FOCUS | Wall Street: Everything You Need to Know

The Creeping Fascism of American Politics

FOCUS: States Unite Against Citizens United

Cut It Out: An Open Letter to Black Bloc Anarchists

Dimon's Deja Vu Debacle

This Is What Tyranny Looks Like

Taibbi begins: "If there was ever a news story that crystallized the moral dementia of modern Wall Street in one little vignette, this is it."

Matt Taibbi at Skylight Studio in New York, 10/27/10. (photo: Neilson Barnard/Getty Images)

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+69 # artful 2012-01-13 09:59

Thanks Matt for this little piece on Verschleiser. More evidence, as though we needed more that our capitalism system is even more broken than our government. And unlimited greed, coupled with zero moral principles is at the core. Wonder how much of this behavior was learned at Harvard and Stanford schools of business/

+7 # Byronator 2012-01-14 10:40

If the government had been performing serious "due diligence" on Wall Street, like we're paying it billions to do, Greed Unlimited might have had at least some boundaries. Zero Moral Principles extends to the SEC and three enabling primary branches of the federal govt. as well as to America Inc.

+43 # DPM 2012-01-13 10:18

Are financial "terrorists" eligible for Guantanamo? Oh, well. That camp is probably not big enough to hold all of them.

+38 # Barbara K 2012-01-13 10:31

Thaks, Matt, what a disgusting little man this guy is. It is a shame that integrity has been lost in the process of home mortgages and put many people out of their homes whether the correct mortgage company owned the mortgage or not. I do wish that they would be held accountable, prosecuted and sent to jail. Gitmo would be a good place for them. What they did to the American people is unforgivable.

NEVER VOTE REPUBLICAN !!

our future is at stake

+28 # Richard Raznikov 2012-01-13 13:10

Never vote Republican? Barbara, I hate to break it to you but the company which hired this scumbag, Goldman Sachs, was the largest single contributor to Barack Obama's 2008 campaign. BOTH parties are bought and paid for.

+8 # Capn Canard 2012-01-14 06:32

Richard Raznikov, yep, but consider that the very basis of capitalism is to blame for all this massive fraud! In fact, money and the idea of wealth as a commodity that can be transferred, stolen, traded, copied without or with due diligence is just more evidence that this our monetary system is highly susceptible to massive fraud. Naturally, the problem sleeps like a tapeworm in the very heart of capitalism. The Dums and the Repugs are both worse than scum. I believe that it is time for humanity to evolve away from the monetary system of wealth.

+3 # ericsongs 2012-01-14 15:25

Capn Canard, AGREED! I have been toying, for several years now, with various concepts for an alternative system, as well. The elimination of greed appears to be of paramount importance and on its face seems insurmountable. I am sure that we all struggle with our own definitions of what even constitutes greed. (i.e. my TV, my stereo, my car) I think that we need to clarify the basic idea that something has value.

Would you agree that physical items, in and of themselves, actually have no value whatsoever? All materials used to compose said items are actually already of the earth which no one can truly own. Oh ... I know it can be vandalized utilizing property rights (an unjust justification if ever there was one); however, these basic materials of construction were not man-made to the best of my knowledge.

Therefore, the only thing of value is one's labor and it would appear that presently we value that labor at a bare minimum. The accumulation of wealth is actually the accumulation of the value of another persons labor, with or without their consent. Like taking candy from a baby ... one baby may laugh and giggle as if it is a game (thinking they will be rewarded for playing (TeaParty?), another may scream bloody murder convinced that everyone is a thief (Anarchist?)... either way, that candy (labor) is gone forever.

[con't]

0 # ericsongs 2012-01-14 15:26

[con't]

Is it conceivable that a system whereby a person could perform any task they found of interest on any particular day would be available to them in the same sense as a smorgasbord might offer cantaloupe, meatloaf, spinach, etc? There may be some tasks requiring various degrees of mentoring and others no supervision at all. Could we be happy digging a ditch one day and assembling a computer the next, in exchange for a system that would provide state of the art medical care for all? Should we work in the field one day and in the public sewer system the next, in exchange for state of the art transportation for all? Would we be happy mowing the lawn at city hall one day and learning to fly an airplane the next, in exchange for a system devoid of monetary consideration? It would require some Uncommon Sense, to be sure.

+5 # Scott479 2012-01-13 10:34

I heard Obama was going to headline with one liners about how we all caused the housing/mortgage melt down. Of cours,e it's in the future where he will pulling down a 1/4 mill per appearance before these wall st. scum all the while having ridden thru 2 terms on the lie of hope and change. Anybody here still buying that line?

