Unfortunately, Wall St. was left unfettered and unaccountable in the last decades. As no one was minding the store greed ran rampant. Laxity and looking the other way (Chairman Cox and Congress)prevailed while the greed gained ground. That is the lesson: the monitors must do their job, not look the other way and too much of Congress was suborned by lobbyists to look the other way. In the end there must be accountability; so, it is very good that the FBI is now investigating these investment delinquents.

I am amazed by Kin-ming Liu's loyalty to his white masters. I suppose he is the Uncle Tom of Asians. Hahaha...

"There's no doubt that the American style of capitalism is suffering a major setback. But (...) it still is the best model we have."

No doubt ... well, then it's called "faith". I understand then that your "religion" is "capitalism".

"Its strength lies in its strong ability for self-correction"

Yet it needs $1 trillion from the state for "self-correction".

Tell-me, please, Mr Kin-ming Liu, did you read newspapers these weeks ? Do you have any idea what you're talking about ? Do you know that the US government (and the UK too) are nationalising loads of private banks, every week, for hundreds of billions of $ and £ ?

I do not see the current crisis as a failure of Capitalism. This crisis should be viewed as yet another failure of central planning. The problem can be largely attributed to the GSE's and the Community Reinvestment Act. These Government programs grossly distorted the mortgage and housing markets from what would have developed in a free market. It is not fair to blame Capitalism for market distortions and failures caused by the Government.

Starting in 1977 and expanded during the Clinton administration the CRA forced banks to make loans to low income and minority borrowers that would not normally have met the requirements of their credit risk models. In an entirely free market banks would have been allowed to make loans based on their own risk models. These CRA loans represent a significant percentage of the mortgage defaults that are now causing major stress to our markets. If not for the CRA the loans would not have been originated.

The Government Sponsored Entities also aggravated the situation with their hybrid public-private model that gave them an unfair advantage over entirely private competitors in the secondary mortgage market. The GSE's did not have to pay many taxes, were exempt from many regulations and had access to cheaper credit than their competitors. As a result they ate up an unnatural share of the marketplace. When they entered the subprime market they began to buy up mortgages without due diligence because every new that the Government guaranteed their debt for all intensive purposes. A normal private company would never have been able to become as large adn as leveraged as the GSE's without having some major issues with creditors and shareholders. If these institutions did not inflate the mortgage markets and create an incentive for the origination of bad loans then this crisis could have been avoided.

So don't blame Capitalism.

"the American style of capitalism"

Capitalism depends on a free market and a government that constrains abuses by distributing opportunity on the basis of collective policy. So what we have in the US is not capitalism. Activity in the marketplace is restricted to the powerful, and the government distributes opportunities to the powerful exclusively. The 'programs' the government promotes to the less fortunate are designed to keep these interests from organizing to the extent they can become a problem. US 'leaders' learned a lot from the Marxist revolution, which taught them the power of promoting 'false consciousness.' It's called advertising.

Why is it that some citizens keep on with the rhetoric of how the United States is the be all end all to the human race and free market ideology? Everyone conveniently forgets it has always been the financiers who have control of our lives and for the most part they are controlled by the monarchys/nobility of Europe. I have yet to see any saving grace in US internal/external policies beyond the usual banal rhetoric. The United States has "funded/promoted" so many black ops in third world countries all in order to pave the way for corporate takeover of those Governments. In fact it is safe to say that in todays world there are no politicians only avaritic farcinorous people.

I like the comment above from Roy, the current neo-con movement has gone so far that it has come full circle to socialism. The bailout package is just another example of everyone supporting the rich, the corporations. Why worry about risk when the government will bail you out? How long will people keep the faith in a system that is clearly broken?
www.theendisalwaysnear.blogspot.com

Unfortunately for people throughout the world, Bush and all other leaders et al with their venerable armies of advisers could not see the failings of the market system. Indeed, they worshiped the system like it was a religion. So these same people who are now saying that they will be our saviours and fix the system that they up to two weeks ago adored, are to be expected to make things better. I do not think so and all this is a load of 'hot' air as usual. Things are going to be bad, very bad indeed for quite a few years now (possibly at least a decade) and no matter what these idiots say, I would not believe them if they were the last people living on this planet. Their hypocrisy is without compare.

