JP Morgan Chase Chairman Jamie Dimon Scratches His Head, Can’t Understand Why Corporate America Has Such A Bad Image
First of all, let us all take a moment to thank former President “Surge” W. Bush for bringing this latest corporate “bailout” scheme (ABC News) thanks to his signing of that rather carelessly slapped together TARP BURP (“Bush Ultimate Rescue Plan“) of his just before his “bailing out” of the Oval Office with some of the worst presidential approval numbers ever in the history of this young Democratic Republic.
Obviously, President Barack Hussein Obama has signed his own “BURP II” solution into law with its own problems (i.e., the AIG executive bonuses fraud and the unfortunate decision to appoint a tax cheat, a.k.a., Secretary of Treasury Timothy Geithner providing the so-called “oversight”), but one can’t claim there were LESS checks and balances in BURP II versus BURP I and keep a straight look on one’s face.
Two corporate jets — two of the fanciest ones available on the market, and one of the most luxurious hangers executive lounges in the country and the Chairman for JP Morgan Chase can’t understand why some of us despise Corporate America; the foundation of our Oligarchy. Oh, NO-NO-NO-NO-NO, we’re not using any of the bailout money to buy these corporate luxuries, we’re using our OWN money!, whines Mr. Dimon. Well, guess what? They’re a frigging BANK and manipulating funds around from one account to another is what banks are particularly creative at doing. Not to mention, it just doesn’t look to good on them either. We’re going bankrupt! Help! Help! We can’t survive without a HUGE infusion (i.e., BILLION$) of taxpayer funds!, he assures us. Along with all of the other crooked bankers who told the very same lie to Congress, OFF TO PRISON WITH THIS BUM AND HIS FELLOW CO-HORTS, I SAY. And, dear readers — if that ISN’T enough to draw a bit of your disdain for Mr. Dimon’s “Corporate America”, hold tight and I’ll be happy to give you several other reasons to consider becoming a fellow anti-capitalist anti-oligarch you may have missed in previous columns by using both Bill Gates and Wal-Mart as prime examples…
These points will sound redundant to long-time readers and to those, I apologize. First — who pays for the basic education of the Oligarch’s workforce? WE (the taxpayers) do. Who finances those oftentimes defaulted upon, low interest student loans for the higher education of the Oligarch’s workforce? Again, WE do. Who foots the bill for building and maintaining the Oligarch’s roads, airways and other public logistical lanes? Yep — WE do. And who picks up the deficit for the Oligarch who keeps the majority of her (gotta be “politically correct” here) workforce on part-time status who fail to get enough hours to qualify for the Oligarch’s health insurance and other necessary benefits including a LIVING wage? Yep again — WE do. WE are the ones who pay for their food stamps. WE are the ones who finance their supplemental welfare, higher health care costs for ourselves because they are forced to burden the emergency rooms of America with no ability to pay the hospitals back for treating their children’s stuffy nose. It is, at BEST, called “Corporate Welfare”, it’s UGLY, and it’s extremely COSTLY to We, The People, to help the Oligarch of Dimon’s so-called “Corporate America’s” keep his profit and loss statement in the BLACK.
So don’t tell me what we’ve been seeing in America in the last forty years is called “capitalism”; it’s called CRIMINAL. And I’m tired of footing the bill for these lying, cheating bastards. “A government of the corporations, by the corporations and FOR the corporations”, in MY book, is called a frigging OLIGARCHY and I’m tired of financing and being ruled by these people and so should YOU be if you have an ounce of sense. One last analogy and I’ll be happy to end today’s column…
Oligarchy = when myself and one million fellow Citizens can peacefully march on Washington, D.C., with signs and bull horns, DEMANDING to speak with our public servant president and Bill Gates can ride up in his comfortable limo and demand the same, who’ll get to speak with the president first — we, Mr. Gates? I think you already know the answer. When/If the president ever got around to his one million fellow Citizens and it turns out Mr. Gates’ concern and our collective concern are diametrically opposed, who wins? Again — I think you already know the answer.
I miss my Democratic Republic. May She rest in peace.