+7 # Fight the Reich 2012-01-13 15:35

Oh yea? Well then you would't mind posting where you heard that from, would you?; I'll bet it's a dandy of "truth".

-64 # Above God 2012-01-13 10:44

I think I will become a Jew since apparently the Jews such as Verschleise, Blamkenfine and Corzine can do no wrong, just like the Blacks.

+22 # stonecutter 2012-01-13 13:20

This is the anti-semitism police: you're unqualified to be a Jew--you can't spell.
BTW, here's some names for you: Charles Keating, John McCain, Neal Bush et al. Ever hear of the Savings and Loan scandal back in the day? These guys were central players, and not one of them has a "Jew-sounding name"...even some Gentiles are capable of financial scams.

+5 # Fight the Reich 2012-01-13 15:40

Above God? Such as Rush Limgurger cheese's golden microphone straight from God ...and his self-proclaimed "excellence in broadcasting network" for biggoted, lying, way-over-inflated egotistical elephant sh_t his literally brainwashed minions lap up like it was milk and honey!? No wonder such a critical mass of amairkans became so self-importantly brainwashed as to usher in the Fourth Reich by waving little amairkan flags made in china while trying to lip sync patriotic songs & pros which they don't even know the words to the first verse. Jews and Blacks the bad guys? Unfreakinbeliev eable. It's such terribly brainwashed Reich minions that have done the most harm to America by giving the MIC / Amairka Inc / Fourth Reich it's license to be the scumbags they are and vice-versa.

+39 # DurangoKid 2012-01-13 11:17

'Our' capitalist system is broken? First off, who is this 'our'? Is it you or me? Is it in amongst the 99%? This is an example of how the PTB have convinced most of us that we somehow share a common interest with capital formation. This is not true. If you sell your labor, you're losing a fraction of that value to the employer that he in turn sells to recoup that value. People who live by selling their labor are not capitalists and by definition cannot hold an interest in common. Second, is the capitalist system 'broken'? I'd say not. It continues to rake in enormous profits and continually eliminates barriers to further profits. It has established itself as co-equal with natural persons with all the rights but arguably a lot fewer obligations. For one, the corporations can lie to anyone they want with relative impunity. They do it to Congress and the courts regularly. They lie to the media and the media repeat it almost verbatim. They've turned the educational system into a winnowing process to select for a class of workers that owes no allegence to anything but capital formation. They actively destroy art and dissent and supplant it with false conciousness that tells everyone 'our capitalist system is broken'.

+4 # bigkahuna671 2012-01-14 08:23

Your response is absolutely brilliant and I couldn't agree with you more. "Our" society is confused about what role we play in the capitalist system. That's why the Tea Party has so many deranged folks who don't have two nickels to rub together yet continue to spout the garbage they're fed by people like Rush, Annie Coulter, Sean, Bill-O, et al. They actually believe that one day in the future they'll be welcomed with open arms by the Kochs and Waltons into the private society that the rest of us can only dream about. Likewise, they waste their votes on candidates put up by these same wastrels, then complain when the economy gets weaker. They're told it's the fault of the the Dems who 'control' the Senate, that the Dems had both houses of Congress and couldn't get anything done (even though it was the Republifascists who kept throwing roadblocks in the way), then go back to their trailers to await the next tornado. When that comes, of course they go running to the Fed Gummint to come bail 'em out 'cause they can't turn to the Kochs and Waltons, and their duly elected leaders like Haley Barbour and Rick Perry turn a deaf ear. Yeah, I'd say we're royally screwed and as long as the Stupreme Court continues to coddle and support the far right and big biz, we'll continue to be.

+48 # Craig Jones 2012-01-13 11:23

Class warfare? You bet, against swindlers and thieves operating with impunity due to lack of "regulations". So much for being "a Nation of Laws". It is beyond time to start prosecuting.

+49 # bigelowrs 2012-01-13 11:32

Why aren't people like this in jail?

+15 # John Locke 2012-01-13 13:17

bigelowrs: as if you didn't know, Because they give a bundle to the political parties to stay put of jail

+6 # Capn Canard 2012-01-14 06:46

bigelowrs, they aren't in jail for exactly the reasons we all suspect: MONEY. It is the God Americans respect and worship. It is the God we sacrifice our children to. Since we worship and praise money, there is no way we can put these wealthy thieves in jail, that would be ridiculous!

