He is the Treasurer of Wall Street, not the Treasurer of the United States. To qualify as the latter he would have to represent the interests of the people – Main Street -- not the interests of Wall Street.
How many times and how often do we need to be hammered by the narrow corporate thinking and the loyalist-at-any-cost appointments of George W. Bush before we really see the criminal harm imposed by the Bush regime.
The Bush plutocrats are still un-accountable and un-restrained in spite of eight years of Bush’s laser-like focus on corporate interests and Bush-centered loyalty. Due to Bush’s abuse of power, the people will pay and continue to pay.
Yesterday it was the Department for Republicans, not the Department of Justice. Today it is the financial meltdown with the Wall Street Treasurer, Henry Paulson.
Though Bush bears perhaps only conspiratorial blame for the de-regulation of financial institutions, his Bush-loyalist, corporate-allied appointments continue to bring us the tainted leadership for which BushCo is famous.
After Henry M. Paulson Jr. for years did nothing to address the housing bubble, or the ludicrously unregulated derivatives and swaps, he is acting like the savior – that is, the Wall Street Savior. Or should we say, the Goldman Sachs Savior?
Going back to the trough he came from, Paulson sought help navigating the Wall Street meltdown from his old firm, Goldman Sachs. He snagged a handful of former bankers and other experts in corporate restructurings.
In September, after the government bailed out the American International Group (AIG), the toppling insurance giant, for $85 billion, Paulson helped select a director from Goldman’s own board to lead A.I.G.
Earlier this month, the former Goldman CEO, Paulson, jotted down a two-page pro-business plan that would have rewarded the very financial interests that contributed mightily to the meltdown. And to add insult to injury, he wanted unbridled power to lead the effort with $700 billion of our money.
Instead he got a few restrictions and billions in pork, recruiting a 35-year-old from Goldman, to mete out the billions to what he determined to be worthy businesses.
As a result of Goldman’s ubiquitous presence in the treasury department, other bankers and competitors give the company the nickname: Government Sachs.
Because the relief came directly to the corporate bandits, investors, and the stock market, were not impressed.
It took clearer and fresher minds to introduce the solution: Britain’s prime minister, Gordon Brown, and Alistair Darling, the chancellor of the Exchequer (equivalent to our Treasury secretary), have defined the character of the worldwide rescue effort. The natural thing to do, then — and the solution adopted in many previous financial crises — is to deal with the problem of inadequate financial capital by having governments provide financial institutions with more capital in return for a share of ownership.
This equity-based bailout plan is what quieted the markets, but unlike Britain and other European countries, the United States is not gaining a majority stake or even a voice in the management of these financial institutions that we, as taxpayers, are rescuing from ruin.
Is there no wonder that the real solution to the financial crisis could not and did not come out of Paulson’s office, since his sole telescopic vision is corporate-centered, with a favored focus on Goldman. It is quite an obvious conflict of interest, especially with his announcement that he is parceling out $10 billion to Goldman Sachs, while he had allowed his old competitor, Lehman Brothers, to go down the tube.
Naturally the American people are quite skeptical about any solution that comes out of the would-be autocratic Bush regime, a regime that never passed up an opportunity to provide corporate welfare and corporate tax breaks. Reaching into our wallets, Bush said, “The government’s role will be limited and temporary.”
Subsequently, after weeks of financial crisis, the Obama campaign is a clear winner.
The contrast of McCain flim-flam and Obama candor now seems to be set in the eyes of the public.
Unfortunately for McCain, he appears to be intrinsically connected to the eight years of Bush deceit and favoritism toward the rich, in spite of cheap words and negative attacks.
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