Proving Willie Sutton Wrong . . .
By Barry Ritholtz - June 23rd, 2009, 4:30PM
The new Banksters are proving Willie Sutton wrong. Sutton famously answered the question Why do you rob banks by saying “Because that’s where the money is.”
Ahhh, the good old days, when robbers used guns to hold up a single bank and tried to steal money $10,00 at a time!
Sutton was small time. The real money is in emptying out the Treasury trillions iof dollars at a time.
Why?
“Because that’s where the REAL money is.”
Here’s a Jim Flora retro throwback to that simpler time:
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The Big Bank Robbery
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June 23rd, 2009 at 4:47 pm
Barry W. Ritholtz,
I am suspending my 52nd retirement (Transor Z will say this is my 53rd retirement) to bring you my newest and most annoying mtheme yet:
CNBC Sucks, Average American
I have decided that it is much too painful to think about “the big picture” and it would be better if I just became “an average American”, unlike the lonely male geniuses who frequent this blog.
June 23rd, 2009 at 4:49 pm
The Republic is lost.
June 23rd, 2009 at 4:49 pm
The Robbed Generation Nation?
I guess once the dollar gets hammered and it costs way to much to drive, shop and enjoy life the finger pointing will begin. Until then it’s throw money at it. It’s good to be king.
June 23rd, 2009 at 4:50 pm
Cool art.
June 23rd, 2009 at 5:01 pm
Progress and innovation… isn’t it grand?? What’s more remarkable is that the banksters are pulling this off without firing a single shot. The Treasury is giving it away to them. Please.take this taxpayer money, we’ll print some more if necessary, pay interest on what we’ve given you because we just don’t want you to fail. Ponzi scheme of Ponzi schemes. It would make public enemies like Capone, Dillinger, Bonnie & Clyde and Baby Face Nelson green with envy.
June 23rd, 2009 at 5:02 pm
Brett Favre – 53
CNBCS (AA Styling) – 52
June 23rd, 2009 at 5:06 pm
Awesome graphic.
June 23rd, 2009 at 5:07 pm
GB – The Robbed Generation Nation?
Oooh, I like that. Or you could shorten it to The Robbed Generations – which would refer to every generation after the boomers.
June 23rd, 2009 at 5:10 pm
All we need to do is convict and hang one of these criminals (and I don’t mean that in a figurative sense — I mean it in the literal, Chinese sense) and give the others the stink eye, and they’ll all cop a guilty plea and beg for life at hard labor. Criminality under the color of law should rank right up there with treason and murder.
One might say I’m miffed.
June 23rd, 2009 at 5:13 pm
the real robbery
http://economistsview.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83451b33869e201157149dafd970b-pi
http://economistsview.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83451b33869e201157054b17b970c-pi
January 9, 2009
Employment Growth Summary, 1992-2009
(Thousands) *
December 1992 ( 109,415)
December 2000 ( 132,485)
December 2008 ( 135,074)
May 2009 ( 132,151)
Total Nonfarm Private Employment, 1992-2009
(Thousands) *
December 1992 ( 90,537)
December 2000 ( 111,681)
December 2008 ( 112,542)
May 2009 ( 109,523)
Total Nonfarm Government Employment, 1992-2009
(Thousands) *
December 1992 ( 18,878)
December 2000 ( 20,804)
December 2008 ( 22,532)
May 2009 ( 22,628)
June 23rd, 2009 at 5:17 pm
Hey CNBC, you’re so good at coming out of retirement! If it works anything like losing one marble to find one lost earlier, please find and return with UrbanDigs, Ross, John Borchers, Spectre of Deflation, Stormrunner, and “ciao, MS”. (Not sure I’ve seen those names since BR’s Big Blog Makeover.)
June 23rd, 2009 at 5:23 pm
…the best way to steal (or hide, for that matter) anything – right in plain sight…
June 23rd, 2009 at 6:03 pm
CNBC sucks-
if you were truly an average American- you wouldn’t be reading this blog- unless of course you are an above average average American- or of superior intelligence as represented on the typical bell curve
June 23rd, 2009 at 6:07 pm
Marcus-
we’re all miffed- I think hoffer referenced the “streching from the end of a rope” for the banksters as well-I think Transor Z’s a lawyer- maybe he can elaborate on whether that could be a possible sentence
June 23rd, 2009 at 6:36 pm
Why does CITI own 80% of Red Roof? I guess that means we as taxpayers also are owners of recently defaulted RR. Was it commonly know that CITI was making these investments?
