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many <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> people at <strong>the</strong> center <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> housing crash are playing leading<br />

roles in this drive to cut retirees benefits.<br />

Last week, many people might have seen Lloyd Blankfein, <strong>the</strong> CEO<br />

<strong>of</strong> Goldman Sachs, talking about <strong>the</strong> need to cut Social Security benefits<br />

and raise <strong>the</strong> retirement age. The last time that Mr. Blankfein was very<br />

visible in policy debates he was desperately seeking a bailout for Goldman<br />

Sachs which was facing a bank run that pushed <strong>the</strong> company to <strong>the</strong> edge <strong>of</strong><br />

bankruptcy.<br />

It was granted special protection from <strong>the</strong> Federal Reserve Board and<br />

<strong>the</strong> Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. This protection, coupled with<br />

tens <strong>of</strong> billions <strong>of</strong> dollars in loans at below market interest rates allowed<br />

Goldman Sachs to regain its health. Now its CEO wants to cut our Social<br />

Security.<br />

An even more amazing apparition in this story is former Federal<br />

Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan. More than anyone in <strong>the</strong> whole<br />

country, Greenspan deserves blame for <strong>the</strong> economic downturn. As <strong>the</strong><br />

bubble was growing to ever more dangerous levels, Greenspan was<br />

cheering it on, insisting that <strong>the</strong>re was no bubble, and that even if <strong>the</strong>re<br />

was a housing bubble its collapse would pose no special problem for <strong>the</strong><br />

economy.<br />

In a sane world, Greenspan would be hiding away somewhere<br />

enjoying his high six-figure pension. But this isn’t a sane world, this is<br />

Washington. Therefore we could find Greenspan telling us that ano<strong>the</strong>r<br />

recession would be a price worth paying, if it led to cuts in Social Security<br />

and Medicare.<br />

So welcome to <strong>the</strong> Washington policy world. Cuts to Social Security<br />

and Medicare are on <strong>the</strong> agenda and Wall Street speculation taxes are <strong>of</strong>f<br />

<strong>the</strong> agenda. Don’t we have much to be thankful for?<br />

Cutting The ‘Safety Net — Obama Opening Savo: $400 Billion<br />

Medicare Cuts! The Old And Poor Will Die Before Their Time!:<br />

Opening Positions On The Cliff Deal: Deja Vu All Over Again<br />

By

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