-2 # ericsongs 2012-01-14 11:22

Although I am a atheist, I think one of my favorite bible stories is appropriate here.

and Jesus said ... "May he who is without sin cast the first stone". A few seconds of silence and then a fist sized rock comes arcing over the heads of those assembled and strikes the woman in the head. Jesus whips around, spots the culprit and hollers at her in disgust. "Mother! ..... Why???

My thinly veiled point being that most of us are probably guilty, perhaps to a much lesser degree, of taking advantage of others financially .... and we just don't know how close to home enforcement of the laws might reach.

+30 # jwb110 2012-01-13 11:33

OWS Aspen?

+32 # Peace Anonymous 2012-01-13 11:50

I hope his bankrupt investors show up to piss in the pool. But then where would they stay 94 rooms is nowhere near big enough.

+11 # elmont 2012-01-13 12:21

Thanks, Matt. You the man!! As always, as I've said before, you're the top dog on rsn...

+16 # PGreen 2012-01-13 13:32

Society is continuing to split down the middle along class lines. Polarization is avoided by isolation and distraction. The rich keep to their gated communities and offices-- the poor get the street-- and the middle class get sitcoms and soaps. (Naturally, this is a gross generalization.) When the squeeze happens, everyone digs in as deep as possible, and the ones with the most power/money come out best. Some of the elite have decided that the quickest way to fuel their personal advancement is to maintain a perpetual squeeze; others fear it will produce revolution, and favor (only) marginal reforms, as Obama was elected to provide. OWS broke through that isolation barrier and rubbed the noses of the 1% in the difficulties of the 99%. "Occupy Verschleiser" would be interesting to see; something of this nature needs to happen on a large scale to drive home the point that the elite can't ignore our existence. Don't expect any media sympathy, though.

+11 # Fight the Reich 2012-01-13 15:34

I am amazed how many people still wonder and ask how can such criminal activity occur with impunity, and don't realize the blatantly obvious anwer: IT'S BECAUSE SUCH CRIMINAL SCUMBAGS ARE PART OF AND SHIELDED BY THE UNTOUCHABLE FOURTH REICH'S MIC & AMAIRKA INC; Birds of a feather......

The Reich seized our dear country in a blitzkrieg after 9-11 that THEY planned with incredible expertise ONLY THEY COULD DO, recruited and trained unwitting and gullible muslims to merely hijack airliners and turn their autopilots over to E4B technology, locked down our defenses to prevent stopping the attacks, opened the barn doors for the Reich's red-flag attack to occur, and dooped ossama bin ladden to vaguely take credit for. It was the Reich's version of Hitler's coup. The Reich then gave the green light for Amairka Inc to run amuk in the new fascist state our government has became and even most of congress still don't fully realize and are still in denial about as though some democracy by the people exists when it doesn't. The sheeple were so preoccupied with grass in front of their noses that they didn't notice that the sheep dogs were wolves, nor that they had been led to a pasture right next to the fleecing & slaughter house.

+12 # sharag 2012-01-13 15:55

Of course he works for Goldman Sachs now. They look for guys like this.

+9 # reiverpacific 2012-01-13 17:13

I'd love to be the catering company working the Verschleiser Blech-Mitzvah (no slur intended). -Boy, the covert mischief a garde-manger, sous-chef, head chef and server can do to obnoxious diners and guests-Heh-heh (evil chuckle)!
Use yer imaginations.

+4 # Lulie 2012-01-14 11:14

People get paid these obscene amounts of money for being psychopaths. Corporations look for employees who have no conscience, and they're willing to pay big bucks to hire them.
Most of the one percent has blood on its hands, and I'm sure they don't lose a minute's sleep over it. Sleeping in their luxury hotels.

+1 # oakes721 2012-01-14 14:30

The article begins with the mention of the moral dementia of Wall Street, well representing the "One Percent." With the recognition that persons (corporate caricatures included here) with special needs must be treated accordingly, "Special Classes" exist for both under and over achievers, each at a cost to the 99%, who simply wish to fairly serve 100% of the people by including, rather than excluding this so-called 1% simple minority. Our society has institutions specifically designed for the treatment and rehabilitation of this insatiable hunger for others share, in fact, many are now owned by the very 1% we speak of, so they should feel quite at home there. We all want to serve our country's greater good, so let us now include the miserable outcast 1% and let them serve as they so richly deserve.

+2 # CL38 2012-01-15 11:07

And Obama says they didn't break any laws???

Investigate and find out how MANY laws they broke.

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