Considering everything, the capitalist system is totally flawed. Only the few benefit with wealth far in excess of their wildest dreams whilst millions starve to death every year (I thought again that our present leaders were doing something substantial about this awful situation, but I have not heard/seen anything of any major substance yet). Economics has now to change to 'need' economics from the greed economics of the past. If not, the capitalist system will eventually be the end of human life on this planet. It is only a matter of decades and not centuries we are looking at here as natural resources deplete.

Let us hope therefore that the financial collapse of major institutions that exploited/supported past greed to the limits and where the US government is now pumping in at least US1 trillion just to buy the debt that they have created, will make our political masters see the light and that a new dawn has to be forged based upon humanitarian principles and not the planet's destructive forces - super capitalism (globalization).

Next month the World Innovation Foundation's new global economic framework will be outlined in accordance with what is required by the laws of sustainability and the continuation of the human experience. This outline is being given to Press TV and no other Media source. Therefore if those who wish to know of a new system based on human values and international commerce I would recommend that they visit Press TV around the end of October. It is a totally independent submission based upon the private thinking of many of the world's leading minds.

Dr David Hill
World Innovation Foundation Charity (WIFC)
Bern, Switzerland

America no longer has capitalism, but rather a greedy form of corporatism now transformed into neocon socialism.

From Wikipedia: Capitalism is the economic system in which the means of production are owned by private persons, and operated for profit[1] and where investments, distribution, income, production and pricing of goods and services are predominantly determined through the operation of a free market.

In the US, private persons no longer own means of production. Corporations have replaced this concept. No longer is there a free market. The market is controlled by large corporations and unregulated speculators. Now the Federal Government bought Wall Street, what one was American capitalism is now Socialism. (again from Wikipedia: Socialism refers to a broad set of economic theories of social organization advocating state or collective ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods.

State ownership of Wall Street is socialism.
Bush/McCain neocons moved so far to the right that they have come full circle to socialism.

while it is factualy correct in a global sense,it is important to bear in mind that the devil is in the detail.chinese adopted the american model but kept their autocratic one party controle on both the provider&receiver to manipulate everything to their goal sometimes at the expense of the innicent consumers,the present milk-powder scandal is an ideal example of lack of monitoring&checking mechanism in place.same goes to the other emerging economic giant india following the american model with a poor infrastructure both at the material level aswell as human resource&quality of it.in conclusion my contention is all good models depend on the human element,its goals,aspirations&sincerety of application to have a beneficially longlasting outcome.

what i see as the fundamental problem in the usa and other countries is when business crosses the fundemental line and tries to subvert the cheif role of government so matter what form politics in whatever country ..it is to provide infrastructure in the form of roads and water and sewage and possibly electricity or fuelsources or at least regulate them more stringently .. the other is to provide a set of rules everyone clearly understands and can follow, that essensiattal do two thing..they protect the consumer and the little people of society from the excess people with money and power can generate. the second and it may be even more important is to protect the bussinesses and the powerful people from themselves, in the form of finacial and business activity which more closely resemble a feeding frenzy of sharks in nature where when a certain amount of blood and fish parts of the prey are in the water the sharks will start eating each other and wounded sharks will even greedily devour thier own body parts thus hastening thier own death while beeing convinced are are feeding themselves. what happened in business in ameica and worldwide is the result of the systematic buying of influence in congress to remove the laws and oversight which provided the rules to keep big business from destrying each other unessisarily and ... themselves thinking they were ensuring thier dominace.. i worked as a store manager successfully for a fortune 100 company who knew the formula but just as soon as the first accountant , i call them beean counters with delusions of glory , instead of operations cheif operating officer, was installed the company began a demise which has taken twenty years to start to turn around. the well meaning mans name was mike Quinlan, and if you check the figure on managers whith this company you willl see a mass exodous of 10 year plus managers shortly afterwards because they knew he was taking the company down. they have kept up thier numbers by opening new stores in different countries i would be willling to be thier same store sales incresses since 1985 at least in the us using comparabledollar purchasing values are less than impressive. when accountants who do not understand how money is actually made in busines make store policy you see ridiculous things like my local wal-mart, that when they have more business than they deserve and an emplee reaches forty hour on the timeclock a manager comes out not help with the people in line but to clok out and remove a register in full view of thier customers in line thinking they are ...saving money...pissing in your pants to stay warmwhen it is freezing feels good for a little while but in the long term they find themselves in worse shape...the bottom line is put the rgulation back in and prosecute the people who in the united states illegally gamed the system and most important..make them give the money back... all of it with intrest and punative damages or fines so it never seems like a good idea again...the american people will insist on this and they willl show up in the gated communities peacefully but in huge numbers to pull the kings and queens out of thier silk sheets to tar and feather them and take ...thier money back without the crooked courts or crooked bought out government, if the publics money is used for the bailout of a private or stockowner company then the people and citizens have every right to look at all the books of the company and internal memos that got them into the mess and file criminal and civil charges where appropriate but in all cases to see what exactly happened and what they are essentiaaly being asked to buy withyout having voeting right s or ownership it willnot work this thime they shouldntt even try to pullthe wool over the eyes if theat is what they are contemplating....

