This is hysterical (NSFW): The New Nationalized Citibank from Funny or Die
After Citibank becomes nationalized, expect to see commercials like this.
Please use the comments to demonstrate your own ignorance, unfamiliarity with empirical data, ability to repeat discredited memes, and lack of respect for scientific knowledge. Also, be sure to create straw men and argue against things I have neither said nor even implied. Any irrelevancies you can mention will also be appreciated. Lastly, kindly forgo all civility in your discourse . . . you are, after all, anonymous.
Faced with the choice between changing one's mind and proving that there is no need to do so, almost everyone gets busy on the proof. —John Kenneth Galbraith
Putting aside its incredible product line and pipeline of more, its still attractive valuation relative to earnings, and its $100 per share of cash that may be used for a dividend soon, Apple's stock has gone parabolic. And, parabolic moves always end one way, back to the place where the parabolic move began. Now, AAPL can of course power higher to who knows where in this move but the largest market cap stock in the world has now entered a tenuous phase, strictly technically speaking. But I digress. German investor confidence, the ZEW, in the next 6 months rose back...
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March 7th, 2009 at 8:08 pm
I’d laugh but it’s most likely what will really happen. sigh…
March 7th, 2009 at 8:27 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exwDWNZpyt4&feature=channel_page
Watch the commercial at the start of this clip.
March 7th, 2009 at 9:03 pm
Not in the least funny and actually more than a little anti-social. It’s precisely this “I’m from the government and I’m here to help” ridicule-meme and the accompanying absolutist laissez-faire mindset that got us into this mess. A little carefully planned and more effective regulation might have saved us considerable pain and suffering.
The problem is not the government stepping in but the corrupt private behavior that led up to this very costly public disaster.
~~~
BR: I don’t disagree — you know my views on Nationalization are lets get it over with already — yet I still found it funny
March 7th, 2009 at 9:27 pm
martin66:
Only a fool or a banker would support the deregulation of banking. Looks like we’re a nation of fools, with a few bankers in the mix.
March 7th, 2009 at 9:42 pm
Okay, somebody clue me in, I must really be out of it: Just how was the Nationalized CitiBank any different from the current CitiBank?
March 7th, 2009 at 9:46 pm
There’s a reason the DMV sucks, and it’s not because the government spends too much money on it.
March 7th, 2009 at 10:14 pm
martin66 – Lighten up. We are in this mess and we are going to be here for quite some time – At least let us laugh about it. That happens to be one of the things that makes America great. We aren’t about to hang our head and fear “losing face.” We messed up! We got into structured finance, didn’t rein ourselves in, and then we crashed and burned.
Yes, it will take T-I-M-E (because it is going to feel like forever) to get straightened out. We are going to see federal money go into banks. If you don’t laugh, you have to sit around and cry. I’d rather laugh.
March 7th, 2009 at 10:47 pm
Reminds me of lining up to pay utilities in Singapore, lining up in banks in 3rd-world countries to conduct simple of currency transactions, and waiting in waiting rooms of any government-regulated entity (healthcare, IRS, INS, Customs, Social Security). I think we’ve all been in line-ups this type. And it’s not funny.
The video is hilarious & one could accuse it of being full of hyperbole. But turning a light onto darkness is often painful and often leads to the noisy scurrying (and crushing) of cockroaches.
March 7th, 2009 at 10:48 pm
Uhm, not funny. Sorry but this kind of bullshit fearmongering is just the kind of “not actually funny” crap the right always trots out. Ooohh…. Lets be afraid of nationalization…
Who paid for this ad?
March 7th, 2009 at 11:03 pm
It’s better to laugh than it is to cry.
March 7th, 2009 at 11:11 pm
“It’s precisely this “I’m from the government and I’m here to help” ridicule-meme”
martin66, Bill Maher called, he wants Royalties on his insight..you know, Copyrights, and all.
though, “fearmongering” ??
