morgan Stanley, transformed themselves into old-fashioned bank holding companies. That switch gave them access to cheap funding from the Federal Reserve, which had been unavailable.

Those two banks and others, like JPMorgan, were also allowed to issue tens of billions of dollars of bonds that are guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

Still to big to fail?  No problems, taxpayers will eat your losses for generations.  Why risk their salary and bonus money again?

read more here - http://www.watoday.com.au/business/jobs-homes-vanish-but-wall-street-back-in-black-20091018-h2w8.html

Time for a clean sweep in Washington.  Need people who want to build America based on the principles that made us a great nation for generations.  Debt = Destruction.

jmho

[WhiskeyGirl]

Not surprisingly, economic disparity continues its rapid growth. A report released last year by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) reported that America now ranks fourth internationally in inequality in incomes following Mexico, Turkey and Portugal. Federal Reserve Board data show that the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans own roughly 34.3 percent of the country’s net worth and the top 10 percent owns over 71 percent.

http://www.edenprairienews.com/spiritually-speaking-righting-course-spiritual-values-our-country-110

How is it possible that the rich continue to get richer? 

Who's looking out for Main Street?

All this taxing affects working people, and forces the debt onto future generaitons - kicking the can to those who did not vote for Obama.

Will those who already have wealth be contributing?  They seem to get richer, while Main Street gets the crumbs.

How long will the crumbs sustain?

[WhiskeyGirl]

"Bush/Obama Policies Helped Biggest Wall Street Firms Get Even Bigger"

Washington’s response to the economic crisis that began last year has done little to help the average American get going again, but it has helped some of Wall Street’s most powerful institutions become stronger than ever. Reducing interest rates to near zero has not loosened lending to allow small businesses to thrive, but it has helped Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase finance their high-risk trading, which has yielded big returns this year. These banks are also benefiting from fewer or weaker competitors who aren’t in a position to challenge these revitalized behemoths.

Because Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley were allowed to reinvent themselves as bank holding companies, they were able to borrow money cheaply and issue bonds, guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, worth tens of billions of dollars.

...
 
-Noel Brinkerhoff

http://www.allgov.com/ViewNews/Bush_Obama_Policies_Helped_Biggest_Wall_Street_Firms_Get_Even_Bigger_91018

Anyone looking out for Main Street?