The US capitalist model based upon greed and short-term profit has evolved to its basest point, where the rich and politically powerful can merge into a joint venture of government, big business and media to prey upon the poor and working people, who constitute the great majority. Once the privileged few have milked the lower classes dry, it can then exercise its option for "self-correction" to bail-out the American capitalist corporate artifacts, that have arguably engaged in a course of deceptive and predatory practices, at the expense of the unprivileged majority, who must now bear the brunt of the burden of long-term national debt. Such a model has no place in a civilized 21st century.

The US capitalist model based upon greed and short-term profit has evolved to its basest point, where the rich and politically powerful can merge into a joint venture of government, big business and media to prey upon the poor and working people, who constitute the great majority. Once the privileged few have milked the lower classes dry, it can then exercise its option for "self-correction" to bail-out the rich and powerful, at the expense of the unprivileged majority, who must now bear the brunt of the burden of long-term national debt. Such a model has no place in a civilized 21st century.

I would like to challenge your view of the American capitalism's ability to self-correction. I have however to admit that until very recently I had the same opinion regarding the American system(until the current crisis).

All the time I had both learned but also heard and read that the American capitalism's success was very much dependent on the US market being free from any major governmental involvement. That was the big difference between the US and the rest of the world, even countries in Europe which the Americans consider to have semi-capitalist systems.

However the Americans have now gone too far in the other direction and the government is playing a central role in the market and is manipulating it. It doesn't matter if it is in the right direction or with good intentions but the important point is that the system is no longer decoupled from the governmental actions.
Therefore the old American capitalism, as we knew it, is very much dead and a new American capitalism has come out of the dust. In this new system the government can bail-out any person who has been poor in making good entrepreneurial decisions by the money it collects via taxes from the hard working citizens.
To me this is no longer capitalism but a modern version of robbery.

There's no doubt that the American style of capitalism is suffering a major setback.

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you lost me right here..

PRESIDENTE BUSH TENTA EXPLICAR O INEXPLICÁVEL

Depois de envolver + de USD 800 bilhões de recursos do tesouro americano ( do povo) , para salvar os especuladores do capital volátil, quem de fato esperaria do presidente Bush outra explicaçao ?

A fala do presidente, para iludir os cidadãos, não é fácil atingir os objetivos. E a minoria de privilegiados devem estar comemorando com champagne Cristal ou uma mais cara ainda e não falsificada, como falsificaram os dados do mercado financeiro mundial.

A crise americana vai ficar na história e por que :

- Pagando jrs, negativos para uma dívida de USD 9,5 trilhão, o país está economizando em encargos financeiros anuais mais de USD 400 bilhões.

- A especulação financeira, com base no territorio americano, volta , a partir de agora, bem capitalizada, a monitorar e agredir mercados como o brasileiro , para usufruir de ganhos bem fáceis, em titulos do governo, em ações e comodities.

Tem exemplo~melhor para incentivar o crime financeiro, do que a decisão americana ? Os bobos estão no mundo todo.
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A DECISÃO AMERICANA, DE ONTEM, CRIANDO UM FUNDO,
PARA A GARANTIA DOS GANHOS DE ESPECULADORES, DEVE
ACOMODAR ALGUNS BILHÕES EM TÍTULOS POBRES DE ORIGEM CONTESTÁVEL.

Os americanos resolveram acabar definitivamente com a crise, porque já conseguiram se beneficiar de tudo o que era possível extrair dela.Mas os ganhos será de uma minoria e as perdas da grande maioria de seus cidadãos.

