The year was 2007; Goldman Sacs executive, Lloyd Blankfein pocketed $41 million as a financial crisis, caused by greed and enabled by deregulation, permitted banks to engage in predatory lending and hedge fund trading with derivatives. That led to the collapse of the housing market.
Airlines began to “restructure,” using corporate bankruptcy laws as a business strategy to tear up contracts, outsource every job from catering to mechanics, giving lifelong loyal employees a choice- they could go to work for the companies their jobs were outsourced to, at half pay with no benefits, or they could stand in the unemployment line. The workforce that had been spared from outsourcing worked twice as hard for half the pay because half of them had been laid-off. CEOs rewarded themselves.
People across the country lost their homes, Wall Street halved the value of 401k’s, pensions went to the PBGC, Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation, paying a fraction on the dollar, and the dish ran away with the spoon.
Stockholm syndrome set in and we, the working class, became thankful for breadcrumbs.
When President Obama took office he regulated the financial industry so greed couldn’t destroy the economy again. The first thing Trump did when he took office was deregulate banks. I’ve had a foreboding fear that we are going to relive 2007 since the first day of Covfefe45’s reign. It wasn’t just my overactive pessimism at work; my fear was based on the knowledge that GOP, once the “Grand Old Party,” became the party that puts Greed Over People. Republicans destroy the economy; it’s what they do. They disdain the poor and enrich themselves to the detriment of the middle class. My fears are playing out.
Big business and the wealthiest 1% became richer when Trump took office. Paying taxes is for peasants. The rich used their tax savings to buy back stock in their companies, and they off-shored their spoils.
As soon as the reality of the coronavirus sunk in, and the stock market began its slide into perdition, the GOP began their discussion about bailouts for corporations.
Financial disclosures filed yesterday, Friday afternoon show Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon has taken a 20% pay raise, that’s a $27.5 million raise. History is repeating itself.
*Financial Times link below
Corporations, like those that own the airlines, will use this plague as an excuse to take advantage of bankruptcy laws again, to try to bust unions. They’ll tear up contracts and outsource as they did in 2007. Fuel has lost its value in the chaos. If I’m not mistaken the airlines can lock in their fuel price while the cost is low, but let’s not cloud the issue with facts.
We’ve moved on to the next phase, bailouts and bonuses. Remember the days of the Golden Parachute? That’s the final phase.
Our fool on the Hill dismantled the center for disease control. He denies knowledge, but there is always a video. There’s footage of him talking about cutting the pandemic team in 2018.
The White House was warned, as far back as January, that a pandemic was imminent. Trump denies this as well, but there is proof of that too. He said it was a “Democratic hoax.” Was he delaying for financial reasons?
I don’t know, but I do know that the firm that runs a coronavirus testing website was once controlled by Jared Kushner.
Additionally, as recently as 2017, Trump owned stock in Thermo-Fisher Scientific, the company making coronavirus tests in the US. Financial disclosures filed in 2018 and 2019 don’t list Thermo-Fisher as one of his current holdings. The administration claims he sold his stock. But we can’t see his taxes to confirm that, can we?
*Mother Jones link below
Trump refused COVID19 tests used by the rest of the world. He opted to wait for a US version while the virus spread.
Trump’s other reason to delay and then restrict testing was and is to keep the number of confirmed cases and deaths artificially low. If it appears the U.S. hasn’t been affected by the virus he’ll take credit.
If exposed, it wasn’t his fault. This is what dictators do. Russia is reporting very few cases of infection and death. That only means that Russia controls its media.
Does anyone believe China suddenly has “zero” new cases of the virus?
Trump tried to buy exclusive rights to a coronavirus vaccine in development in Germany. He would use the vaccine as a bargaining chip- quid pro quo. He’d profit from the vaccine, control who is vaccinated, and he would be great and powerful. Thankfully the German Government interceded.
Meanwhile, the GOP blocked an emergency paid sick leave bill but has its own version of relief that will benefit large corporations and toss crumbs at the middle class.
The government knew in January that this would be a pandemic. They did nothing. Well, that’s not entirely true. Intelligence Chair, South Carolina Republican Senator, Richard Burr sold a significant percentage of his stock, in 33 transactions on February 13, possibly as much as $1.72 million soon after he assured the public that the government was prepared for the coronavirus.
The following is just the beginning of a long list of members of Congress who dumped stocks after a private briefing about the coronavirus held on January 24:
Senator Richard Burr
Senator Kelly Loefner
Senator Dianne Feinstein,
Senator Ron Johnson
Senator Jim Inhofe
I’d like to say the list is limited to Republicans and their aids, but some of those named are Democrats. Insider trading is a federal crime. You may recall that on 17 January 2020, former Republican congressman Chris Collins, of New York’s 27th district, was sentenced to 26 months in prison and fined $200,000 for insider trading.
I can say the Republicans voted against a Coronavirus Response Act that would have made COVID19 testing free and guaranteed paid medical leave, expanded supplemental food programs and increased funding of Medicaid and unemployment.
Trump was impeached for covering up his attempt to blackmail Ukraine, forcing them to help him cheat in November’s election. Now Trump is covering up a pandemic. He moved to make all coronavirus meetings and related information top-secret. Despite what he says he is still restricting testing.
If the greed that caused the world’s economic collapse in 2007 was great, Trump has made America great again.
My sister sent me this photo. I don’t know it’s origin, but I thought it would be nice to end with some humor.
https://amp.ft.com/content/d932a624-6af0-11ea-a3c9-1fe6fedcca75
https://www.thedailybeast.com/sen-kelly-loeffler-dumped-millions-in-stock-after-coronavirus-briefing
Jared Kushner Once Controlled a Firm Now Running a Coronavirus Testing Website
Mike Pence Suggests That Americans Don’t Need Coronavirus Tests
https://www.thedailybeast.com/sen-kelly-loeffler-dumped-millions-in-stock-after-coronavirus-briefing
A lot from Lydia 
If I hear him say one more time about the ‘broken system’ he inherited and made it great again–I am going to find a way to reach through my TV and choke that SOB!
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Grrr
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