How many other speculative investments has CITI made and the Fed & Treasury invested in and guaranteed by backstopping CITI?
Red Roof Inn Inc. defaulted on $367 million face amount of mortgage debt that was packaged into commercial mortgage-backed securities. Debt-rating company Realpoint LLC reported earlier that Red Roof defaulted on $332 million, face amount, in mortgage debt this month. Late Tuesday, Realpoint said it found a fourth delinquent mortgage of $35 million, bringing the total default to roughly $367 million. Red Roof confirmed the defaults Tuesday.
In 2007, Red Roof was acquired from Accor SA for $1.3 billion by a group led by Citigroup Inc.’s Global Special Situations Unit and including hotel manager Westmont Hospitality Group. The deal left Citigroup with a 79% stake in Red Roof. This month, Red Roof’s owners missed scheduled payments on four mortgages with 131 Red Roof Inns pledged as collateral. All told, Red Roof’s properties carry nearly $1.2 billion in debt, including mortgages, mezzanine loans and other notes..
June 23rd, 2009 at 6:41 pm
and to top it off..they were all Citi mortgages
June 23rd, 2009 at 6:51 pm
in the early 70′s one of my best friends surprised me by looking for a job in banking.
I asked him why banking? He said… That’s where the money is. And, yes, at the time I did reflect upon willy Sutton.
Fast forward 25-30 years, my former bank president friend has served 7 years in federal prison and is now an unemployed convict.
Nuf said? yes. and yes again.
June 23rd, 2009 at 6:55 pm
@yc & willid3 – WTF is that all about – we are leakin’ like a sieve, heh?
June 23rd, 2009 at 7:03 pm
@ahab at 6:07 pm:
I don’t do criminal work but I believe hanging is still authorized in Delaware, New Hampshire, and Washington state for state criminal offenses. Usually it’s only authorized when lethal injection is not possible but sometimes the condemned gets to choose between hanging and injection.
Under federal law, you’d either need a murder conviction or Espionage/Treason to get the death penalty. I’m guessing the lynch mob would vote for Treason. Unfortunately, lethal injection is the authorized federal execution method for non-violent crimes. :(
June 23rd, 2009 at 7:16 pm
TZ @7:03, ref. ahab@6:07 –
that MEH maybe a sadist
for every sadist there is a masochist
for every buyer there is a seller
June 23rd, 2009 at 7:16 pm
I guess CITI didn’t unwind their position in Red Roof quick enough. How many other investments do they have going tits up?
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121458569022011161.html
June 23rd, 2009 at 7:21 pm
@ToWi
Indeed.
June 23rd, 2009 at 7:44 pm
read this and tell me what country we are talking about- is it China?
“We intended first to boost the stock and property markets. Supported by this safety net – rising markets – export-oriented industries were supposed to reshape themselves so they could adapt to a domestic-led economy. This step was supposed to bring about an enormous growth of assets over every economic sector. The wealth effect would in turn touch off personal consumption and residential investment, followed by an increase in investment in plant and equipment. In the end, loosened monetary policy would boost real economic growth.”
no Japan 1988- pre-implosion- compliments Naked Capitalism
June 23rd, 2009 at 8:17 pm
@call me ahab:
I posted that in one of the threads here yesterday. It looks like a lot of people are reading Prof. Pettis these days (good idea, as I think he has some of the best insights on the global imbalances that must be addressed). I also like to get his take on the capital markets in China, as they are rarely as optimistic as the media relations dept. of the Chinese government.
June 23rd, 2009 at 8:45 pm
The real robbery will be when Wiemar-style inflation wrecks the social fabric and we careen into a Third (or is it fifth?) World War.
Our way of life is completely unsustainable.
June 23rd, 2009 at 8:57 pm
RE: Citi and RedRoof
Didn’t Douche Bove just put a buy recommendation on C the other day. yes, I think he did:
June 23rd, 2009 at 8:58 pm
paul jones-
sorry dude- missed the post- but at least we’re on the same page
Trade war?????
headline-
“US, EU Act Against China on Raw Material Exports”
excerpt-
“In the United States the decision to bring the dispute before the World Trade Organization was seen as part of a more muscular trade policy promised by the Obama administration, but it added to tensions at a time when Washington counts on Beijing to keep buying its debt.”
http://www.cnbc.com/id/31514005
June 23rd, 2009 at 8:59 pm
@ahab,
re your 7:44. That wasn’t only Japan in 1988. We be livin it!
