Posted by Tina
The fines paid by big banks after the housing crash hasn’t been a big news story, possibly because few American have been compensated in the deal, but the big banks have been paying very hefty fines for the housing crash of 2008. Today Goldman Sachs joins the crowd agreeing to a “Serious Misconduct” fine of $5.1 billion dollars. Overall five major bank fines have paid $110 billion i such fines and that doesn’t count the $166 billion Bank of America paid in the aftermath. Only about $15 billion of this money has been spent to help homeowners according to a guest (Didn’t catch his name) on Neil Cavuto, FOX Business, this morning. Cavuto’s guest also made the point that former chairman of the Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke, who had oversight control in this debacle has not been held accountable and indeed is given credit for “averting” a global meltdown. That’s not exactly what the citizens experienced.
Zero Hedge has more detail including information that two foreign banks, Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc and Deutsche Bank AGare still under investigation.
This information constitutes a bit of soothing salve for those who believe nothing happened to the big banks for the part they played in the housing crisis. The thing that’s important for people to understand is that absolutely nothing happened to the politicians who created the conditions that led to this horrendous failure. It was government policy that led to government regulations that guided and forced lending policy and the formation of securities to bundle high risk loans. Bad policy and bad regulations created by social engineering politicians lead to conditions that, in the end, cause the people to suffer. Often the very people the bad policy was meant to help ends up crushing them and making even future employment more difficult, much less home ownership. Private banks (some in collusion with politicians?) also ultimately suffer harm by either failing or experiencing big losses and extraordinary added costs. Astoundingly, the fixes put in place following the crash (Dodd/Frank) have only added complex, expensive, bad regulation and exacerbated the problems associated with this major failure of government to serve the people. Perhaps worse nothing significant has been done to change the social engineering policy and banks continue to be pressured to make loans to people with shaky credit.
Social engineering has negative consequences…BIG negative consequences! A global crash and millions of people losing their homes or finding themselves underwater on their loans is a big consequence!Social engineering is part and parcel of the socialist ideal. Ultimately the negatives outweigh the positives and everyone suffers.
Americans need to reintroduce themselves to the ideals that cause America to grow and prosper. Individuals, as well as countries, have discovered in the last few decades that capitalism is the best solution to poverty the world has ever seen. Capitalism, when reasonably constrained by government, offers more good paying jobs to most of the working age population and gives people confidence to take risks and participate. Conservatives believe that sound government policy and regulation are necessary to support the private sector in establishing private sector policy that best serves the people. Capitalism and conservative policy is the combination needed to create strong economic growth and prosperity for all Americans..
Please consider carefully before electing a hard core socialist, Bernie Sanders, or a covert socialist, Hillary Clinton, who obviously engages in crony capitalism. These two represent the party that creates very bad laws and regulations that ultimately do great harm. Please consider carefully when choosing between the remaining Republican candidates. The power of the people resides in more than our votes. it resides in the power to speak and urge our fellow citizens. It resides in the raw determination of individuals to make sure their voices are heard. Participation in the process, educating ourselves, educating our children, sharing with friends and family, getting involved locally, writing letter to our representatives and to editors in newspapers are ways to participate that have more power than we realize.
The big banks are paying, and paying to resolve the mess…it’s time to let politicians know we don’t appreciate laws and regulations that create bigger problems than they solve.
Once again you missed the real story.
Look we have a problem the system is rigged. Forget party politics the people are getting ripped off.
They get a tax write off for those fines! No One goes to jail it it all comes out in the wash. The money never even reaches the victims!
How much money did Goldman Sachs earn committing this kind of fraud? Somehow the corporate owned mass media “forgot” to mention how much was defrauded. How many $ 10’s of billions did Goldman Sachs earn/steal/defraud?
Too Many people rely on mainstream Media in which 90% of all written and Tv Media is controlled by about 6 people. It’s allhogwash to protect the elite and only a fool falls for this!
There is a reason We are trying to take the political elite out. They all are financially interconnected in the end.
Wake Up!
You need to take the time to see how things really work and do the real research!
The people are being defrauded.
Break up The Big Banks!
Anybody who breaks the law should serve jail time!
A bank robber goes to jail. A bank robbing people gets a hefty profit!
White Collar Crime Pays! Do the stupid research!
Dewy the tax code doesn’t allow tax write offs for fines. I informed you of that just a day or so ago. Furthermore I have not missed “the real story.” I’ve been exposing the real story for almost a decade now!
I also pointed out just a day or two ago that two people DID GO TO JAIL.
Others didn’t go to jail because everything they were doing was in accordance with law…it was legal…bad regulations regarding lending created the circumstances and atmosphere for all of this to happen.