A decisão de ontem à noite, criando um fundo para acomodar os títulos pobres, acabou de sacramentar a valorização do capital especulativo e improdutivo, em detrimento dos interesses da sociedade.

Os Bancos Centrais mostraram, mais uma vez, que realmente continuarão a serviço dos cartéis especuladores, que voltaram com força redobrada para cometerem os mesmos abusos e erros, pq estão imunes à penalidades. Cuidado, BRASIL.

Enquanto isso, mais de 900 milhões de pessoas estão passando fome no mundo inteiro e mais 4 bilhões trabalhando e pagando impostos para garantir as fortunas dos mais ricos.

E o mundo vai sair dessa crise bem fabricada e administrada pelo sistema financeiro americano, com OS RICOS MAIS RICOS E OS POBRES + POBRES.

A auto-regulamentação do sistema financeiro deverá continuar intocável. Voltou o excesso de liquidez para as especulações …
E os Bancos Centrais, mantidos pelo povo, mostraram que realmente estão a serviço da agiotagem mundial.
A maracutaia dos títulos podres, que serão jogados nesse Fundo, deve parir novos bilionários no mundo da fantasia.
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TESOURO AMERICANO ASSUME ATIVOS INCOBRAVÉIS, MAS PASSIVOS COBRAVÉIS.

Telvez essse seja o melhor negócio do século XXI para os especuladores. Jogaram nos cassinos sabendo antecipadamente que iriam ganhar às custas de sacrifícios de milhões de pessoas. Ñ existe loteria melhor no planeta.

E como serão analisados os Bancos Centrais e as empresas de avaliação de Riscos que mostraram que estão a serviço do sistema financeiro e não a serviço da sociedade para a sua fiscalização e monitoramento ?.

E os bilhões e bilhões de USD ganhos desonestamente, o governo oficializou como “honestos” e, a partir de hoje, com auto regulamentação intocável, novos bilionários continuarão surgindo do dia para a noite na especulação financeira.

O impressionante é que a sociedade civil realmente é desorganizada e sempre paga a conta dos outros, sem cobrar ou exigir explicação.

A euforia agora chegou com o reinicio da manipulação da cotação do dólar, das bolsas de valores e de mercadorias e das taxas referenciais de juros, em paises como o Brasil. Crime é para ladrao d galinha ou d prato d comida
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A certeza que ficou é a de que os bancos centrais e as empresas de avaliações de riscos, se uniram para salvar os ganhos e a atuação tranquila do capital volátil.

Essa mesma agilidade que tiveram para salvar ganhos dos especuladores, tambem deveria existir para limitar os ágios para as taxs referenciais de jrs; para agilizar o monitoramento correto do sistema financeiro; para fiscalizar as comodities cartelizadas e, principalmente, aumentar a produção mundial de grãos, para que mais de 900 milhões de pessoas não continuem vivendo em absoluto estado de miséria.

Resumindo essa novela de crise fabricada e administrada pelos americanos, o Estado está se mostrando cada vez mais impotente para defender os interesses do cidadão (ã).

E qual é a diferença entre comunismo social e capitalismo democrático ?.
Tem mais, quais as empresas brasileiras que reduziram a produção em função da crise americana ?

Quanto o BC ainda deve do Proer para os controladores de Bancos Falidos ? !!!

Why is this guys still on payroll of the WAPO?

you are dead wrong. the free market no longer exists in america. in fact we are in the worst possible situation ever. why? first of all these big companies have been bought out (nationalized to put it more clearly) by taxpayers money. the shareholders, the upper middle class and many small time investors who thought they knew it all at their computers have lost from 80 to 100 percent of their money (the lower classes dont buy stocks too much i think). the tax payers have paid a toll for a bridge, but they never used the bridge. they have bought up a failed company. now they will try to make it profitable, and if so they will make a little money and if not, they will lose a lot. as for the original owners of these failed companies...they take home the 800 billion! yes, they are now free to spend that money any way they wish, the worst possible situation for an economy to find itself in, and to boot, they are no more than predators. we have what max weber called predatory capitalism, a bit like piracy.

The U.S is now transformed from an economic superpower to an economic basket case, and its imploding financial market is a laughing stock around the world.