Abstruse: www.constructiveanarchy.com

Done in one.

Blasphemers!

Jesus was greedy, selfish, and didn't mind if the entire society collapsed as a result of his actions.

"It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God." (Matthew 19:24)

Just a little reading for him

I know this isn't the Politics thread, but has anyone mentioned the term "thieving bastards", yet?

Somewhere Doug Coe is smiling

Oh well that makes it perfectly alright then, if a mythological carpenter 2,000 years ago would have done it...

Jesus Christ!

Bigdogdaddy: "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God." (Matthew 19:24)

Just a little reading for him

Bah. All you need is a camel, a really good grinder, a big needle, and a lot of free time.

I saw a savings account offer on a local banks flashing red sign that proclaimed, 1.55% APY!!!

Then I thought about all the poor souls that are paying close to 20% and more interest on their credit cards and $39 late fees.

Yeah, that's what Jesus would do.

Good thing taxpayers aren't getting jewed on this deal.

/Not political, despises both parties equally

They're OK for 'flu vacs before hospitals. Link (new window) ClusterStock link

Raise the tax rate to 90% on obscene pay. It won't give the government more money, It'll just stop businesses from offering obscene pay.

Goldman Sachs owns Congress and Obama. They also own the Clintons and McCain.

FTFA: "Talent is highly mobile," Varley, a Catholic, said. "If we fail to pay or are constrained from paying competitive rates then that talent will move to another employer."

I never realised 'talent' was needed to lose so much money. I can bankrupt their bank for half the price.

"Talent is highly mobile," Varley, a Catholic, said. "If we fail to pay or are constrained from paying competitive rates then that talent will move to another employer."

Every article has some fool justifying the ridiculous bonus' and salaries with the same lame excuse.

/facepalm

Catran: "Talent is highly mobile," Varley, a Catholic, said. "If we fail to pay or are constrained from paying competitive rates then that talent will move to another employer."

Every article has some fool justifying the ridiculous bonus' and salaries with the same lame excuse.

/facepalm

That's not a lame excuse, that's blackmail. That's "give us all your money or we'll move to Switzerland". Given that the banking sector is about 10% of the entire UK economy, their pretty much holding a gun to the government's head.

/ain't capitalism grand!

AtikuX: FTFA: "Talent is highly mobile," Varley, a Catholic, said. "If we fail to pay or are constrained from paying competitive rates then that talent will move to another employer."

I never realised 'talent' was needed to lose so much money. I can bankrupt their bank for half the price.

Agreed. And it's called a non-compete clause. Lets not pretend like we've never heard of them. If they want to flee the country to avoid it, all I can say is PEACE OUT BIATCHES.

I'm sure this is the sort of thing the Anglicans hope for whenever they let some filthy heathen speak at one of their churches. Maybe not as much as they hope for a raghead talking about the joys of buggering goats, but they've got to be satisfied with a papist talking about how right it is to rob the poor.

"The injunction of Jesus to love others as ourselves is an endorsement of self-interest," Goldman's Griffiths said Oct. 20, his voice echoing around the gold-mosaic walls of St. Paul's Cathedral, whose 365-feet-high dome towers over the City, London's financial district. "We have to tolerate the inequality as a way to achieving greater prosperity and opportunity for all."


Let me think about this for a second.

Injunction: love others as you love your self.

Expression of injunction: My means of loving myself is to be rewarded with salary X, where X is a dollar amount equivalent to personal worth and personal worth is innate and cultivated talent.

SO my means of loving myself is to receive pay that is equivalent to my personal worth. My means of loving others as I love myself is that they receive pay that is equal to their personal worth. In this way I love people as I love myself.

Presumption: Love is an activity that implies I have responsibility. Example, when I love myself I am accountalbe for whatever love is. WHen I love others, I am, again, accountable for whatever love might be.


In the above, love is equated with salary adequate to personal worth.

But, my salary does not come from me, it is an external response contingent on external varialbes. So, I am not actually accountalbe for my salary. A salary is not my reflection of my own personal worth, it is an external reflection of my personal self worht. For instance, if i were to be fired, and receive no salary, then I could not love myself under these conditions (that salary = love). Futher, if someone else had no salary, then it would be impossible to love them as well.

