Updated and republished
Written by an American Expat living in the E.U.
The mainstream publication Der Spiegel truthfully reported that the Wall Street banksters committed "a monumental insider bank robbery" for which no one went to jail. Since the date of publication, 2 years ago the US for-profit plutocrat owned media has ignored this story but more to the point perhaps is the fact that not only did they ignore the story, they failed to report it in the first place. Why is that? Here's why, because it's going to happen again. The needed regulation to prevent it from happening again has never been put in place. There's too much money to be made by too many people for it not to happen again. Therefore as it is incentivized, it will happen again. In fact the only question the smart money is asking is when will the next crash occur?
Just like the last time, there's no downside for the banksters, no one will go to jail and it will be tax payer bailouts, bonuses for CEOs and golden parachutes as far as the eye can see.
As an American expat who holds an MBA degree in marketing, currently living in European Union, I was struck once again by the reality that the job of the American media doesn't seem to be about really informing us but rather to sell commercial advertising space as a marketing profit center. I've learned through truthful reporting to rely on the European mainstream media sources like Germany's Der Spiegel and Britain's BBC networks. What I have also learned is that we have to reach out to our fellow Americans and citizens of the world in alternative media and ask each of our readers to help us get the word out through email and social networking sites like Facebook in order to get the truth out. The truth is, we have just gone through the most expensive elections in history that cost $2 billion dollars, paid for by private capital, primarily Wall Street financial capital. Exactly what did Wall Street get for their money. Clearly they got the financially deregulated market that existed in 2008, now in 2012, therein leaving us vulnerable again. Just like the Spiegel article points out.
To that end, will you help us get the word out?
The reason we need your help is because the German Spiegel magazine also reported that the Wall Street banksters are at it again, behaving just as shamelessly as they did before the crash. To which I would ask how long before a second Wall Street crash and how long before a second tax payer bail out? Why don't we have new regulations to prevent a 2nd crash? Why?
Here is the simple truth. The Glass-Steagal act needs to be restored. We know that banks routinely overvalue their assets and additionally are still holding trillions of dollars in high risk assets. These things are routinely hidden using accounting tricks which are routinely uncovered when the government takes over insolvent banks. Assets that are overvalued and are over leveraged have shown that these banks, had an honest accounting been given were in fact bankrupt many years before ever being taken over by the government. That's why we need better banking regulation throughout the banking industry to protect the American people from fraud. Dodd-Frank doesn't go nearly far enough. Generally the markets are as deregulated today as they were in 2008.
It doesn't seem to matter if it's an artificially created deficit in Wisconsin which results in union busting mania or the Wall Street banksters plundering our financial institutions. The solution is always the same and that is to balance the budget or pay for the bail out on the backs of working class America rather than asking those responsible to be held accountable. God forbid that America's rich would ever be asked to pay their fair share of taxes to help correct these problems. Additionally in America, we have a media which is owned by the plutocracy who too often ignores the truth.
The truth is the Wall Street banksters are in the process of creating a second crash that you will be asked to pay for. There is one important difference this time major mainstream European news organizations like Der Spiegel have warned us of a coming second crash.
(Quote from Der Spiegel: "From Wall Street to be thrown onto the street")
"The stockbrokers are celebrating the end of the crisis. While the crisis is beginning to repeat itself, the banks are just as shameless in their speculation as they were before the crash.
The lobbyists are just as powerful as they ever were. The last 2 years were nothing more than a monumental insider bank robbery, which is long since forgotten. Not a single defendant from senior management was criminally charged. Instead the US Dept of Justice would rather pursue many swindlers who are small fish whose unbridled avarice made them mini-Bernie Madoffs. Bernie Madoff whilst in jail was notified of his son’s suicide." (Block quote based on writer’s paraphrased interpretation of the German text of the German magazine Spiegel December 30th 2010)
http://www.spiegel.de/...
When we were suddenly taken off our feet (sucker punched if you will) by the Wall Street banksters during the last crash, many of us reacted in a state of shock and disbelief. The banking crisis took millions by surprise. Here's the truth, this time we won't be able to say that.
This time mainstream European media sources have warned us of a coming second crash, which is being engineered at this moment by the Wall Street banksters.
(Quote from Der Spiegel: "From Wall Street to be thrown onto the street")
"For many families the American dream became the American nightmare. Their falling into poverty placed them outside of the consciousness of American politicians, who placed greater value on campaign contributions than on the worries of the silent majority.
America seems to have a short memory. Brokers are celebrating the end of the crisis. While the crisis is beginning to repeat itself, the banks are just as shameless in their speculation as they were before the crash." (Block quote based on writer’s paraphrased interpretation of German text of the magazine Spiegel December 30th 2010 issue)
http://www.spiegel.de/...
Of course in America the rich can never be asked to pay their fair share of the income taxes.
Also even worse most wealthy Americans income comes from investments which are taxed at lower 15% rate under capital gains tax!
Clearly in America the rich can never be asked to pay their fair share of the taxes.
Can the American social safety net survive yet again Wall Street bankster engineered crash?
Every problem that is engineered by the plutocracy has to be fixed on the backs of the American working class through austerity measures, that take away medical treatment that has been earned and reduce pensions that have been earned just like what we're seeing in the Tea Party led model in Wisconsin which if successful will ensure that no union in America will ever be safe again from the Tea Party. At the same time we see the dangers of a second Wall Street crash being reported by mainstream European media outlets.
The truth is in the minds of millions, America already has the weakest social safety net of any major industrialized country. Unlike every country in the European Union, America does not mandate medical care or dental care nor does it mandate paid sick leave, paid annual leave, paid maternity leave. This is in sharp contrast to the European Union which mandates all of these benefits even for low wage workers. In America there are 59 million who don't have health insurance; 132 million who don't have dental insurance; 60 million who don't have any paid sick leave; 40 million who are on food stamps. If that wasn't bad enough, the Tea Party led class warfare now intents to go on a nation wide union busting spree starting with the state of Wisconsin which will seek to weaken even further the American working class dream.
These reports are being ignored by the US media. Will you ignore them also??
Will you ignore the facts that banks through fraudulent account practices when taken over by the government have shown that they have over valued their assets by about a quarter. The instance of this is substantial enough to provide for responsible estimates of inflation of assets throughout the banking system, which if proven accurate would show that the American banking system by an honest accounting may well be already bankrupt and is dependent on your "consumer confidence" to keep it from going under. Please let's remember, consumer confidence is not a tangible asset. It is instead merely a thought process and it is the belief that is embodied by this thought process that is the only thing standing between the survival and collapse of the American banking system today.
Also as there's too much money being printed in America today, is that something that we can likewise continue to ignore? Or do you think we can continue to print our way out of this problem?
Let's please remember something important. We have to date 1.2 Trillion dollars in underwater mortgages in America today. 1 in 3 mortgages in America are underwater today. When workers salaries in America are flat for over 30 years, Wall Street convinced home owners to turn their homes into an ATM machine. Before the 2008 housing bubble, 70% of Americans were home owners. After the underwater mortgage crisis, it's closer to 40%. Let's understand that Wall Street in equity stripping sucked $750 Billion dollars out of the housing market. America has changed. Before 1982, there were no adjustable mortgages in America. Also we have close to $1 trillion dollars in outstanding student loans. This is just the left overs from the 2008 crisis, without commonsense financial regulations. The financial markets in 2013 will have as little protection as they did in 2008. Worse, they won't even restore the Glass-Steagal act. That is why I left America. That's why I believe the Spiegel financial writers and so should you. The smart money says there will be a second financial crash, it isn't a question of whether but when, and you can take that to the Bank!!