Federal Reserve, Goldman, Toxic Debt, & Healthcare

[WhiskeyGirl]

I was listening on tv the other day, and someone finally spoke up about the money big banks, large global businesses access for free or for very little interest from the US taxpayers via the Federal Reserve, FDIC, and any number of other government slush funds.

Goldman is reported to be paying out more than $20 billion in bonuses.  That doesn't include the profits, it's just the bonus money. 

I wonder how much Goldman really makes?  How much do they make in their anonymous 'dark pool' trading?  How much through what some have described as old fashioned 'front running' now known as 'flashes' and 'high frequency trading'?

How much does Goldman make from their foreign investments?

Where do they get the money?  Do they dig deep in their personal fortunes to make investments to earn that $20 billion in bonuses?  Who has pockets that deep?  I wonder how much they pay in taxes each year?

Are they investing taxpayer money?  Making oodles of money while the dollar is being debased, destroyed, and savings on Main Street are being wiped out?

Do companies like Goldman have access to special wheeling and dealing at the Federal Reserve?  How much do they make while taxpayers foot the bill through inflation, loss of savings, and joblessness?

I heard that little if any of this money is invested in America, or on Main Street.  It's all invested overseas to make the most money for all these big global companies and super rich global citizens - paid for by Main Street Americans.

Sure, they pretend to give us free/affordable healthcare, but most don't want to know where the money comes from.  It seems to be paid for by harvesting the hard work of ordinary folks on Main Street. Individuals, small businesses, and the doctors that provide services. 

A shell game, anti-American style.

Why educate your children when there are no jobs?  Have the Chinese and others hung out the shingle to advertise for workers?  Highly educated workers?

The Chinese said the other day that there is no such thing as Free/Fair trade.

The only ones who seem to make money on free/fair trade are large global banks, global corporations, and super rich global citizens.

When will the folks in Washington start working for the little people on Main Street?

When will the audit the Federal Reserve to find out who really profits from all the misery/inflation in this country?  Someone suggested that the GAO is too stupid to understand the working of the Federal Reserve.  What happened to all that education?

I think the too stupid excuse is a ploy to avoid opening the books.

There have to be smarter people somewhere.  Look at the mess this nation is in.

When will the Obama administration get around to a meaningful audit of the Federal Reserve?  Congress?

Oops!  Obama doesn't seem to like the US, he grew up among the 'damn America' crowd.

Secret societies only benefit those who keep the secrets.

The rest of us get poorer every day.

jmho

[WhiskeyGirl]

I snipped this from another thread, the Pelosi Healthcare bill.  What does this really mean?

From page 345 –

20 SEC. 554. DELAY IN APPLICATION OF WORLDWIDE ALLOCA
21 TION OF INTEREST.
22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Paragraphs (5)(D) and (6) of sec
23 tion 864(f) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 are each
24 amended by striking ‘‘December 31, 2010’’ and inserting
25 ‘‘December 31, 2019’’.

Something like this was in HR3200.  I couldn’t figure out want it appled to.

I looked up the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 on the web and found it here –

http://www.taxalmanac.org/index.php/Internal_Revenue_Code:Sec._864._Definitions_and_special_rules

