Wall Street Heist (brief, powerful documentary)

What led to the financial crisis, who was responsible, what may be round the corner, and what (if anything) can be done — all in layman's terms. Fifteen minutes well spent:








Key quotes:


On the deliberate dismantling of legal safeguards against Wall Street abuses:

"Regulation is the price you pay for living in a safe society."


On what is yet to come:

"If the financial system as a whole comes apart, if foreign governments are no longer willing to lend to the United States government, if the United States government can no longer finance it's operations, the standard of living in these United States is going to plummet..."


In the light of such simple facts it is difficult to believe those responsible didn't realise they were mortgaging the entire financial system all for the sake of a quick billion. *buck doesn't quite fit*

So now it's time to get mad. Stop giving them your money, your time, your suffering for free. Quit your jobs. Stay at home. Make a living out of your home with bartering and other forms of 'payment' that they can't tax. Fly under the radar. Keep your living to yourself and let fade out of your life until things come back into some form of normalcy. You don't have to serve them You only serve your own personal illusion of prosperity if you continue allowing this constant money-grubbing to rule your actions. Where do you draw the line as to what you'll do for money? How much of a whore are you? Force the heart back into society. There's no time like the present.

reply to post by CosmicEgg


Original thinking is always very stimulating.

Anyone with enough 'get up & go' could knock on a few neighbours' doors & say: "How about I mow your lawn / do your odd jobs about the place & you buy me some groceries..."

Here's another idea: spend what savings you have now on stuff you might need in the medium term. The money could well be worthless in the not too distant future. You might even give a little boost to your local economy.

Getting back to the issues addressed directly: people could start calling for Wall Street to be regulated again [with teeth, not cosmetics] to encourage it to act responsibly with other people's money, as opposed to making Vagus look like a run-down theme park.

reply to post by pause4thought


Yeah, that's what I thought I was doing when I ran into huge credit card debts. I bought the old 'spend everything you have and more to keep the economy rolling!' shtick. Guess where I am now? Don't ask how many digits.

My grandmother always warned me about credit. She warned me about banks too. I am wiser now, but I should have listened. Hers was sage advice.

This is a great documentary expose on Wall Street!

thanks.

reply to post by CosmicEgg


Sobering thoughts!

At least if inflation hits - big time - those multiple digits won't be such a worry.



reply to post by drew hempel


You are very welcome, sir. (Though the real credit goes to the filmmakers.)

It's not rocket science, is it? Though some of the investment vehicles behind the scenes were/are doubtless somewhat esoteric, the rules of basic housekeeping + the application of common sense could have done wonders. Ponzi schemes do tend to lack these things...

i don't see widespread inflation......I see some form of DEFAULTS...

soverign gov't defaults seem like the way to go for a push toward a NEED for World Gov't.......central banks and intelligence agency's unite to give us direction LOL

underlying wages are not going to spring upward to support inflation.....and most our our liabilities (that gov't pays out) are tied to inflation so inflating away debt seems pointless and really impossible.

it seems the fuse is lit.......for govt's to do what it takes to stay afloat and out of a spiraling debt deflation depression....they spend....and they spend and ......make sure they have golden parachute's for when TSHTF

it's like the laws/infrastructure are quietly coming into place for a world where there is much lower standards of living and a global governing body.....ya?

i admit i'm not the most educated person when it comes to economics...but wtf.
they say they cant cut big bonus's from these bankers or ceo of big bank or wall street... because they will just go somewhere else to work.

but where are they going to go? the whole world is in economic turmoil.
i say fire them all. they are after all disgusting pigs...let them go. they will just end up getting a pitch fork in the neck if they stay here, so its probably in their best interest anyway.

reply to post by helltick


hmm..

OK, lets say they fire them. Who would you recommend to replace them? Me and you? That's not the best way of finding our way out of crisis. Remember, the people that worked for these failing companies lost everything as well. Much more than you could dream I am sure.

There was maybe a handful of people in reality that could have orchestrated this to one big fall. IMO it's really not that hard to understand. Do you think all the workers at Bear Stearns were nefarious? How many people do you think lost everything they had when BS collapsed that worked for that corp.? I'll give you a clue, all of them, from the mail clerk to president.

so what do you suggest green bic man? just keep rolling?
i still like the pitch fork in the neck idea...but im open for options.

i suggest we give them a raise.....after all they have done such a great job with their lobbyists paying off our congressmen so that no REAL REGULATION is put into place or enforced....and nobody is prosecuted....i say give them their bonus and raise.....they are honestly just being good and greedy salesmen.

i mean america's biggest strengths are military and finance....and neither are as wholesome as apple pie.....

reply to post by helltick


To quote the great Joe Dirte'

"You gotta keep on keepin on"

99% of people do business without nefarious intent, especially in today's regulatory environment. If you haven't noticed things hit a most definite bottom and the turnaround has already begun long ago.

You will most likely never stop the OTC Derivative market. The best you can hope for is transparency which you may/may not get. "Wall St." is really not about the OTC environment, remember that is not regulated. IMO you are getting your terms a little confused when relating to finance in general.

GBM...are you Paulson or Bernanke.
...just wondering.

reply to post by helltick


I have stated many times publicly that Big Ben is my uncle. You can take it as far as you want from there.

Being a bit more serious the financial world may seem quite suspect at first glance when you are a "greenhorn". When people do not understand things they seem to be fearful or questioning somewhat. I am sure you have seen examples of this many times in life.

In reality it is not really what you are thinking it is. Most things are quite complicated, no doubt, and when people do not understand things.. well.. this website is a good example.

All I am saying is there is a big difference between OTC Derivatives and "Wall St.". "Wall St." IMO is not who/what you are after.

GL

reply to post by GreenBicMan


Here watch this documentary on phantom shares:

video.google.com...#

$ 6 billion a day not reported on Wall St.

[edit on 7-3-2010 by drew hempel]

reply to post by drew hempel


Produced by whom?

I can't watch video's while I run sim's on my computer, too much drag, perhaps you can give me the rundown? I will do my best to explain.

Simple two question quiz:

1. Name the infamous NYC St. where OTC financial derivatives were invented ?

2. Which well known firms & brokerages (corporations that dominate this famous street) , are responsible for the origination and global distribution of OTC derivatives to municipalities , pension funds , states , and government entities both foreign and domestic ?

reply to post by OBE1


1. I am guessing they were invented by a conglomerate of corporations/nations/institutions.

2. Who else but financial institutions would be able to market these?

I do fail to see the correlation with equities and regulated securities though.

reply to post by GreenBicMan


House of Cards: A Tale of Hubris and Wretched Excess on Wall Street by William D. Cohan (Paperback - Feb. 9, 2010)

Greenspan's Fraud:

www.amazon.com...

Henry Paulson's panic:

www.amazon.com...

No need to explain.

I have stated many times publicly that Big Ben is my uncle.

if what you say is true (which i dont believe) your a fug'n shill.
in the end, shills get the fork too.


[edit on 7-3-2010 by helltick]