***
On this issue, it doesn’t seem to mean anything if you are “Left” or “Right” when it comes to the Blogospheres: Michelle Malkin (Right) seems to be all for it; Hot Air’s Allapundit (Right) is less enthused than Michelle is; Doctor Steven Taylor of Poliblog (Centrist) agrees this is corporate stupidity; And of course my twin brutha from anuthah muthah, Matthew O’Keefe of Papamoka Straight Talk, opines on the AIG bonus recipients and applauds those who gave up their bonuses willingly…
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11:03 pm on March 23rd, 2009 1
Amen, brother. We’re duped into thinking that we are all living in a free market capitalist society, but in fact it’s almost like a financial fuedal system, where the powers that be will keep right on bleeding us dry for their perks, and whose unbounded greed harms those people upon whose backs these corporate oligarchs depend: the workers.
Check out this essay, I think you’ll find it interesting: http://polaris.gseis.ucla.edu/pagre/conservatism.html
Love the great work you’re doing, man! I’ve linked to your page on my site. Peace!
11:30 pm on March 23rd, 2009 2
This entire post needs to be retracted because it is based on two entirely false premises. Just to set the record straight:
1) JPMorgan was never in trouble, never requested TARP funds, and never needed TARP funds. JPMorgan was TOLD by the government that they had to participate in the TARP program or else it would not be successful. This is on the record, out there stated by many JPM officials.
2) JPMorgan has already stated they are not moving forward with any of these plans until every cent of TARP money has been repaid (something that has not been done yet only because of the TARP provision that requires the same amount of funds to be privately raised).
Get your facts straight and print a retraction on this. This is a non-story and prepetuating it by blogging about it distracts from the real problems that need attention.
11:39 pm on March 23rd, 2009 3
Tread, welcome to the Gun Toting Liberal and why don’t you just retract your comment?
7:53 am on March 24th, 2009 4
This is what the government wanted. To sink their hooks into all these major banks so they could control the private sector. The left is cheering on the demise of banks, praying for government intervention and all the while they do this by keeping the pot boiling with a concerted effort using “Lists” to blog about each day.
There is no longer much real truth in news anymore. Its all about taking a story, and creating a lie to sell your own version of the truth.
This is why America is pre French Revolution and is dangerously close to the era leading up to the Civil war. I predict a civil war in the very near future. Just look at the Tea parties that are starting to heat up and they are being planned out for as far as the eye can see.
Bloggers are eating this up. Blogging under the fallacy that America cannot fail. Well they are wrong. It can fail. Its failed once and its headed that direction again.
12:41 pm on March 24th, 2009 5
GTL,
Any particular reason why you omit the particpation of Congress which ultimately allowed BURP I to reach Mr Bush’s desk? Don’t worry, Obama and that same congress (with a couple more Democrats than before) will make up for the losses with responsible governing (i.e. spending trillions more than the Bush admin on just about everything). Your 2-party system at work.
Steve
1:44 pm on March 24th, 2009 6
Here’s a fun exercise.
Plop the following line into your friendly neighborhood Google browser:
+”JP Morgan” +”Jefferson County” +sewer
It’s only a matter of time, my friends. If you’d like to make the search more interesting, copy and paste the following line:
+”JP Morgan” +”Jefferson County” +sewer +Langford
I’m sure the GTL is aware. The rest of the world isn’t so “lucky” as to be familiar with the Alabama phenomenons known as Larry Langford, Bill Slaughter, Sheila Smoot, Bettye Fine Collins, Bill Blount, Mary Buckalew, Gary White, and Chris McNair– to name a few. Alabama wrote the book on corrupt politics and shady financial deals. I’m starting to wonder who taught who in this mess.
3:45 pm on March 24th, 2009 7
Steve, to answer your question, INDEED, I’m leaving my disdain for Congress’ participation in BURP I out — they’re also a part of the problem, no doubt, if that is what you were partially looking for. The reason I’m hammering so hard on “W” is because of how far he went out of the way burning his midnight oil, talking to the Press, pressuring Congress to get that BURP I bill to his desk ASAP (I believe he was issuing “deadlines” and maybe even threatening they get zero time off until they did? Feel free to correct on that “time off” part if I’m wrong).
This WAS W’s bill — PERIOD. He slammed and slammed and SLAMMED Congress until he signed the damned thing with his “W” and made it into one of the worst laws since the USA Patriot Act and RealID, in my not-so-humble opinion.
To A/M — AMEN!
10:32 pm on March 24th, 2009 8
Actually, it took a couple of passes through Congress for them to pass BURP I, if you’ll remember. Congress voted against it (and rightfully so) the first time.
