So, your argument is that once those companies went bankrupt without the Fed/Congressional intervention, they'd have kept their gigantic salaries from the defunct company?

So, kap says X, it therefore must be Y.

 

 

You all want a good reason why these companies SHOULD have gone bankrupt, here's one of them, altough most of the time, salary contracts stay intact - but the law would allow dissolution of these contracts. It just depends. They don't have to legally - except for unions, of course. You can thank your almighty president for that.

So, you're so angry about those bonuses that you want to go dissolve a few union contracts.

So, you're so angry about those bonuses that you want to go dissolve a few union contracts.

SO, like, SO, like, SO... it's ridiculous. Yea. Dissolve them all. Twist, SO, twist some more, twist, SO...

Anyway, it's fun to watch you to bash union contracts as so impossible to dissolve when they keep being broken and dissolved.

 

And I still like your solution to the financial crisis...people should earn less. Damn those unions!

Except CEO's. The top 1% needs more than the 55% of income they currently control. If we give them enough, perhaps there will be some crumbs and scraps left over!

Yup, redistribution of wealth is helping out everyone... whatever.

 

Our current system does a fantastic job of redistributing wealth to a very small number of people.

Yup, redistribution of wealth is helping out everyone... whatever.

I agree.

 

The redistribution of wealth upwards that we've seen since 1980 was a key part of the economic collapse.

 

I agree.

 

The redistribution of wealth upwards that we've seen since 1980 was a key part of the economic collapse.

 

 

So W saw the biggest dip in that curve. Interesting.

I know, our country f***ing sucks. SUCKS! We better knock us down a peg or trillion.

So W saw the biggest dip in that curve. Interesting.

Yeah. It was called the 2001 stock bubble bursting. Nice to know you now blame that on W.

Clearly you're all misreading this chart. Who was President in 1979? Jimmy Carter.

 

Mr. Peanut, j'accuse!

I've seen most of these "the Middle Class has lost the class war" stats before but this one caught me by surprise. Part of me is amazed that it could possibly be that concentrated. Then I go back to the inequality graphs, and yeah, it makes sense.

83 percent of all U.S. stocks are in the hands of 1 percent of the people.

I've seen most of these "the Middle Class has lost the class war" stats before but this one caught me by surprise. Part of me is amazed that it could possibly be that concentrated. Then I go back to the inequality graphs, and yeah, it makes sense.

 

i read that article the other day. the US is really in s***ty shape. these jobs lost are never coming back. if anything, millions more will be lost in the next 5-10 years.

This chart ran in the WSJ today.

 

so, the typical family making $150,000 will still be paying less, but the $300,000 family will pay more. Given Obama's $250k "no new taxes" thing, I'm surprised they didn't go for that level.

This chart ran in the WSJ today.

 

 

You know what's f***ed up? The exact same data ran in the WSJ a month ago and it said the opposite. I read this cover to cover every day... and that one stuck, so which is it? And Balta, that's not against you, but something is messed up here somewhere.

You know what's f***ed up? The exact same data ran in the WSJ a month ago and it said the opposite. I read this cover to cover every day... and that one stuck, so which is it? And Balta, that's not against you, but something is messed up here somewhere.

(Excuse here: I don't have a subscription so I'm behind a subscriber wall and I can only see what others excerpt).

(Excuse here: I don't have a subscription so I'm behind a subscriber wall and I can only see what others excerpt).

 

 

Booo.

 

I'll look it up - because the data is wildly inconsistent from what I just read... but I'm a week behind on my papers, so I'll get there in a day or two...

Just going to excerpt, probably a useful way to think about these numbers.

In a new paper, the economists argue that without the Wall Street bailout, the bank stress tests, the emergency lending and asset purchases by the Federal Reserve, and the Obama administration’s fiscal stimulus program, the nation’s gross domestic product would be about 6.5 percent lower this year.

 

In addition, there would be about 8.5 million fewer jobs, on top of the more than 8 million already lost; and the economy would be experiencing deflation, instead of low inflation.

 

The paper, by Alan S. Blinder, a Princeton professor and former vice chairman of the Fed, and Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, represents a first stab at comprehensively estimating the effects of the economic policy responses of the last few years.

Just going to excerpt, probably a useful way to think about these numbers.

Most of the responses that were done by Obama, and at the back end of BushCo as well, to the crisis, were necessary evils, and ended up being pretty effective. They could have been done better, no doubt, but they did their job in the overall sense.

 

That said, what needed to happen after, was more significant changes to rules, regulations and enforcement, and so far, those parts have been sorely lacking.

 

You know what's f***ed up? The exact same data ran in the WSJ a month ago and it said the opposite. I read this cover to cover every day... and that one stuck, so which is it? And Balta, that's not against you, but something is messed up here somewhere.

 

 

Booo.

 

I'll look it up - because the data is wildly inconsistent from what I just read... but I'm a week behind on my papers, so I'll get there in a day or two...

 

 

Here is a link that could help:

 

http://mytaxburden.org/

All I know is that my personal tax bill is going to go up $3,000+ next year. And I am NOT "rich", in fact, far from it as I look at my bank account going down to almost nothing.

All I know is that my personal tax bill is going to go up $3,000+ next year. And I am NOT "rich", in fact, far from it as I look at my bank account going down to almost nothing.

 

Aren't you happy that half the country doesn't have to pay ANY income tax? Don't you feel all warm and fuzzy inside? You're such a giver!

Aren't you happy that half the country doesn't have to pay ANY income tax? Don't you feel all warm and fuzzy inside? You're such a giver!

This is of course totally untrue.