I am definately not Christian, but for these reasons I have difficulty using salary to fulfil any command to love.

Can we hang these guys yet?

Mark 14: 1-9:

Now the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread were only two days away, and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were looking for some sly way to arrest Jesus and kill him.

"But not during the Feast," they said, "or the people may riot."

While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of a man known as Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head.

Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, "Why this waste of perfume?

It could have been sold for more than a year's wages and the money given to the poor." And they rebuked her harshly.

"Leave her alone," said Jesus. "Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me.

The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me.

She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial.

I tell you the truth, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her."

See? Jesus said there will always be poor people.

And He said we can help them any time we want.

Well, He didn't say I had to.

And I don't want to.

So why even bother helping the poor, when even the Son of God acknowledged the hopelessness of ever ridding ourselves of the scourge of shiftless parasites too lazy to lift themselves up by their bootstraps?

buddyrtr: I know this isn't the Politics thread, but has anyone mentioned the term "thieving bastards", yet?

The sad thing is that they are staying within the rules set by Congress regarding the stimulus/recovery.

Congress has absolutely opened the door for these guys. What's shocking is the silence from the White House regarding these "struggling" firms/banks that we gave all the free money to.

The taxpayer gave Sachs 10 Billion with less than 1% interest when the market was at rock bottom. Now everyone is shocked that these dirtbags made hundreds of billions in profits?

The joke is on us.

B-b-b-b-but we did get our ~1% interest on 10 Billion...

Great plan guys.

RoxtarRyan: Can we hang these guys yet?

Is that what jeebus would do?

Jeebus chased the money changers from the temples but they came back with their educational systems. Say hello to the flag, money and of course, a new and improved Jeebus!

"The levels of inequality in London are just mind- boggling," said Nicholas Sagovsky"

"People are very, very angry at the gross iniquity of rewards in society," Liberal Democrat lawmaker Vince Cable said"

Wow. Not that I understand why bankers feel compelled to defend themselves in church, but quit your farking whining. If you think banking jobs pay too much, get a farking banking job.

Bigdogdaddy: "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God." (Matthew 19:24)

Just a little reading for him

Moneylenders are in for some serious sh*t when they die if there is a God. Why do you think they're living it up here? They're hoping it makes up for an eternity of roasting in purgatory.

inglixthemad: Bigdogdaddy: "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God." (Matthew 19:24)

Just a little reading for him

Moneylenders are in for some serious sh*t when they die if there is a God. Why do you think they're living it up here? They're hoping it makes up for an eternity of roasting in purgatory.

That's right. I can't stand my bank for giving me a 30-year loan at 4.75%. Those sinners should never offer credit to anyone!

I kind of wish there were a Hell so that these guys could burn in it for eternity

Maybe it's time to do a little rendering unto Caesar what is Caesars.

Debeo Summa Credo: If you think banking jobs pay too much, get a farking banking job.

That's exactly what's happening as far as engineers go in the UK, resulting in a decline in good engineers.

The difference is, engineers actually make stuff, whereas investment bankers shuffle money around.

Think about it. Supposedly, investment banks exist to capitalize smart investments. Instead, all the good minds are going towards the capitalization side instead of actually, you know, using the capital. So who's using the capital?

The answer is, crap, and that's the revealing moment: When they talk about investment banks hosing the investors, it's because the whole "I will find good companies to invest your money in" concept died more than thirty years ago. Investing long-term in good companies doesn't make money fast enough for them anymore. Now the entire system is set up with "financial innovations" like "collateralized debt obligations" that are very specifically designed to transfer capital NOT to engineers, but to the investment bankers themselves. It's like the reincarnation of Jeffrey Dahmer went into the daycare business, except he actually worked on his public image.

If you value what little you have in savings at all, don't let it get within sniffing distance of an investment banker.

Debeo Summa Credo: "The levels of inequality in London are just mind- boggling," said Nicholas Sagovsky"

"People are very, very angry at the gross iniquity of rewards in society," Liberal Democrat lawmaker Vince Cable said"

Wow. Not that I understand why bankers feel compelled to defend themselves in church, but quit your farking whining. If you think banking jobs pay too much, get a farking banking job.

