Wall St

[sirs]

<<I'm sure you'll get back to us when there's an actual crime that has been committed>>

Well, that'll be quite awhile.

Nice to have "outs", isn't it.  So, until then your original analogy is hopelessly devoid of any substance that would allow someone to take it seriously

But let's say that NO laws were broken.  To a guy like sirs, that would be the end of the story.  Move on, folks, nothing to see here, everything that was done was perfectly legal, just keep right on moving.  More thoughtful folks might begin to wonder, how is it there were no laws to prohibit any of this conduct?

 

Since, in this country, we have the freedom to succeed, as long as no laws are broken in the process, there is no conduct to be noted.  Nothing wrong with greed, so long as no laws are broken.  And despite your opinion, greed is not what crashed this country.  Power did.  The power to direct, if not dictate how businesses are to be run, how loans are to be approved, what companies are to be propped with tax payer $$$'s, and what ones are to be demonized.  As I said, in your world, you'd apply the law against anyone daring to make more than some 3rd party Governmental entity declares as ok

But, again, nice to see your "out" you've adopted....well if no laws were broken, there should have been, right?  No one's allowed to make that kind of money....except of course Hollywood Celebrities and Professional Athletes   

[Michael Tee]

<<So, until then your original analogy is hopelessly devoid of any substance that would allow someone to take it seriously>>

Of course, the 51 separate state and federal investigations going on as we speak are evidence of absolutely nothing, there is zero likelihood of any of them leading to successful criminal prosecutions and sirs KNOWS what a waste of their time it all is.  Anyone who thinks that there's a reasonable likelihood of successful criminal prosecutions emerging from this, based only on the fact that 51 separate state and federal prosecutors' are investigating, is clearly basing his prediction on a hopeless void.  No one can take seriously the work of 51 separate state and federal investigations because we all know that never before in the history of the USA has a state or federal prosecutor's investigation EVER resulted in successful criminal prosecutions.  NEVER.   No serious person can take seriously the idea that maybe someone will be convicted of anything as a result of 51 separate federal and state prosecutors' investigations.  How could they?

For sirs, I have only one question:  ARE YOU FUCKING NUTS?

[sirs]

You know Tee....I lost track of all the separate investigations, both State and Federal, of supposed price gouging by the likes of "Big Oil".  And that landed.....how many prosecutions again??

Screeching about current investigations is nothing, until actual indictments are handed out.  Congress prides itself at "doing something", when there's some twisted level of public outcry, by some faction of the U.S., thus they launch "investigations, to get to the bottom of it", whatever it supposedly is.  Makes them feel like their earning their pay.

So, get back to me when there's an actual crime, much less "rape".  Then we can start discussing your currently debunked analogy, with some remote semblance of seriousness

[Michael Tee]

The FTC investigation came to nothing, but many states tried to enforce anti-gouging legislation.

People of NY vs Wever Petroleum, a price-gouging case, resulted in the imposition of a $2,000 fine and an injunction.
827 N.Y.S. 2d 813 (2006)

Many price-gouging charges were brought against gas station owners and were settled.  Many others were dismissed without trial because of difficulty of proof.  Connecticut brought price-gouging charges against several gasoline companies, which were settled by payment of fines, one of the fines being about $45,000, though the average fine was much, much less.  Missouri brought charges of price gouging against 48 gas stations, all of which settled upon payment of a fine.
http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/eblj/issues/volume4/number1/Bae.pdf

Price gouging is notoriously difficult to prove, since nobody seems to know where to draw the line between making an honest profit and "gouging."  In contrast, conflict of interest cases are much easier to prove as are breach of trust cases when the trust was between a stockbroker or investment banker and his client. The public fury, as evidenced by the Occupy Wall Street! movement makes these cases, when they arise, much less likely to settle than the oil gouging cases were.

So, contrary to your recollection, quite a few price gouging cases came out of the various investigations, although nothing from the FTC investigation itself.  I seriously doubt whether the number of price-gouging investigations was anywhere near 51.

Contrary to what you might think, there are very good grounds for believing that criminal indictments, plus some convictions, will arise out of these 51 ongoing investigations.

[sirs]

LOL...your opinion of good grounds is no more founded than your opinion of price gouging, that included a plethora of State and Federal Investigations, and amounted to 0 indictments, much less prosecutions, much less convictions

So, get back to me when there's an actual crime, much less "rape".  Then we can start discussing your currently debunked analogy, with some remote semblance of seriousness

[Michael Tee]

<<So, get back to me when there's an actual crime, much less "rape".  Then we can start discussing your currently debunked analogy, with some remote semblance of seriousness>>

seriousness?

You mean, seriousness as in, "Although Lehman Bros. and Goldman Sachs made billions by packaging and selling shit bonds to whoever would buy them INCLUDING THEIR OWN CLIENTS, and AIG issued what were effectively insurance policies against default on bonds which didn't even have documentation of homeowners' ability to repay in many cases, and primary lenders created mortgages that could appeal only to the impecunious, for resale with triple-A ratings to other investors up-stream, 51 state and federal agencies now investigating the entire series of transactions will not be able to find evidence of any criminal acts such as, for example, fraud?"

