Watch your back, Portland
After the Paulsons sell a bunch of bonds whereby the City of Portland borrows money from their friends at exorbitant interest rates, maybe old Hank and the boys will bet against the same bonds and damage the city's credit. Unlikely? Just ask these folks.
| Posted at 8:48 AM | Permalink |
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Comments (9)
Jack, let me try and understand this: You're suggesting that one of the key players who destroyed the economy of America by fraudulently selling security swaps with 3-A ratings, when he knew they were based on liars loan...one of the players who then used his job as Bush's Treasury guy to ask for complete power to give 700 billion dollars back to his pals on Wall Street....one of the players who worked hard when he was in charge of Goldman Sachs to grease the wheels of deregulation so Wall Street could run this fraud that threatens the very survival of the United States...a man like this? He would have a son who would try to put one over on Portland using that same firm of Goldman Sachs?
Where's your basic faith in the goodness of humanity?
The only thing that is reassuring to me now, is knowing that Randy and Sam are way too smart to fall for any of this. It's just a blessing that in these treacherous times, we have two such noble public servants looking out for us and our beloved city of Portland.
Posted by Bill McDonald | April 13, 2009 10:52 AM
@ Bill: Your snark knows no bounds.
Thank goodness. Whenever I see the antics of SamRand I am reminded of Lily Tomlin's deadly accurate observation that, in times like these, cynics can't keep up.
Posted by George Anonymuncule Seldes | April 13, 2009 11:08 AM
Lily Tomlin or Molly Ivins? Probably both.
Posted by Sue Hagmeier | April 13, 2009 11:21 AM
My Lily Tomlin story: She appeared at a fundraiser here in Portland at the hotel I was working at, and didn't like the height of the stage. The event had already started with politicians giving speeches, etc...They actually introduced her, "Ladies and Gentlemen, Lily Tomlin." The crowd went crazy but instead of her, the crowd got me and another houseman carrying out a riser to raise up the stage. Then Lily followed and scolded the politicians for not understanding the importance of being seen.
Posted by Bill McDonald | April 13, 2009 11:23 AM
Just the kind of 'transaction' that needs thoughtful regulation. While it may be immoral, it apparently is not illegal. Maybe they are trying to close as many deals as they can before it is subject to stricter federal (and int'l) guidelines. It will take all of us to stand up to this. They certainly have our attention.
Posted by Mark Mason | April 13, 2009 11:38 AM
To be fair, I can't see Paulson (pere or fils) not trying to sell these and then hedge them. That doesn't make this a good idea, however. It does make it more complex than Randy or Sam's high school algebra skills can comprehend though.
It would be interesting to see where these will be priority-wise or recourse-wise against the PGE Park and baseball field.
With all of this debt going out, it is like 1st, 2nd and 3rd mortgages. I can't believe they'd sell this paper without recourse or as unsecured debt. If they did, the interest rate would be like hard money.
Posted by Steve | April 13, 2009 1:15 PM
Sam and Randy took algebra?....Coulda fooed me...I thought they never even passed the one plus one equal two lesson...
Posted by portland Native | April 13, 2009 3:07 PM
For more info on Goldman Sachs and its ties and links and influence, etc., see The Big Picture, http://www.ritholtz.com/blog
Posted by JoWriter | April 13, 2009 7:44 PM
"I thought they never even passed the one plus one equal two lesson."
Sam got stuck at Tram math - You know when $9M = $75M in the real world.
God, what I wouldn't give to have a politician with an IQ in the triple digits to be able to deal with people who know what they are doing.
Posted by Steve | April 14, 2009 9:05 AM