I suppose everyone’s entitled, but I thought Limits were were still in vogue–I must be one of those “clinging to the old ways”..
http://dictionary.weather.net/dictionary/fearmongering
Ironic, FDR-vintage terminology..
March 7th, 2009 at 11:12 pm
This just seemed like paranoid propaganda… not so funny.
March 7th, 2009 at 11:19 pm
I don’t think it is propaganda…the government is the last, worst solution.
But don’t worry, the government (taxpayer funded) by running up this insane debt will enable government to have the final say now for generations…
Ah, utopia….
March 7th, 2009 at 11:34 pm
Y’know, if Citibank was run like the post-office we’d be a whole lot better (cross-country in 42 cents, makes those bank fees look like a scam), but the reality is that the government is would sell it off as soon as possible if it was nationalized, so this is just fear-mongering.
March 7th, 2009 at 11:35 pm
> HubrisSonic Says: March 7th, 2009 at 10:48 pm Uhm, not funny
Hate to tell you this pal, but Citi is effectively nationalized except not in name only. To all who think that govt is a last and worst solution, try running the country’s largest bank when it is insolvent. They lived by the CDO sword and they dies by the CDO sword.
March 8th, 2009 at 12:11 am
haileris,
yes, Bill Maher called again..
and we, still, rip the Orientals for ‘not being inventive’
has somebody come up w/ a stronger word for Irony, yet??
March 8th, 2009 at 12:17 am
So, the government is the worst solution? I guess that goes for other big stuff like fighting wars, huh? Hey, let’s privatize the military! Didn’t work out so well in Iraq, did it? One “Security Guard” costs more than 10 soldiers, and graft, corruption, waste, and fraud were epidemic.
I don’t like bali-outs of banks, but more than that, I really don’t like being put in a position where we have to do drastic things to try to keep our system from imploding.
Some might hate big government, but they don’t seem to mind big banking, big industry, big business, or the freekin’ knuckleheads who play into their hands by constantly calling for them to be deregulated or whining that their taxes are too high. They whine about regulation on the front end, and bail-outs on the back end. Funny thing is, they don’t have any alternatives, yet they speak with airs of authority.
Poseurs.
March 8th, 2009 at 12:27 am
first the msm is redefining the word .. imo
nationalized means take’g over of a foreign owned property (business) on homeland soil by the homelanders usually by hostile takeover
thats not what is going on in this case …. its more of an arrest of normal operations and reperations to obligations ….. NOT quite ………. reperations to obligations – ya … an arrest – na .. the laws can’t pin it (the mess) with evidence on someone in particular
March 8th, 2009 at 12:36 am
ps – that crack about lines in socialized offices … I feel that too ……. but I feel it in super-corps too
so I’m going to think more on that matter
March 8th, 2009 at 12:51 am
Lame. I didn’t find it funny at all. Maybe if they’d gotten Michael Brown to introduce it. Nah. Still lame.
March 8th, 2009 at 2:59 am
Mark E Hoffer: Using the word “Oriental” is considered offensive and makes you look more ignorant than you already do. I don’t see any irony, perhaps you should be looking up the phrase: “non sequitur”.
March 8th, 2009 at 3:12 am
Why keep the name?
But I,m optimistic. Dudley, the guy who gave up being Chief Economist for Goldman to become the NY Fed Pres., said that we’ll give the money centers $ till it is enough. And he doesn’t rule out Good/Bad Bank scenario ( whatever that is ). Oh, he gave the banks on the dole heck — they aren’t raising capital because they don’t what dilution. ( must be lines of folks wanting to fork money over for a piece of the action ).
Dilemma: Is it freakier that the new NY Bank Pres was the chief economist for Goldman during the maturation and zenith of the chop shop style of Investment Sales at Goldman — or — Scarier that he has nada to offer as guidance. I mean these dudes are like lost, totally.
Under New Management — that sells
March 8th, 2009 at 3:23 am
haileris,
o·ri·en·tal (ôr-ntl, r-)
adj.