Or, do you mean, seriousness as in, it's OK if no laws were broken in any of the above shenanigans even if they cost the life savings and/or pensions of millions of innocent Americans because none of that activity SHOULD be criminalized, since it's part of our freedom as Americans to be free to be ripped off by complex financial transactions designed to benefit the richest of the rich at the expense of the rest of America?

I can see that you're a very "serious" guy, sirs.  The problem, as always with you, is in the definition of the words you like to throw around - - what you like to call seriousness, most other folks would probably refer to as extreme stupidity or perhaps even insanity. 

[Plane]

   Lets not totally discount the possibility that poorly thought out law was observed and complied with .

    Regulation that causes the opposite of its intended purpose is a pretty common historical experience.

[sirs]

<<So, get back to me when there's an actual crime, much less "rape".  Then we can start discussing your currently debunked analogy, with some remote semblance of seriousness>>

seriousness?

Yea, seriousness....as when you start including the Fed in your equation of those you opine should have broken some non-existant laws

   Lets not totally discount the possibility that poorly thought out law was observed and complied with .

    Regulation that causes the opposite of its intended purpose is a pretty common historical experience.

Well concluded, Plane

[Michael Tee]

<<Lets not totally discount the possibility that poorly thought out law was observed and complied with .>>

OK plane, so in percentage terms, how likely do you think it is that none of the participants causing the melt-down of 2008 broke any federal or state laws?

    <<Regulation that causes the opposite of its intended purpose is a pretty common historical experience.>>

Especially where the regulation is drafted and paid for by the institutions that are supposed to be regulated by it?

Do you believe that the outlawing of LSD has caused LSD usage to increase?
Do you believe that the laws forbidding export of technical material to Iran have cause more technical materia to be exported to Iran than would otherwise have been exported?
Do you believe that the ban on purchase of Cuban goods has caused more Americans to buy Cuban goods than would otherwise have been purchased?
Do you believe that laws against aiding and assisting terrorism in the U.S.A. have caused more Americans to aid and assist terrorists than would have done so had the act not been forbidden by law?
Do you believe that laws designating organizations such as Hamas as terrorist groups combined with laws that prevent providing financial support to terrorist organizations have caused more Americans to send money to Hamas than would have been the case had the designation not been made?

[BSB]

Dear little boys and girls, plus the two retards WeWe and Snowblower.

People are selfish. People are greedy. People are inconsiderate. People are intolerant. That's the way it is.  If you put a cat in a dog's pen it won't suddenly bark. If you stuff a dog in a cats cage it won't suddenly meow. It doesn't matter whether people are under communism or a democracy, they will remain essentially as they are. The benefit of a democracy is that it admits that, and allows for it. Sometimes it allows for too much, sometimes not enough. It has to be tweaked now and again. Today we have a new phenomenon. Globalization. We are going to have to go trough a long period of tweaking before we get it right. Or, as right as possible. In the mean time the entire world will be tweaking away for decades to come. A major war may break out and take center stage over the smaller ones. Great shifts don't usually take place without them.  If Snowblower is still alive when this major war breaks out he and WeWe and sirs will be crying in their beer over it because that's all they know. 

Hopefully most of the rest of you scoundrels will be like me and enjoy the sounds, sights, and feel, of the universe before we all become food for the worms.

BSB

[Kramer]

Dear little boys and girls, plus the two retards WeWe and Snowblower.

People are selfish. People are greedy. People are inconsiderate. People are intolerant. That's the way it is.  If you put a cat in a dog's pen it won't suddenly bark. If you stuff a dog in a cats cage it won't suddenly meow. It doesn't matter whether people are under communism or a democracy, they will remain essentially as they are. The benefit of a democracy is that it admits that, and allows for it. Sometimes it allows for too much, sometimes not enough. It has to be tweaked now and again. Today we have a new phenomenon. Globalization. We are going to have to go trough a long period of tweaking before we get it right. Or, as right as possible. In the mean time the entire world will be tweaking away for decades to come. A major war may break out and take center stage over the smaller ones. Great shifts don't usually take place without them.  If Snowblower is still alive when this major war breaks out he and WeWe and sirs will be crying in their beer over it because that's all they know. 

Hopefully most of the rest of you scoundrels will be like me and enjoy the sounds, sights, and feel, of the universe before we all become food for the worms.

BSB

Sounds like good advice. I'll pass it along to the protesters.

[sirs]

Don't drink beer, but thanks for the consideration.  Good to see some additional contribution B.  Don't be a stranger

[Michael Tee]

Major war?  Why not?  Somehow the universe always manages to dispose of its own evil even when mankind seems paralyzed by fear or moral weakness.   Something  will terminate the reign of The World's Only Terrorist Superpower, and war's as good a bet as any.  I'm just hoping that Revolution comes first.  Without a hell of a lot to base that hope on, but sometimes, miracles do happen.

[Kramer]

Major war?  Why not?  Somehow the universe always manages to dispose of its own evil even when mankind seems paralyzed by fear or moral weakness.   Something  will terminate the reign of The World's Only Terrorist Superpower, and war's as good a bet as any.  I'm just hoping that Revolution comes first.  Without a hell of a lot to base that hope on, but sometimes, miracles do happen.

we all end up dead sooner or later. some might end up like Saddam, Osama, & Gadaffi while others die in their sleep.