ProPublica’s Jake Bernstein Talks About Banks’ Self-Dealing
This week on the ProPublica podcast, reporter Jake Bernstein answers readers' questions about the investigation he did with Jesse Eisinger on how Wall Street bankers created fake demand in the run-up to financial crisis, increasing their bonuses -- and ultimately making the crisis worse.
Bernstein discusses whether this was all legal, how the rating agencies failed to flag the self-dealing, and how it all contributed to the banks blowing themselves up. Eisinger and Bernstein also responded to readers' queries in an earlier post.
Other articles related to this podcast:
A Crib Sheet on Wall Street's Self-Dealing Money Machine
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2 comments
AnomaAppock
Sept. 9, 2010, 12:06 p.m.
Many thanks!
John Thomas
Sept. 9, 2010, 1:54 p.m.
The reason the economy is in the dumps runs deeper than our administrations policy to fund infrastructure.
Here is what is really happening. Our government is spending $1.2 trillion+ in excess of revenues the last two years. The way they normally make up for this is to sell treasuries. The only problem is many of those foreign buyers, China, do not want to buy those treasuries.
So The Federal Reserve prints money and lets the banks borrow it at the discount window for 0% interest. This includes the banks that are failing. Then the banks turn around and buy treasuries that give the government cash to make up for the deficits. It also is propping up failing banks balance sheets and gives them a 1% spread to use for operational capital on top of their current portfolio.
That means they don’t have to lend money to the public for business or construction projects. Ergo no money is going to the public but all to the government.
Fed prints money and the government uses it to make up for the deficits. Its criminal.
The construction industry and related services is the biggest industry in America and it is dead. With no money from banks it isn’t going to be revived.
The people in Washington and on Wall Street are crooks and they are now including our community banks in on this fraud.