10/07/2014

The American system you don’t know


Below is an extract of a BBC report ‘Secret tapes pull back curtain on Goldman Sachs’ By Anthony Zurcher Editor, Echo Chambers. It dealt with the wrongful dismissal of a Fed employee assigned to audit the accounts of Goldman Sach and why she was fired for wanting to tell the truth. The full report is available at: http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-echochambers-29388019
 

The main point in the report is not the wrongful dismissal of a Fed employee but the revelation of the irregularities and malpractices of the Fed and big businesses. They seemed to be in cahoot, working hand in hand to deceive the public that everything was fair and above board but was otherwise. The big businesses were above the law and can violate the laws with impunity or at least with the approval of the Fed. How outrageous can this be? The big businesses can actually commit crimes against the small players and operate under a different set of laws. And this is the US of America, the Federal Reserves Bank of New York.
 

Can’t imagine how many innocent people have been duped and cheated by the big businesses and lost their pants. It is criminal! How relevant is this state of affair to our system as it is more like a carbon copy of the American system?
 

Here is an extract of the first part of the BBC report dated 29 Sep 2014.
 

In 2009 the Federal Reserve Bank of New York set out to investigate why US government officials were so blind to the Wall Street crash of 2008. Why were they unable to forecast the oncoming financial crisis? Why did the economic contagion nearly topple the whole global financial system?
 

The fault, according to an independent review by Columbia University Prof David Beim, was that the government regulators were too deferential to the banks they were supposed to oversee. Within the New York Fed, employees were urged by their supervisors to look the other way when they found violations and to temper critical reports.
Continue reading the main story
 

“Start Quote
Even the best set of rules is totally insufficient if paired with an enforcement system that applies them inconsistently or not at all”
End Quote Dylan Matthews Vox
 

For many this isn't exactly news. What would be news, however, is evidence that shows that even after the financial collapse, and even after congressional attempts to institute more stringent oversight, nothing has changed. And there are secret recordings - made by a former New York Fed employee - that many are claiming provide first-hand evidence of continued government neglect.
 

These allegations are contained in an investigative report published on Friday by ProPublica in partnership with the radio programme This American Life. The author, Pulitzer Prize winner Jake Bernstein, spoke with former New York Fed employee Carmen Segarra, who was originally hired to boost oversight efforts following the 2008 collapse.
 

She was fired seven months later after clashes with her supervisors - but not before she secretly recorded more than 46 hours of meetings to support her claims that she was terminated because she wouldn't tone down her criticism of Goldman practices.
 

She sued the New York Fed alleging wrongful termination, but a judge dismissed her case in April. She is currently appealing the decision.
 

Michael Lewis says that Wall Street regulators are too deferential to the banks they oversee
In her recordings a Goldman employee says that "consumer laws don't apply" to their wealthiest clients, for instance, and that she should pretend she didn't hear incriminating statements.
 

Bernstein recounts one of the recorded confrontations with a supervisor, Kim, which he cites as evidence that Ms Segarra was told to back down from sharp criticism of her Goldman colleagues:

Kopi Level - Green

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Part 1:

// Why did the economic contagion nearly topple the whole global financial system? //

The last GFC is supposedly the first major crisis under the current financial, economic and political world order.

Globalization is multidimensional - economic, political, financial, etc etc.

The world including SINKIELAND has seen globalization' s upsides but what about its downsides? The frightening, nightmarish and near collapse of the world financial system during 2008 was just the first downside........

Subsequently world trade plunged. FDIs were even worst. Think Newton! FDIs in the years following the Lehman Brothers' collapse were lliterally like rocks falling off a clift!

As much as globalization and global integration on many fronts bring tremendous benefits, potential and real risks are equally if not more astronomical and devastating. The cascading effect is like an earthquake with epicenter in a densely built city. Buildings could and are more than likely to collapse like dominoes.
Small sampan will be more than likely to be blown off the surface of the seas and sink into the ocean floor and disappear forever like the missing MH airliner?

The last GFC is not over yet.

Anonymous said...

Part 2:

The disproportionately and precariously High sovereign debts in southern and eastern Europe, Japan, USA and local government municipal debts in China are lingering and continuing side effects of the last GFC. It is just the transferring of the private sector' s balance sheet to the public' s sector through bailouts and stimulative spendings.

Globalization cuts both ways.

It is like the seas and oceans. It can carry a sampan but can also sink the sampan in double quick time in the next tsunami.

Small nations like SINKIELAND is most at risk!

At more than 400% of its GDP in terms of its annual total trade, it has the highest exposure to any contagion or cascading domino effects.

For giants like the US and CHINA, their total trade is just a small portion of their gross GDP. They will recover eventually from the detonation of the next major world crisis.

Small sampan must have backup plans or contingency solutions for disasters recovery.

Certainly hope SINKIELAND' s highly talented generals and world best and renowned finance minister already have the remedies on standby in the event of the next major fallout.

Anonymous said...

For umpteen years I have always maintained that US Stock Exchange, stock markets, big business, banks and insurance and all US government institutions, departments like CIA and the Pentagon and the military have always been staffed and hemmed by super crooks, scoundrels and rogues.That explains why the US is exporting so much trouble and choas all over the world.The Evil Empire need to be stopped.

Eagles Eyes.

Anonymous said...

Who are the accomplices?

Anonymous said...

Sinkies are so lucky. So many stupid western investment banks/funds are here with their $100m super computers and high paying employees to trade in our stock market to make $30k from arbitrage opportunities.

And if there are 20 such computers here, it means they are bringing in $2b of expensive equipment to make a few hundred thousand dollars.

They are damn damn stupid right? What do you think?

b said...

Nothing new lah. Justice and freedom are commodities whether in america, europe or asia.

b said...

"The Evil Empire need to be stopped."

- even God cannot stop evil. thats how we have lucifer. we can only overcome evil.

b said...

// Why did the economic contagion nearly topple the whole global financial system? //

- the last GFC is created to topple the EU for going against and threatening the usofa.