04 April 2013

Why Go After the Depositors To Save 'the Taxpayers?'


One thing that puzzled a couple of people is this.

Why go after depositors, in order to save the 'taxpayers.' Aren't they the same people?

Well, obviously in the case of the European Monetary Union this is not the case. And this is the great weakness of a single currency without more comprehensive provisions for fiscal union that makes it inherently unstable.   Wealthy Germans feel no kinship with Cypriots, Greeks, or Spaniards.

But what about New Zealand and Canada, countries that have their own sovereign currencies and are viable political entities? Are the taxpayers and the depositors there essentially the same constituent base? And isn't the government responsible for regulation and policing the banks which they allow to act with a lack of transparency?   Is this not the basis of trust that sustains the financial system?

And what about the rest of the G20 that seemingly has adopted the same template of sacrificing depositors to save the gambling bankers?  What are they thinking?

When a major financial institution gets into trouble it is not usually a sudden event for the most part, but plays out over a period of time. This is true from MF Global to the Popular Bank of Cyprus to Lehman Brothers.

The public does not see what is going on because the financial system is opaque. But wealthy insiders often know what is going on in their interconnected world of money.   Remember the stories of the uber-wealthy who managed to get their funds out of MF Global before it collapsed? I seem to recall those friends of the people, the Koch Brothers, being mentioned.

The monied interests and their political footmen have their funds safely parked in offshore tax havens, and can move the rest around at will based on the distribution of 'asymmetrical information.'

But to the extent that they are taxpayers, they are exposed to bank failures that they may even know about, if the bailout is financed by 'the taxpayers.'

And this is what really irked the wealthy who were caught up in MF Global and Cyprus bank. They thought they were insiders.

The G20 is a tale of two economies, with one set of rules for the one percent, and another set of rules for everyone else. This new template of confiscating the savings of common depositors is just another manifestation of the one percent looting the wealth of the rest.

It may be hard to accept, but the notion of everyone in a country pulling together for the common good is not a viable concept in a crony capital kleptocracy.

And as things get worse, and their schemes start falling apart, their antics may start becoming even more blatant and more brazen, and more incredibly 'unfair.' As you know, I said that MF Global was the 'watershed event' for me.

I don't blame people for being edgy for the reasons I have stated on many occasions. The enforcement of the law is almost incredibly uneven, and the government has hidden key information, and acted in very odd ways far too many times.

When one sees something like this how can one not feel uneasy? Don't Panic, Financial Reform Will Come - By Barney Frank.    Are you kidding me?  These jokers have publicly stated they don't enforce the laws they already have!

Sift everything and look at the evidence, and draw your conclusions and actions accordingly.  Hysteria is contagious and has its dark attractions, but it is not helpful to you and your family's well being.  Trust in God, but make everyone else show their data.