(5) Election to expand financial institution group of
        worldwide group.--
          (A) In general.--If a worldwide affiliated group
                elects the application of this subsection, all financial
                corporations which--
             (i) are members of such worldwide affiliated group, but
             (ii) are not corporations described in paragraph (4)(B),
                shall be treated as described in paragraph (4)(B) for
                purposes of applying paragraph
                (4)(A). <<NOTE: Applicability.>> This subsection (other
                than this paragraph) shall apply to any such group in
                the same manner as this subsection (other than this
                paragraph) applies to the pre-election worldwide
                affiliated group of which such group is a part.
          (B) Financial corporation.--For purposes of this
              paragraph, the term `financial corporation' means any
              corporation if at least 80 percent of its gross income
              is income described in section 904(d)(2)(D)(ii) and the
              regulations thereunder which is derived from
              transactions with persons who are not related (within
              the meaning of section 267(b) or 707(b)(1)) to the
              corporation. For purposes of the preceding sentence,
              there shall be disregarded any item of income or gain
              from a transaction or series of transactions a principal
              purpose of which is the qualification of any corporation
              as a financial corporation.
          (C) Anti-abuse rules.--In the case of a
              corporation which is a member of an electing financial
              institution group, to the extent that such corporation--
             (i) distributes dividends or makes other
                 distributions with respect to its stock after the
                 date of the enactment of this paragraph to any
                 member of the pre-election worldwide affiliated
                 group (other than to a member of the electing
                 financial institution group) in excess of the
                 greater of--
                (I) its average annual dividend
                    (expressed as a percentage of current
                    earnings and profits) during the 5-
                    taxable-year period ending with the
                    taxable year preceding the taxable year,
                    or
                (II) 25 percent of its average
                    annual earnings and profits for such 5-
                    taxable-year period, or
             (ii) deals with any person in any manner not
                 clearly reflecting the income of the corporation
                 (as determined under principles similar to the
                 principles of section 482),
              an amount of indebtedness of the electing financial
              institution group equal to the excess distribution or
              the understatement or overstatement of income, as the
              case may be, shall be recharacterized (for the taxable
              year and subsequent taxable years) for purposes of this
              paragraph as indebtedness of the worldwide affiliated
              group (excluding the electing financial institution
              group). If a corporation has not been in existence for 5
              taxable years, this subparagraph shall be applied with
              respect to the period it was in existence.
          (D) Election.--An election under this paragraph
              with respect to any financial institution group may be
              made only by the common parent of the pre-election
              worldwide affiliated group and may be made only for the
              first taxable year beginning after December 31, 2008, in
              which such affiliated group includes 1 or more financial
              corporations. Such an
              election, <<NOTE: Applicability.>> once made, shall
              apply to all financial corporations which are members of
              the electing financial institution group for such
              taxable year and all subsequent years unless revoked
              with the consent of the Secretary.
          (E) Definitions relating to groups.--For purposes
              of this paragraph--
             (i) Pre-election worldwide affiliated
                 group.--The term `pre-election worldwide
                 affiliated group' means, with respect to a
                 corporation, the worldwide affiliated group of
                 which such corporation would
                 (but for an election under this paragraph) be a
                 member for purposes of applying paragraph (1).
             (ii) Electing financial institution group.--
                 The term `electing financial institution group'
                 means the group of corporations to which this
                 subsection applies separately by reason of the
                 application of paragraph (4)(A) and which includes
                 financial corporations by reason of an election
                 under subparagraph (A).
          (F) Regulations.--The Secretary shall prescribe
              such regulations as may be appropriate to carry out this
              subsection, including regulations--
             (i) providing for the direct allocation of
                 interest expense in other circumstances where such
                 allocation would be appropriate to carry out the
                 purposes of this subsection,
             (ii) preventing assets or interest expense
                 from being taken into account more than once, and
             (iii) dealing with changes in members of any
                 group (through acquisitions or otherwise) treated
                 under this paragraph as an affiliated group for
                 purposes of this subsection.
          (6) Election.--An election to have this subsection apply
        with respect to any worldwide affiliated group may be made only
        by the common parent of the domestic affiliated group referred
        to in paragraph (1)(C) and may be made only for the first
        taxable year beginning after December 31, 2008, in which a
        worldwide affiliated group exists which includes such affiliated
        group and at least 1 <<NOTE: Applicability.>> foreign
        corporation. Such an election, once made, shall apply to such
        common parent and all other corporations which are members of
        such worldwide affiliated group for such taxable year and all
        subsequent years unless revoked with the consent of the
        Secretary.

Not sure what this is at all.  Is it another gift/bailout for Wall Street?  Large global banks and financial institutions?

Is this the political gift that keeps on giving?

Why would anyone want to give large global banks and corporations an extended tax holiday at the expense of Main Street?

When I looked this section of law up, the dates originally ended in 2008.  At some point, they were extended to 2009.

Now, they go almost to 2020?  What's that about?

Who does this affect?  Rich global banks, companies, and super rich global citizens?

What have any of these folks done for Main Street?

Do they access our national check books through the Federal Reserve, FDIC, and other taxpayer backed entities?

When they're done using our money, do they ensure that some business shell is exhausted of money?  A toxic asset for taxpayers to make good on?

They suck the life and money out of companies and then dump them on taxpayers?  Is this what happened to Freddie/Fannie/FHA?  AIG?

To big to fail, just a ploy to soak the rubes on Main Street?

All of these big global businesses, banks, and people seem to bring higher unemployment and larger debt on Main Street.

Why are "dark pool" and HFT tolerated?  How much tax money is being lost?

Why are the secret dealings at the Federal Reserve tolerated?

Stimulus bills that fills pockets of special interest groups and foreign companies, workers, and nations with money...

No jobs for Main Street.  Just the empty promise of 'free' healthcare based on a system that doesn't work.

The looting continues.  Privatize profits, socialize borrowing and losses.

[WhiskeyGirl]

This reminds me of a movie plot.  The bad guy borrows money to buy a car worth $20,000.  They borrow say, $10 billion from a bank.  For some reason, unknown to stockholders, the bank gives the bad guy more and more money for that car. 

The bad guy takes that money and invests it in foreign things that are hidden from the bank, and for which he does not pay taxes.

When the not is due and the stockholders can't be put off any longer, the guy files for bankruptcy. 

Will the bankruptcy court look for all that hidden money?  Will they know where to look? 

The bank is stuck with the bad loan.  Resources depleted.

The following day, the bad guy comes back to help himself to more.  He gets a little loan and pays it back.

Another account manager at the bank, says wow I can get you more money, we'll just take tweek a few things and take it from this other fund.  Here you go, make lots of money.

Just remember, you don't really have to pay it back...it's all a shell game...

Paid for by the little people on Main Street, those that really pay taxes and think they can save money for a secure retirement and to educate their children.

Little do they know what the enablers in Washington have in store for them...