Some of us decided we would rather build things than sit on the side and try to chisel at the wealth the builders create. If you're my age, you made that decision when bankers were (properly) considered something like butlers, and the decision was a bit easier. Now, I suppose it's a bit more difficult- sort of like the decision a young seamen in the 1600s would make, when deciding whether to serve on a merchantman or become a pirate.
We aren't whining because bankers make so much; we are whining because bankers don't do a god-damned thing to justify the amount of wealth they suck from society. The idea that bankers make sure capital is efficiently allocated is pure bullshiat. Every bubble since 1990, the biotech bubbles in 92 and 2001, the internet bubble, the junk bond bubble that crushed the S&Ls, the currency bubbles in the late 90s, the real estate bubble... The fact is, bankers just grab some money everytime it changes hands, and tell those of us who created that money that they deserve it. They're worse than the farking government and their taxes. At least the government tells me that they need the money; the bankers have the gall to tell me they deserve it.

fark you, limey

Can you imagine the boom we would have if any person or business in the USA could get loans at 1%?

FTFA: "Is Christianity and banking compatible? Yes," he said in an interview after the speech in the 283-year-old church. "And is Christianity and fair reward compatible? Yes."

He forgot to ask the really important question: "Is our children learning?"

For the sake of being contrary, I would like to point out that Goldman Sachs already paid back the money the Fed actually forced down its greedy throat. Not that a whore of an institute really worries too much about deep throating huge amounts of money.

To my true feelings....bankers worship Mammon. To hear them invoke Christianity as a defense for their greed is sickening. There are anti-usury strictures still in place in Catholicism. Given what they do, they'll probably beat us to the beer in hell.

ParadigmLeftShift: Jesus was greedy, selfish, and didn't mind if the entire society collapsed as a result of his actions.


so what is it like having brain damage?

rumpelstiltskin: We aren't whining because bankers make so much; we are whining because bankers don't do a god-damned thing to justify the amount of wealth they suck from society. The idea that bankers make sure capital is efficiently allocated is pure bullshiat. Every bubble since 1990, the biotech bubbles in 92 and 2001, the internet bubble, the junk bond bubble that crushed the S&Ls, the currency bubbles in the late 90s, the real estate bubble... The fact is, bankers just grab some money everytime it changes hands, and tell those of us who created that money that they deserve it. They're worse than the farking government and their taxes. At least the government tells me that they need the money; the bankers have the gall to tell me they deserve it.

You are whining because bankers make so much money. If not you personally, most everyone else who frequents these threads. If you limit banker salaries, as some suggest, then that will result in more profits going to the shareholders of banks. This might reduce the headline figures (OMG CEO of XYZ bank made $12m last year), but it is essentially taking away from labor to benefit capital. Would you prefer that banks owners take more rewards with less for the employees.

The market decides who deserves what, and it has decided that banks and bankers deserve the pay they receive. One would hope that banks and their shareholders would step up in light of the recent crisis and demand that pay be more aligned with the long term performance of the bank's stock. However, that is up to the banks' shareholders and if they don't you or I don't have a say in it as we have no direct interest in the bank.

If XYZ bank decides they can improve profitability by hiring a trader away from ABC bank for $3m per year, then good for them both. If XYZ bank can make money buying and selling equities, then good for them. They're not forcing anyone to sell to or buy from them. What right do you or I have to say "whoa, I don't like the way you make money... I'm going to tax it at a much higher rate than I tax other income at the same level".

And if someone decides to become an engineer to 'build stuff' rather then 'chisel away', then good for them. Just make your decision knowing that you have nothing to complain about if it turns out you could have made more money somewhere else.

Goldman's Sack (of money)

Skank of America (or BankRobbers of America)


Merrill WenchshiattiBank


do the smart thing. put your money into a Federal Credit Union.


frkkk all Banks, whether in England or here at home. they're crooks and crooks do only one thing.......

thank god that was in England. U.S.A Banks would Never do or think that way.

whew, dodged a bullet that time.

lol idiots.

