WEEKLY PODCAST TRANSCRIPTS (FRANCONOMICS.COM)
This section provides transcripts to our weekly macro-economic updates. This is for the benefit of our readers who may not have built-in-speakers and / or those would like to understand the underlying economic / financial concepts at a more relaxed pace.
It is now common knowledge that Wall Street executives benefited handsomely from the housing boom in terms of handsome bonus packages in 2005, 2006, 2007, and even 2008 (the year when Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers, and Merrill Lynch ceased to exist as independent business entities). However, the master-minds behind the creation of mortgage-backed-securities might still be at play, trying to keep the good life going? How? For one, ex-Wall-Street executives now occupy some of the top economic and treasury department positions within the Obama administration. Consequently, policies and plans such as TARP (troubled assets relief program), pPiP (Public Private Investment Plan), TALF (Troubled Assets Loan Facility) etc. might just become conduits to funnel further tax-payer trillions into troubled Wall-Street firms like Citi and Goldman Sachs. For example, Goldman has enjoyed $22.8 billion of taxpayer bailouts ($10 billion TARP + $ 12.8 billion insurance payment from AIG, which came out of the $200 billion bailout of AIG), while doing an excellent marketing job through its alums, media, and highly placed government officials that it is the "creame de la creame" of Wall-Street; when the fact of the matter is that its business would have gone under (i.e., it would have gone bankrupt) without the TARP bailouts!
What is at danger for the American people here is that instead of exposing the machinations of Wall-Street bankers who fueled the housing boom (and still keep enjoying nice bonus handouts as part of their compensation --- while there is financial calamity all around them --- housing bust, foreclosures, fall in home prices --- not to mention rising unemployment in most States) and bringing these Financial Criminals to justice for rigging the financial system to rake in huge compensations in bonus, multi-million dollar salaries, etc.; the current administration, by a combination of knowledge and ignorance, might be creating policies and procedures for helping these greedy pigs we call successful members of our society further --- where as we should be putting some of these financial criminals in jail, we still worship them as great innovators and brilliant minds. In short, our laws need to evolve, along with tighter regulation of financial markets.
Through our weekly podcasts, we enlighten you with the current interactions between Wall-Street, the Fed (Federal Reserve) and the Treasury, Economic advisory boards and councils within the Obama administration, etc. Please click a link that interests you to read up more about a specific topic. The date shown within parentheses denotes the end of the business week the podcast was for. Please Digg / Bookmark this page and email the link to other American taxpayers / congressmen / senators. Thank you.
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