Today, we heard from Dylan Rattigan that,
"A year ago it was revealed to the American people that our banking system was a legalized Ponzi scheme in which bank and insurance CEOs paid themselves billions of dollars in personal compensation to lend and insure assets with money they didn't have to customers who couldn't pay back the loans."
Most of us have known this for some time, but it still makes the blood boil. Perhaps that is because, as another article, resulting from a months-long investigation by McClatchy Newspapers, reminds us,
"Goldman (Sachs) spent years buying hundreds of thousands of subprime mortgages, many of them from some of the more unsavory lenders in the business, and packaging them into high-yield bonds. Now that the bottom has fallen out of that market, Goldman finds itself in a different role: as the big banker that takes homes away from folks (who borrowed) such as the Beckers."
Meanwhile, the bonuses are bigger than ever to these Master Robbers, as reported by The New York Times and that "For Goldman it is almost as if the financial crisis never happened."
This puts the lie to the statement that we must pay more money in a year to the financiers than 50 average workers will see in a lifetime. But, in the spirit of dealmaking - to which these Titans of Theft are so accustomed to making, I propose the following deal:
I will personally pay for a one-way flight to anywhere in the world for anyone who made at least $100 million in the financial industry last year - first come, first serve - IF they will will sign an agreement promising never to return to America, or to work for an American headquartered company, ever again. I will even pay First Class, because you know, such Titans can't be expected to fly in a manner they aren't accustomed to.
Since I can't put these people in prison, I'll settle for banishment.
Obviously, I reject the argument that we will lose the "best and the brightest." All we will lose are the crookedest and the worst.
This will cost me a good bit of money, so I can only do this for the individual financier - they will have to pay for their family, colleagues (the more of those, the better!) to accompany them. Sorry, after the downturn, I just don't have the money to do more. But, I feel I should give back to America for all it has given me. If you agree we should Banish the Financiers, write your Congressperson, the President or other elected officials today. I am only trying to help America become great again by supporting the Best and the Brightest - but first we must get these men who made so much money during the greatest downturn since the Great Depression out of the country.