1. often Oriental Of or relating to the countries of the Orient or their peoples or cultures; eastern.
2. Oriental Of or designating the biogeographic region that includes Asia south of the Himalaya Mountains and the islands of the Malay Archipelago.
3. Lustrous and valuable: oriental pearls.
4.
a. Of or relating to a genuine or superior gem: an oriental ruby.
b. Relating to or designating corundum that resembles another stone in color.
n.
often Oriental Often Offensive An Asian.
——————————————————————————–
ori·ental·ly adv.
Usage Note: Asian is now strongly preferred in place of Oriental for persons native to Asia or descended from an Asian people. The usual objection to Orientalmeaning “eastern”is that it identifies Asian countries and peoples in terms of their location relative to Europe. However, this objection is not generally made of other Eurocentric terms such as Near and Middle Eastern. The real problem with Oriental is more likely its connotations stemming from an earlier era when Europeans viewed the regions east of the Mediterranean as exotic lands full of romance and intrigue, the home of despotic empires and inscrutable customs. At the least these associations can give Oriental a dated feel, and as a noun in contemporary contexts (as in the first Oriental to be elected from the district) it is now widely taken to be offensive. However, Oriental should not be thought of as an ethnic slur to be avoided in all situations. As with Asiatic, its use other than as an ethnonym, in phrases such as Oriental cuisine or Oriental medicine, is not usually considered objectionable.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2003. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
——————————————————————————–
oriental
Adjective
eastern
——————————————————————————–
Oriental
Adjective
of the Orient
Noun
a person from the Orient
Collins Essential English Dictionary 2nd Edition 2006 © HarperCollins Publishers 2004, 2006
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/oriental
IOW, YGBFKM
but, sadly, I doubt you were attempting humor.
Please, in light of H.R. 1955
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h110-1955
Act now, avoid the lines, report me to the appropriate authorities..
let me guess, you’ve read, at least, three Thom. Friedman books, right?
March 8th, 2009 at 3:35 am
haileris,
that was good advice, btw, I was going to leave it alone, but:
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/non+sequitur
let me slow it down for you: you’re parroting talking points from Maher’s HBO show, aired last night..
people, much like yourself, still blow -exceptionalist/superior smoke up their up their skirts, of which I gave, a paraphrasing, example..
you, then, come back w/ ad hominem(s) and flagrant (mis-/ab-)use of a Latin phrase..
yet, you don’t see the Irony ? I’m not sure which is more painful, having to explain that to you, or understand that someone would have flush U$D 200K down the drain, to get a copy of your BS, at today’s rates..
March 8th, 2009 at 4:01 am
Mark E Hoffer: Thanks for showing everyone here that not only are you an asshole, you’re a fucking dumbass that can’t read.
The dictionary definition for Oriental that you posted had a usage note, which you conveniently included for me. Thanks for helping me state my point. Here’s an excerpt if the big paragraph scares you:
“it is now widely taken to be offensive”
I didn’t see that show, but I just looked it up, and apparently he was talking about healthcare? I thought it was a bit of a non-sequitor (along with the irony), perhaps providing context in the future would be helpful?
I love how you accuse me of issuing ad-hominem attacks, when you randomly decided to state that I read the idiot Friedman. Fun.
Calm the fuck down, stop attacking people on the internets. Christ. The Internets Is Serious Business.
March 8th, 2009 at 4:16 am
The Internets Is Serious Business.
Irony.
You do get it, that a +
March 8th, 2009 at 4:18 am
Context here (if you don’t know how to use google). Definition.
Seeing as though you have trouble recognizing popular internet catchphrases/memes, I assume you’re new to this thing? Here’s a tip: If you’re going to be an anti-social prick on the internet, it’s advisable not to use your real name.
