Friday, March 13, 2009

WHAT NO ONE KNEW


“Don’t you destroy enough dough on your own show” says Stewart referring to Jim Cramer. . .(Thursday, March 12, 2009)

“Don’t you destroy enough dough on your own show” says Stewart referring to Jim Cramer. . .(Thursday, March 12, 2009). Not wasting any time or jokes, John Stewart, host of the Daily Show, introduced Jim Cramer, “How the hell did we get here?” I just want you to know that after receiving some cream pie on your jacket that the question of the economy is not being personally directed to you but it remains to be seen how no one knew what was going on in the money markets.”

The show having been billed as “Brawl Street”, the 12 minutes is becoming a Favorite “go time” episode on Twitter. Presumably angry with John Stewart, who has been reaming the entire news and financial networks for not warning the American public of the economic condition the United States is now under. Jim Cramer walking to the guest chair, donning one of his signature blue wrinkled shirts, rolled up sleeves and pink tie swaying replies, “We should have seen it coming more and it is a terrible one and everyone got it wrong . . . no one should be spared.” Cramer, who is a political humorists normally bearish and host of CNBC “Mad Money” Show spoke towards the economic mess we are all in.

“The gap between the CNBC snake oil, as a vitamin tonic is real in America”, says Stewart. “There are two types of people who are financial professionals and exposing transactional markets and those that will come on the program and lie when you ask them the direct questions,” responded Cramer.

“We are capitalizing your venture”, said Stewart, “a game that you know well, and you go on a television network and pretend it is not going on. News mediums should call out shenanigans, uptake rules, and designing hedge funds.” Stewart went on to show a segment where Cramer tells another commentator on another financial show that “hedge funds regulate great excitement”. Cramer smirking at Stewart drops his head and wrings his hands, the first open sign of guilt.

“I’ll try doing that, I’ll do better, I promise”, says Cramer.

The financial news is often omission of the facts and how the facts are attained. Having CEO’s come on any show lying will make you remember the tobacco companies in the middle 90-s lying about smoking does not harm your health. The current situation is not any better, i.e. Bear Sterns, AIG, Countrywide, Bank of America, Lehman Brothers and other markets knew they are engaging in risky business and packaging their product to foreign markets is just as despicable and we wonder why the world thinks we are arrogant, heartless and obsessed with materialism. Yeah, and it looks like we will bend any established rule to get to the soul of the issue” to possess money and power” at anyone’s expense.

Yes, Cramer may make finance entertaining and interesting to watch but Stewart told him “it is not a game when you are taking someone’s hard earned money, life savings and making a game out of it”.

Without question, there was little concern and care about the American public while the money lenders not only took risks with American capitol but they also earned huge bonuses and pensions for themselves some even admitting that it was the most money they had made in their lives. Cramer confessed that he did not think that Bears & Stern were going to take America in.

Stewart continued, when the banks are trading our assets at 35:1, you do not think that something is going to break in the process? Cramer retorted, well from 1999 through 2006 people were making money hand over fist and no one was complaining. You would have thought someone was asking questions then, but as long as Americans were making money, no one cared. Stewart responded, “Selling the idea that you don’t have to do anything, sit back and we’ll do it for you is wrong”. Therefore, what it was worth, Cramer eventually admitted that he and many of his financial friends knew that something terribly was wrong and he too failed to admit it on his financial show!

Many of the people that were fleeced will not have time to make that money back and then who will take care of them in their old age. Stewart went on to say that “you can draw a straight line from some of the situation on your show and see those same behaviors were going on in the larger market and weren’t those markets huge. Trillions of dollars”,

“Where are the indictments for AIG?” says Cramer, looking wide-eyed and confused. Not losing a beat or allowing for empathy, Stewart continued, “It seems like your show” and those shows like yours “need to reconcile knowing that they were aware that the financial industry was on a Sherman March with our pension plans, savings, and 401k plans and selling the idea of don’t do anything, sit back and we will take care of you.

Someone needs to be made accountable for what has happened. Reactivating the * Glass-Steagall Act may not be enough. Since ethics went out the window long time ago, we need to rewrite the relationships between the Security Exchange Commission, the brokers, corporations they regulate, the markets they oversee and a whole new crop of regulators need to be heavily screened and hired. Anyone who participated in the debacles need their licensed retired forever. However, will we ever see such strong retribution? Not likely. Unfortunately, President Obama is trying to put a harness on the moving locomotive and find the brakes, but there does not seem to be a caboose on the train either which is why the Republicans rationalize, they do not want any parts of the stimulus package. Nevertheless, where were they when the train was being signaled on to the tracks? Maybe like some Democrats who were too busy running to the bank?

We can only pray that there is at the next station and an experienced brakeman can stop the train. . .

RESOURCES:
1. See: http://www.thedailyshow.com/full-episodes/index.jhtml?episodeId=220533

2. See http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=220534&title=intro-brawl-street-get-ready-to&byDate=true

3. What Does Glass-Steagall Act Mean? An act passed by Congress in 1933 that prohibited commercial banks from collaborating with full-service brokerage firms or participating in investment banking activities.