Nine Wall Street Big Shots Who Cashed In on the Crisis

Staff / Truthdig Oct 9, 2011 With Americans across the country realizing that they are not the only ones fed up with the CEOs, bankers and policymakers responsible for the current damage to the U.S. economy, now is a good time to read up on the Wall Street executives who profited most from the bubble and federal bailout. (more) Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Barbarians at the Gate

Pat Bagley, Cagle Cartoons, Salt Lake Tribune Aug 15, 2011 Dig deeper

In Money-Changers We Trust

Robert Scheer / Truthdig Dec 29, 2010 Two years into the Obama presidency and the economic data is still looking grim Don’t be fooled by the gyrations of the stock market, where optimism is mostly a reflection of the ability of financial corporations -- thanks to massive government largesse -- to survive the mess they created. Dig deeper ( 4 Min. Read )

Return of the Great Triangulator

Robert Scheer / Truthdig Dec 15, 2010 The sight of Bill Clinton back at the White House podium defending tax cuts for the super-rich was more a sick joke than a serious amplification of economic policy. Dig deeper ( 4 Min. Read )

The Man Who Shattered Our Economy

Robert Scheer / Truthdig Nov 17, 2010 Rejoice, the housing market is back. Sandy Weill just picked up a humdinger of a wine vineyard estate in Sonoma, Calif., for a record $31 million, so the foreclosure crisis must be over. Some guys have all the luck, particularly when they supply the dice. Dig deeper ( 4 Min. Read )

‘God, What a Piece of Crap’

Robert Scheer / Truthdig Apr 28, 2010 It was the Perry Mason moment in the unraveling of what was left of Goldman Sachs’ reputation Only in this case, it involved a grizzled former prosecutor, Sen Carl Levin, rather than a genial defense attorney . Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Lame Bill From a Lame Duck

Robert Scheer / Truthdig Mar 17, 2010 If you think health care reform has been an unsatisfying test of the government’s ability to deal with our pressing problems, brace yourself for bigger disappointment in its attempt to bridle Wall Street. This is when the true heavies go to work, and, as opposed to the medical industry lobby, the moneychangers fear not the wrath of their clients or, as Scripture tells, any higher power. If you think health care reform has been an unsatisfying test of the government’s ability to deal with our pressing problems, brace yourself for bigger disappointment in its attempt to bridle Wall Street. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Volcker Rules

Robert Scheer / Truthdig Feb 3, 2010 Finally President Barack Obama has come to his senses on financial regulation. His endorsement of what he calls the “Volcker Rule” for once puts him squarely on the side of ordinary Americans as opposed to the banking bandits who have so thoroughly fleeced the public. Obama's endorsement of what he calls the “Volcker Rule” for once puts him squarely on the side of ordinary Americans as opposed to the banking bandits who have so thoroughly fleeced the public. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Don’t Blame China

Robert Scheer / Truthdig Jan 13, 2010 The Chinamen did it In the great American tradition of finding foreign scapegoats for our problems, the hunt is on to somehow hold China responsible for the misery that Wall Street financiers inflicted upon the world . Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

McCain Gets It, Obama Doesn’t

Robert Scheer / Truthdig Jan 6, 2010 Maybe I got it wrong. During the presidential campaign I wrote columns blasting Sen. John McCain for siding with the big bankers on deregulation, citing his choosing ex-Sen. Phil Gramm, currently a vice chairman of the Swiss-owned banking giant UBS, as his presidential campaign chair.Although Obama has blasted “fat cat bankers on Wall Street,” it is time for those who elected him to ask for more than rhetoric. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

‘Government Sachs’ Strikes Gold … Again

Robert Scheer / Truthdig Jul 15, 2009 Connect the dots: Goldman Sachs made $3.44 billion in profit this past quarter, while the U.S deficit topped $1 trillion for the first time in the nation’s history and appeared to be headed toward doubling that figure before the budget year is out. Since most of the increase in the federal deficit is due to bailing out the banks and salvaging the greater economy they helped destroy, why is the top investment bank doing so well? Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Runaway Wall Street

Robert Scheer / Truthdig Feb 4, 2009 It is instructional that only one of the three tax-challenged Obama appointees has survived public scorn to claim a high position in the new administration. Oddly enough, it is Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, the man who will collect our taxes, whose career has not been stunted by his failure to pay them. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )