I think it is a rather fertile area there and I think in such areas they do not have goats except for a few as toys for children http://www.oel-bild.de/Drei-Kinder-mit-Ziegenbock-und-Wagen.htm and maybe poor people had some also but herds?
- also I like goats – beasts with strange eyes and as baby goats really delicious food

So “goatherd”?

If this man, the treasury secretary is not “supposed” to act with the same good faith as a fiduciary for the country, then what is his job? And, INDEED, LETTING IN THE BANK LOBBY VOICE, is not only a conflict of interest, but it is evidence of who is buying elections, positioning their soldiers in treasury, and getting laws passed which in effect legalize criminality, like revoking Glass Steagall and letting Wallstreet gamble wtih depositors money,and bailing out entities that packaged, bought AAA ratings, then sold crap to the whole world? In other words, the wallstreet/washington complex that purchases all elections and top positions then legalizes criminality…and you take the time to say that no one is saying anyone is doing anything illegal? In good conscience, why aren’t you saying it james?

However, given that these phone conversations involved a transfer of $700 billion from the public treasury to the private banking system, I would assume the taxpayer has a democratic right to know what was discussed.

Yes, it is very frustrating that top bankers have easy access to the Treasury Secretary. However, this is not new and surely dates back as far as Alexander Hamilton and Robert Morris.

Rather, the concerned including Simon Johnson and James Kwak should focus on documenting and demonstrating the specific dollar (and other) cost of these banking policies. The esoteric financial terms, the sophisticated mathematical models that don’t work, and so forth act as a smokescreen to obscure the diversion of trillions of dollars from productive sectors of the US and global economy, to the detriment of nearly everyone.

What has happened to the putative “toxic assets” since the PPIP plan was enacted six months or so ago?

Are the giant banks such as Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase, Citigroup and so forth really solvent? If they are solvent, why did they need TARP? Have they transferred their bad loans to the taxpayer, and, if so, how?

What securities has the Federal Reserve acquired, for how much, and what are they really worth? What is the real value of the underlying mortgages, credit cards, and so forth pooled in these securities?

These are some of the questions that should be answered and the answers repeated clearly over and over again.

Is capital investment and R&D declining sharply from its already anemic levels during the housing bubble?

The appeal must be to the specific interests of the general public, businesses, and others, most of whom surely do not benefit from these policies.

John

No use saying it…. he is not listening.

See e.g this graph showing the wealth disparity in the US, expressed as the % of national income the upper 0.01% take home. It reached a peak in 1928 at 5%. If I recall correctly, Galbraith in his book about the great depression argued that this peak disparity partly contributed to the 1929 crash.

The wealth disparity was corrected, the US had a solid middle class, President Carter warned of over-consumption, was not re-elected, and we got a deficits-don’t-matter president. The wealth disparity has increased to even 6% in 2007!

PLEASE NOTE: In contrast to the previous depression, this time the wealth disparity does NOT get corrected, but grows even bigger, thanks to the wealth transfer — or more correctly stated: theft!! — from the middle class to those upper 0.01% income takers.

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_H2DePAZe2gA/StEZCIZ4fFI/AAAAAAAAJ_U/G7ePCscZLjE/s1600-h/WealthDisparity_saez07.png

Is is correct to believe that the properly fixed system can be accurately defined and described? Can this also require taxpayers money and assets be recovered from the villains and also their prosecution? If so would a step forward be to publicize the fix recipe and hammer this at every communicating opportunity so it cannot be ignored? Should it be fowarded to every media jounalist, representative (state and federal) Be the subject of questions to the president? Should prevarication and evasion be subject to ‘why no action’ questions?

In fact can we have a post addressing this from Simon and Janmes please?

I’m sure glad I can put this request to all you banking experts.

We may very well be headed for a civil war. I think I’d be a bit afraid if I was a cog in the government or financial sector – “guilty” or not, they may become targets for the outrage and desperation of “the people.”