The real “fraud” involved has been brushed aside and that’s what makes this catastrophe so damned ridiculous…it never would have happened under reasonable, sensible banking and lending rules. The government thought it could meddle without unintended consequences…they were wrong and the world came tumbling down.
Princeton discovered two zip codes in Chicago where applications for low income buyers contained inflated incomes on application forms. They concluded that brokers were responsible for making these loans so they could bundle them and sell them. But who encouraged them to do this? Start with Bill Clinton expanding Jimmy Carters “Community Reinvestment Act which required banks to make loans to people with poor and nonexistent credit histories.”
Add ACORN into the mix. In Chicago these activists were trained by Barack Obama to stand outside of banks and protest and to threaten bank managers with law suits.
Banks cannot discriminate. If they lower standards for some they must lower standards across the board. EASY MONEY created an atmosphere of unprecedented house buying, a buying frenzy. Some bought houses just to flip them for profit. Banks and lenders also do not have the capacity to hold loans for thirty years so they sell them. Government backed GSE’s, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae are the three main GSE’s :
I’ve done the research. I also understand how this all came about. You obviously haven’t and probably couldn’t explain it if you had.
I’d ask you to do the research but you are probably too pig headed and partisan (socialist) to absorb what you read. LONG BEFORE THE BANKS STARTED LENDING CORRUPT AND STUPID REGULATIONS LAID THE GROUNDWORK FOR THE CRASH.
Big governmeen just doesn’t work.
Also they did lie about getting bailout money
http://www.businessinsider.com/goldman-sachs-aig-bailout
Why do we allow such a financial casino designed to siphon peoples money on risky bets? and when they crash it (hedging on the backend) taxpayers are responsible to bail them out?
If a bank is too big to fail, then they are too big to do business!
Conservatives can’t handle the truth about our corporate ran fascist gov.
Stop the bleeding of taxpayers for this casino for the establishment!
“Why do we allow such a financial casino designed to siphon peoples money on risky bets? ”
We don’t allow it. Our representatives in government facilitate, manage, and meddle and this becomes the result.
Following the crash Goldman Sachs was pressured to buy the failing Wachovia bank:
Goldman Sachs employees have personally supported Democrats for many years and were big backers of Obama in 2008. The housing crash changed that:
Republicans may be a bunch of doofuses who can easily be compromised but the corruption you are seeking to expose goes way way back and is very very deep in the Democrat Party. They are the big government party. They are the party that loves to regulate in order to meddle. They are the party that brags about redistribution…and doesn’t care how or who they redistribute to as long as it buys them power.
Politicians write the laws that ubderpin how business id done…get a clue!
“Stop the bleeding of taxpayers for this casino for the establishment!”
Bernie would be the biggest bleeder of all! Wake up and smell the fascism…it’s all happening at the government zoo where laws and regulations are both written and enforced!
(Just ask the stupid insurance companies that followed the siren song of the Obama administration and backed his healthcare plan. they were promised lots of new customers…it isn’t happening and they are now realizing the promises were so much hot air…they are failing for lack of healthy customers! High deductibles, the alternative to pay a tax, and a lot of really sick takers is all the result of government meddling in the process. In the insurers defense they were told the super majority congress WOULD PASS Obamacare so they better get on board or risk losing out)
Tina
Again do the research.
Let’s start with your first statement. You avoided a fact. Why because you refuse to look at facts reported about the agreement.
So let’s start with the basics. Are you claiming none of this fine is eligible as a tax write off.
Answer that
% is still being calculated.
More importantly
you have not a clue how things really work and how we are being scammed.
Again if a person robs a bank should we just fine them?
Millions of people were thrown out of jobs, millions of people lost their homes, communities were destroyed — all because of their wrong doing. Yet they are escaping any criminal accountability… and you think that is Aok?
you border on fascist, not meant as a slur but as a reality
Dewey I’ve given you the facts. We don’t throw people in jail for doing what the government asks of them.
I didn’t write the stupid regulations Dewey. The party you support did.
If you want to do some research why not look into how employees at Fannie Mae earned millions in bonuses during the years prior to the crash?
I’m not okay with any of it Dewey. I’m the one calling for clear simple regulation based on sound lending practices.
One of my family members lost his house and my business has been struggling for seven years…all because of social engineering and redistribution policies.
I’ve explained fascism to you more than once. You refuse to get it…but then you don’t seem to get much of anything…you’re all bumper sticker, all the time.
Regarding your next comment, what first things? My original response to you was quite lengthy and involved. If that’s not engaged enough for you, tough beans!
PS I will address the rest if you engage. First things first.