Of course, that doesn’t excuse that they did eventually pass the first and second versions of the bill, but I’ll at least give them a little credit for putting up a small fight on the first version before selling out. Then again, I know Richard Shelby has never seen a spending bill he doesn’t like. Maybe he never left the Democratic Party, after all.
10:57 pm on March 24th, 2009 9
My bank is not in trouble. It has neither asked for or received TARP funds. It is still loaning money and making mortgages and is in no danger of failing.
Of course the banks top executives only get a year end bonus based on the banks profit; no profit, no bonus. There are no retention bonuses, especially to employees who have already quit. There is also a strict financial code which all bank employees (including and especially the executives) will follow or look for another job. There are many small banks like this scattered throughout the United States.
Which makes me even more pissed over both of the TARPS. The greed, the gluttony, the sense of entitlement of a very small class of people has sent this country and much of the rest of the world into an economic trailspin but yet the rest of us are still supposed to pay their perks.
Every time I read the phrase, welfare queens, I think of Wal-Mart. The owners, not the employees. I don’t want my taxes to pay the advertising costs of American advertising overseas but they do.
If companies are too big to fail, then break them up into small pieces and let the chips fall. But QUIT using my money trying to keep the crooks well fed.
And GTL is right. I remember seeing Hank Paulson on TV every few hours in September yelling, the sky is falling, the sky if falling. The Patriot Act was passed the same way. If Obama really was only making his decisions by what the polls say, there would have been no second tarp.
11:29 pm on March 24th, 2009 10
Why would I retract my comment? It contains facts and your post contains fabricated bullshit based on false premises.
Jamie Dimon is a rabid liberal and a huge Obama supporter (as am I). He and his company have done nothing wrong, they did not contribute materially to the financial meltdown and were in a position of strength to buy some of these crumbling companies from the government to prevent a larger public meltdown. They were basically forced to take TARP, told there were no strings, and will now be paying it off (probably within the next month) now that so many have arrived.
There are countless other topics that actually ARE worthy of outrage, such as the W involvement in TARP and AIG bonuses, but creating false stories about JPMorgan is a complete waste of time and targets an individual and organization that is largely in step with you own causes. But if you enjoy wasting time on meaningless bullshit instead of real problems, but all means, continue….
11:44 pm on March 24th, 2009 11
TREAD: “Why would I retract my comment? It contains facts and your post contains fabricated bullshit based on false premises.”
Good point. And considering your point, why should I consider a retraction when you came here to set the record “straight” (although, you provided absolutely no links to back your claims)?
After all, that’s why this blog is here. I’ve NEVER pretended to be the smartest kid in the proverbial “room” and open commentary is always welcome here. I’ve been proven wrong before and it’ll happen again, I’m sure.
On the other hand, it seems to me you have a little bit of homework left to do here in these comments — i.e., you’ve claimed the CEO of JP Chase is a liberal — citations, please? You claim BURP I funds were shoved down his throat despite his objections? Fine — citations, please?
That’s what we do here. I’m a college dropout and I speak my pea-brain here. If I’m wrong, PROVE it and let our readers and YOUR fellow GTL co-bloggers decide if you’ve stated your case properly. After all and last but not least — we DO have an official disclaimer, so I shouldn’t have to explain any of this to ‘ya, friend
Please stick around and continue to contribute. Glad you found us
8:30 am on March 25th, 2009 12
My bad, I thought that people who created and read blogs knew how to use google and weren’t so lazy as to need someone else to put in a search string and look at the first page of search results.
From a search “jp morgan chase didnt want TARP”
http://www.house.gov/apps/list/hearing/financialsvcs_dem/jamiedimon021109.pdf
The Dimon being a democrat one is somewhat more obscure because he does a very good job of hiding it, since he does not want to discourage any business based on his own political preferences. He did initially support Clinton over Obama, but I would gladly be any one $1000 that he voted for Obama.
http://www.acropolisreview.blogspot.com/2008/03/jamie-dimon-of-jp-morgan-chase-on.html
And a pie chart showing his past personal political contributions.
http://www.newsmeat.com/ceo_political_donations/James_Dimon.php
No need to be glad I joined, I have no intent in sticking around to fact check some shoot-from-the-hip blog that is too lazy to do 5 min of research. I only found you because I did a google search to see what fish were biting on this ridiculous non-story, and sadly, you were one of them. Carry on, I will not be back….
8:54 am on March 25th, 2009 13
I would like to throw my 2 cents in here.
Fallacy: Wall Street is a bunch of Republican/Conservative degenerates.