March 8th, 2009 at 4:19 am
Definition
March 8th, 2009 at 4:24 am
and, of course, above, and, now, below, are “haileris,”
though, speaking of reading comprhension..
when did interragatories– “let me guess, you’ve read, at least, three Thom. Friedman books, right?”
become declaratives?
maybe, someone more mature, than either one of us, will come along w/ a can of pixel-ex
but, if not, no worries
this: “perhaps providing context in the future would be helpful?” in itself, is a useful bon mot, but, last I checked, asking questions, for clarification purposes, wasn’t violating any Statutes..
btw, your nom de blog makes a curious anagram..
March 8th, 2009 at 4:26 am
Dude,
you are living proof that there’s one in every crowd..
March 8th, 2009 at 8:09 am
………Obviously there are different definitions of nationalization but I’d say the chances of a BR/Krugman defined nationalization are fading although it can never be ruled out as the Lloyd’s case illustrates ……….It must by now be obvious that the govt’s strategy is to protect the banking system at all costs but avoid nationalization and concentrate on fixing the real economy….. The market, sorry Cramer, is going to have to take care of itself…..If the economy starts to improve so will the market…..I think part of this calculation is based on a belief that “the market” is only of interest to about 15% of the country despite the amount of ink it gets…..The claims that 50% of the country “owns” stocks can largely be discounted both by the fact that roughly 90% of the country’s liquid assets (stocks, bonds, cd’s, mutual funds, IRA’s, pension funds, 401k’s etc) are owned by about 10-12% of the people……And the impact of 401k’s on stock ownership is widely exaggerated by opinionaters like the WSJ ed page, since 70% of 401k’s are estimated to have less than $50k in them (and that was in mid 2008 so that number will have shrunk)….In other words most people don’t go to sleep worried about their 401k……Sorry BR I don’t think the tooth fairy is bringing you nationalization.
March 8th, 2009 at 8:17 am
Oriental – the sailing capital of the South
March 8th, 2009 at 8:21 am
Yes, the government is the last, worst solution.
How about the military and fighting wars you asked…well, how about it?
Vietnam? Those American lives were spent to…uh, keep North Vietnam from conquering the world?
I was in the army in 1970, didn’t have to go to Vietnam, but had friends who were killed needlessly..
yeah…that includes the military and wars also my friends…
March 8th, 2009 at 8:34 am
ottobvs
to you tooth fairy comment
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/fun/ineedhelp.asp
March 8th, 2009 at 8:46 am
Unfunny. Moronic. Worst of all, hypocritical, worshipful of private bigness per se, & completely ignorant of the extreme negative productivity of the big banks: Same commerical could have been run for the failed S&Ls of that RTC-resolved crisis, for Continental of Illinois, for Indymac of 2008, for WaMU & Wachovia (nationalized by FDIC seizure and return to private sector after guarantees). But the depositors of those failed institutions were aware of even so much as a logo change.
March 8th, 2009 at 9:05 am
d4winds Says:
March 8th, 2009 at 8:46 am
Unfunny. Moronic. Worst of all, hypocritical, worshipful of private bigness per se, & completely ignorant of the extreme negative productivity of the big banks:
…….I got news for you, when this is over there will be fewer and bigger banks…..Just look at BAC (Old BAC+Countrywide+Merrill)…….Personally I have no problem with this…..The US banking system is the most fragmented in the world although in terms of balance sheets it’s heavily weighted to the bigger banks……..Size is not the issue……..Regulation is……and fewer larger banks with a proper regulatory framework is actually much easier to manage.
March 8th, 2009 at 9:26 am
Sorry, this commercial just seemed vulgar, not funny.
March 8th, 2009 at 11:17 am
ah so, the government is inherently evil, and private enterprise inherently good. Gee, um, just exactly how come the superiority of the private unregulated market, so responsive to the needs of clients and the public, has resulted in the collapse of the american economy? Just exactly how is it that a ‘government’ bureaucracy is ‘incompetent, indifferent, incapable’, but a ‘private’ bureaucracy, created by empire builders, having a huge number of layers of management is somehow ‘efficient’. The discipline of the market huh? hmmm, so didn’t the market just speak?