June 23rd, 2009 at 9:08 pm
b22-
dude- i respect your “wise beyond your years” opinion- however-
we are not a net exporter and we are not trying to transition into domestic consumption- we should be trying to achieve the exact opposite
CNBC sks-
dude- I saw your post- “huh”- but the reality is- you would have never been at this site at all- if in fact- you were- an average American-
correct?
June 23rd, 2009 at 9:09 pm
Now let me see. Spying on citizens without any need for judicialintervention, trampling on the Geneva convestions (Wait for the outcry when the first US captive gets abused and waterboarded) and systematic pillage of the peoples’ resources by the Government.
In simpler times this was called fascism?
June 23rd, 2009 at 9:19 pm
So…. will Helicopter Ben be re-appointed?
June 23rd, 2009 at 9:19 pm
ahab,
was more referring to the first line.
June 23rd, 2009 at 9:26 pm
ahab, YES, you are correct that the average American “would never have been at this site at all”. But you must remember: The greater the absurdity, the greater the ironic value.
Anyone on this blog ever try to explain how “the real money is in emptying out the Treasury trillions of dollars at a time” or how “that Goddamned Geithner is giving all our money to PIMCO” to the average attractive American female in her 20s*? How did that turn out? I thought so.
My point is that we have massive macro-scale problems afoot, but nobody cares. CNBC = Cuz No Body Cares
* If there is an average attractive American female in her 20s who actually reads TBP and would like to take issue with The Great CNBC Sucks’ sexist generalizations, please do lodge a complaint on my blog leaving pertinent contact and personal information.
June 23rd, 2009 at 9:29 pm
ahab,
when this is the first line:
We intended first to boost the stock and property markets. Supported by this safety net…
your plan is so flawed anything that comes after it doesn’t really matter much does it? Do you not agree we are following that path?
$8,000 credit for new homebuyers not really doing the trick, how about $15,000 for any homebuyer? I think you know the deal with the stock market too.
June 23rd, 2009 at 9:38 pm
cnbc sks-
dude- you re too god-damned funny
b22-
undoubtedly- but the gist of my post was that China was going to try to transform their economy- and it was being juxtaposed against Japan- who was trying the same hard to do magic- to no effect
June 23rd, 2009 at 10:10 pm
@ben22: “$8,000 credit for new homebuyers not really doing the trick, how about $15,000 for any homebuyer?”
Actually, I was wondering how much they would have to give in order to convince me to buy a house. I’m thinking that when they raise it to about 50,000 (20% down on a normal house in my area), I’ll bite :D
June 23rd, 2009 at 10:19 pm
>> $8,000 credit for new homebuyers not really doing the trick, how about $15,000 for any homebuyer?
Not tricking me. What will home values do after that credit is removed? (I thought so.)
“FU”, NAR. Go get your shine box!
June 23rd, 2009 at 10:29 pm
@CNBC Sucks:
I would have taken you up on that challenge about 15-20 years ago. See, the art of the pickup is all in the delivery/subtext and not at all the transcript of what you’re saying. Sex sells.
It’s why I got me an above-average attractive American female pregnant a few times over.
It’s all about the fishing and the golf and long walks with the dog, man. If only I had known that sooner.
June 23rd, 2009 at 11:03 pm
headline-
“Japanese Trade Implosion Continues, Exports Fall 41%”
excerpt-
Shipments abroad dropped 40.9 percent from a year earlier, more than April’s 39.1 percent decline
http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2009/06/japanese-trade-implosion-continues.html
June 23rd, 2009 at 11:52 pm
toady
Pronunciation:
\ˈtō-dē\
Function:
noun
Inflected Form(s):
plural toad·ies
Etymology:
by shortening & alteration from toadeater
Date:
1826
: one who flatters in the hope of gaining favors : sycophant
synonyms see parasite
I submit Geitner qualifies in relation to HB & B* and the President has provided him a toad stool/podium.
* Humongous Bank & Brokerage
June 24th, 2009 at 5:49 am
CITI plans to increase salaries 50%. Further proof that the US government exists to support the 19 immortal banks, last week GS announced record bonuses, a few months ago BAC announced substantial pay increases and , of course, Geithner supported AIG bonuses to keep their best & brightest. Good thing BB is still printing the cash! But UAW workers and retirees are selfish & greedy.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/24/business/24citigroup.html?th&emc=th
June 24th, 2009 at 9:29 am
You have to admire the cutzpah of CITI and GS ramping up their pay packages, so did BAC a few months ago. Hey we’re here to serve the immortal 19! Thats our purpose in life!