Facts. Wall Street is a cross section of America. Id dare say that the people working on Wall Street are about 50 percent democrat/liberal. Many, many, many CEO’s are liberal Democrats. I can think of many of the top of my head that are democrat that control more wealth in this world then do the GOP heads of corporations.
Think about how many poor old democrats are in the senate or the House. My guess. Very few.
10:55 am on March 25th, 2009 14
“Facts. Wall Street is a cross section of America. Id dare say that the people working on Wall Street are about 50 percent democrat/liberal.”
hmph!…What documentation do you have to support those facts? If that’s true then Obama doesn’t mind going after his own; quite a change from the previous administration.
1:57 pm on March 25th, 2009 15
Well, you did a pretty good job of backing your arguments, Tread. Pretty hard to argue with. Good job
You must have taken some time to read our Disclaimer after all
Too bad you’ve decided not to stick around and participate in this snarky, oftentimes satirical, almost always snide Blogopheres project of ours though. We miss you already
2:02 pm on March 25th, 2009 16
Actually, with or without citations, I’m not unconvinced Fraidycat is completely wrong in his assertion. After all, even the military seems to be a cross-section of America, liberally, conservatively and independently speaking. They tend to vote conservatively for the most part but the pollsters tend to speak with the “likely” voters who, of course, tend to be the older members of the military versus all of the younger folks who, like their civilian peers, for the most part have no interest in politics or voting but tend to lean liberal. Ignoring the polls in other words and looking at the obvious from an “airplane’s view of 30,000 feet” at the body of the military, it only makes sense the military represents a cross-section of America ideologically speaking
6:38 pm on March 25th, 2009 17
GTL, sarcasm and dry humor appears to be lost on some. Don’t sweat it.
Personally, I don’t care if they’re conservative, liberal, or a member of the AIP. Party affiliation does not make one’s business practices any more or less legal and/or moral.
By the way, on that whole sewer thing… The FBI just announced that it is bogged down in roughly 2500 public corruption and corporate corruption cases. I do believe Mr. Langford’s backroom deals with the Wall Street firms could be merely the tip of the iceberg, and I’m curious to see just how far the rabbit hole goes with JP Morgan.
7:19 pm on March 25th, 2009 18
I wonder if all those in the rabbit holes are ALL Republicans?
Any bets there is a few democrats down their in the muck?
10:04 pm on March 25th, 2009 19
FraidyKatt, Democrats love the muck, ie, Chicago.
Democrats also love to lose winnable elections, ie, Gore. If he had carried his own state, Florida would not have mattered. Politicians love cash and from corporations come mucho cash. One of the main reasons that I like Joe Biden is because he has been in congress since before God discovered the Republicans and he still owes a mortgage on his house and is worth less than a million dollars.
But you are right, there many wealthy Democrat Senators; as also there are many wealthy Republican Senators. The rabbit hole is very crowded.
6:33 pm on March 26th, 2009 20
Fraidykatt, if you’d bothered to follow my suggestions and check out the information I gave, you’d find that Larry Langford and most of those involved in the Jefferson County situation are Democrats, although it does involve just as many Republicans. (I happen to be a very BIG critic of Larry Langford, a Democrat, since, you know, I’m such a HUGE left-winger.)
Mary Buckalew and Gary White are Republicans and have already been prosecuted and gone to jail. Ditto for Chris McNair, who is a Democrat. They were prosecuted under the U.S. attorneys in the Bush Administration, and the “political witch hunt” card has been played by members of both parties. It’s something that transcends party lines. BOTH are equally covered in scum.
Interestingly enough, Langford is also connected via a business relationship to Richard Scrushy. You may remember Scrushy as being the CEO of Healthsouth and skirting a prosecution on that mess, but he didn’t get away with the other prosecution– a pay-to-play scheme involving former Gov. Don Seigelman, also a Democrat.
Another fun fact is that Scrushy had a radio talk show and a television show which was obviously a ploy to gain public support before he went to court. Sound familiar to certain other current political figures facing time in front of a judge and jury? He then paid several local black ministers to stand at his side during his trial and somehow (as a rich, white man) managed to play the BLACK race card in front of a mostly black jury– and it worked!
I’m telling you again, Alabama wrote the book on public corruption. The situation in Jefferson County involving Larry Langford’s 101 count indictment ALONE is enough to make your head spin. And that’s just ONE of the over 2500 cases that the FBI is dealing with.