The video isn’t funny it’s sad. Until americans figure out what has created their problems their problems will not change. Going into the great depression we had a rational and fact based populous, clear thinking people with a general sense that taking care of society was sort of smart thing to do. Different people differed about how to implement that vision but everyone agreed it was a worthy goal. The result was the recognition that ideology of what ever sort had to be moderated (because these ideologies are always and everywhere of limited validity), and thus ‘limited capitalism’ was born. The event, un-anticipated by the Marxists (who also insist on the absolute truth of an ideology), resulted in the saving of the western political world by undermining the dynamic that was pushing the world toward communism. Marx predicted that pure capitalism would lead to periodic, and increasing systemic crisis, each followed by consolidation of power and wealth in the hands of an ever diminishing few. He predicted that this state of affairs would become unstable and result in the over throw of the capitalist system. He was right, in part, capitalism was changed, and the dynamic he thought would occur was undermined.
Who could have guessed that the ensuing period of prosperity would be destroyed by equally zealous ideologues managing to convince the populous that they were ‘suffering’ under limited capitalism, and desperately needed to return to a cycle of ever more concentrated wealth in the hands of a steadily diminishing few.
The problem, as this video makes clear, is that this time, the populous is dominated by fact free, emotion laden beliefs and a value not on group health, but on individual gain. The people have so bought the lies and manipulations and con-games promoted by those who believe they will benefit under a new system of crisis of capital and wealth concentration, that there is no real opposition, and few voices, with little power, urging a return to what once seemed (and indeed we were simultaneously led to believe by the very same voice urging a return to capitalism was a ‘miracle’), to be a pretty darn pleasant world.
Our long national nightmare of peace and prosperity is over, All hail the great god ‘Free Markets’. Government is your enemy, Bob Rubin is actually on your side, now get to borrowing you worms.
March 8th, 2009 at 3:42 pm
Problem:
Men at the top of the “too big to fail” have nowhere to go. Cornered. Go home to the Wife? the Hamptons? Travel? Incognito?
As individuals they have wealth, and in their world wealth alone may not provide an “invite”. About all they have been left with is the ability to give out a personnel loan. Sad, baby. Sad, really.
So what do they have to look forward to? Pariah. Oh, don’t forget as many lap dances as money can buy.
March 8th, 2009 at 4:44 pm
The complaint seems to be that because government is starved for funds by tax cuts for the rich, causing
Just how much of the TARP money is being used for lobbying to keep bailing out the big stockholders and executives, anyway? Did the bank lobbyists make this video?
March 8th, 2009 at 4:46 pm
trying again…
The complaint seems to be that because government is starved for funds by tax cuts for the rich, causing long lines at the DMV, government is bad and we should just give all the rest of our money to the few at the top.
Just how much of the TARP money is being used for lobbying to keep bailing out the big stockholders and executives, anyway? Did the bank lobbyists make this video?
March 9th, 2009 at 12:00 pm
waiting in waiting rooms of any government-regulated entity (healthcare, IRS, INS, Customs, Social Security)
I’ve also been in waiting rooms of government entities in other countries that were reasonably pleasant and didn’t make me feel like I was a criminal. I’ve been in waiting rooms and phone queues of private corporations that were as demeaning as any US government experience. I’ve worked for private corporations that were choking on centralized bureaucracy, and for state-funded educational institutions that were decentralized, flexible and efficient.
The US government treats people like garbage on many occasions, but I’d say this has much to do with an authoritarian, security-state mentality brought to you mostly by Republicans who seemingly want to hobble and sabotage government operations (“Heckuva job”, too many Bush examples to mention) to justify outsourcing to their cronies or to “get regulators off the backs” of their corporate buddies so they can sell poisoned peanut butter and toxic financial instruments unhindered.
I thought the clip was funny, but the “government bad/bureaucratic, private industry good/efficient” meme is getting old.