Taibbi on Obama's dirty bank deal

Matt Taibbi does it again with this story of deep and irreparable US corruption going straight to the White House via Wall Street.  There is a deal cooked up by the Administration, the bankers and all but one of the States Attorney Generals that would let Wall Street criminals off the hook for a reported $20 billion settlement split among all the names banks. Not to mention that said banks think this figure is too much and will likely be whittled down further. The deal is but a infinitesimal fraction of the trillions made by said criminals, not to mention the bail-out money we gave them. A mere slap on the wrist for bringing the entire economy to the brink of collapse? Not only that but the settlement would protect the criminals from any further prosecution, including civil suits from defrauded pension funds and foreclosed homeowners.  

Great deal but for whom? What do we, the people, get for this? The specious rationale for doing this is that it would provide certainty to the banks, having a definitive amount to pay back, letting them get on with their business of building the economy back up with business loans, etc. Does anyone really believe this ludicrous drivel? It just sends a clear message for them to continue their criminal ways, to go back to the very same practice that created the crisis knowing full well that next time around it will just be another tiny slap after again raping and pillaging the people’s economy. And for which we will once again pay, since little to no changes have been made to prevent those same practices.

There is one lone stand-out though who refuses to go along with this travesty, NY Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. He is pursuing a criminal investigation into the mortgage-backed securities at the root of the meltdown. He refuses to go along with the blanket settlement above and is also blocking a proposed settlement with Countrywide, saying it is just too small and prevents any further prosecution. This latter settlement proposal shows just how deep is the corrupt collusion within government. The Fed Board member, who is supposed to represent the people, complained that Schneiderman is holding up a reasonable settlement because Countrywide didn’t do “something indefensible.”  Taibbi provides ample details of just how indefensible their case is, a deliberate scheme to defraud investors and homeowners without fear of any consequences, which of course settlement deals like this make only too obvious.

And Obama, our fearless leader? It seems his main concern is to get the deal done so that the banks can continue to contribute to his reelection campaign. Which in turn further beholds him to them in the next round of economic collapse and bail outs, a vicious and eternal cycle of corruption and greed of which he is a willing participant and promoter. Sure, he’ll give some powerfully rhetorical speeches about the need to curtail bankers but it is all talk. For his actions speak much, much louder than words and this settlement deal speaks volumes about his true nature.