12 Inch Pianist: fark you, limey


Fark You American crony capitalist pig.

Dear Jerk: Raise the tax rate to 90% on obscene pay. It won't give the government more money, It'll just stop businesses from offering obscene pay.


odd, it was 90% back in Truman's day and the Wealthy in America still lived like Kings.

History does not lie, republican liar.

RoxtarRyan: Can we hang these guys yet?


no.

because they own your Government too.

Bad_Seed: Catran: "Talent is highly mobile," Varley, a Catholic, said. "If we fail to pay or are constrained from paying competitive rates then that talent will move to another employer."

Every article has some fool justifying the ridiculous bonus' and salaries with the same lame excuse.

/facepalm

That's not a lame excuse, that's blackmail. That's "give us all your money or we'll move to Switzerland". Given that the banking sector is about 10% of the entire UK economy, their pretty much holding a gun to the government's head.

/ain't capitalism grand!

pure unregulated capitalism is anti-Democratic.

it is a license to steal

that is why i'm a Democratic Socialists from now on.

Isn't there a bit in the bible where you forgive your neighbor's debts or something too?

Debeo Summa Credo: If XYZ bank decides they can improve profitability by hiring a trader away from ABC bank for $3m per year, then good for them both. If XYZ bank can make money buying and selling equities, then good for them. They're not forcing anyone to sell to or buy from them. What right do you or I have to say "whoa, I don't like the way you make money... I'm going to tax it at a much higher rate than I tax other income at the same level".

You and others making this argument seem to miss a certain point. 2 banks competing by paying through the nose for a top executive does NOT help everyone else out, just whichever bank wins. Explaining what drives a bank who thinks guy X is going to earn them a ton of money more than guy Y (and the failure of the banking system as a whole suggests to me that this formula is flawed to begin with) and giving them half the difference in a bonus doesn't do a damn thing for the rest of us. That is why it is wasteful, and that is why none of us appreciate the job bankers are doing.

You could set up the same paragraph to say how great lobbying is. Well, if company XYZ lobbies 3 billion dollars more than company ABC, then company XYZ will do better, and zomg everybody wins! Yea, everybody farking wins...

Debeo Summa Credo: Not that I understand why bankers feel compelled to defend themselves in church

Nor do I. Their PR staffs really need to get a new message going on... appearing in a church to say your levels of comp are not wrong, but then asking for absolution with the very next breath sends a very mixed message. They should have spoken up their good works, referenced some individual story of how their charitable arms made it so that Dick or Jane went to college or whatever, and left it at that.

Debeo Summa Credo: And if someone decides to become an engineer to 'build stuff' rather then 'chisel away', then good for them.

As near as I can tell, those who do complain about the career choices of others seem to want a more regulated form of directing the mobility of labor and capital.

Smackledorfer: (and the failure of the banking system as a whole suggests to me that this formula is flawed to begin with)

So then suggest something else. Are you really saying companies should not be allowed to compete with each another when it comes to labor recruitment and retention?

Smackledorfer: You and others making this argument seem to miss a certain point. 2 banks competing by paying through the nose for a top executive does NOT help everyone else out, just whichever bank wins. Explaining what drives a bank who thinks guy X is going to earn them a ton of money more than guy Y (and the failure of the banking system as a whole suggests to me that this formula is flawed to begin with) and giving them half the difference in a bonus doesn't do a damn thing for the rest of us. That is why it is wasteful, and that is why none of us appreciate the job bankers are doing.

Yeah, that's capitalism. The goal of every for-profit company and business is not to benefit everyone, only the owners. Global Megabank wants to maximize profit to its shareholders, Burlington Northern railroad's goal will be to maximize profits to Warren Buffett and other Berkshire shareholders, and the shoestore on the corner wants to maximize the owner's income. It's simple and it works, at least better than any other system.

I'm not opposed to prudent regulation and progressive taxation, but pointing out one segment of the population (bank execs) as being undeserving of what their company elects to pay them is not grounded in logic, but is the product of jealousy and misplaced anger.