As New Scammers Emerge, Is It 'Jailout' Time Yet?

By Danny Schechter, AlterNet. Posted February 24, 2009.

Who in Washington is even talking about this? Who is going to prosecute these serial offenders and other new cases popping up every day? The FBI told Congress it is investigating 500 white collar crime cases, 39 connected with the financial crisis. Earlier, they said they were looking into 27 companies.

At the same time, they admitted that a large number of their trained corporate crime investigators had been reassigned after 9/11. Many had been ordered to chase terrorists even after the FBI and CIA, which had knowledge of Al Qaeda pilots in the country, failed to stop them.

Take a look at what's happening now with financial institutions, known as "Zombie banks" that everyone realizes are insolvent. No wonder there are increasing calls for nationalizing them--to save the system. Two members of our feared Republican Guard, Alan "Maestro" Greenspan and Senator Lindsay Graham (along with Democrats Chris Dodd and Chuck Schumer) have said it might not be a bad idea. That same notion, so far scotched by the Obama Administration, drove the markets to new lows.

The Wall Street Journal reported: "The White House, meanwhile, reiterated that it 'continues to strongly believe that the privately held banking system is the correct way to go.' Of course, this may just be a rhetorical ploy, since publicly admitting it was considering nationalization would depress stocks even further."

Some on the left are quietly launching pro-nationalization on-line petitions, while the Right is fighting loudly with anti-Obama TV ads appropriating words like "fiscal responsibility" and "accountability" and organizing vigils in the streets with placards against the stimulus. They are ridiculing Obama as a "savior" and the "Messiah" while carrying signs like "Stimulate the Economy, Give Me a Tummy Tuck." They are playing down and dirty with protest techniques once exclusive to activists, while those of us who realize more radical measures are needed are, once again, mostly on the sidelines.

The right has found a new Joe the Plumber-like loudmouth demagogue in CNBC's Rick Santelli whose rants were challenged by the White House. That attention is likely to encourage him more and make him a martyr if the network shuts off his mike. (Controversies like this are great for ratings.) But, bear in mind, he and so many others blame "irresponsible borrowers" without ever mentioning the words mortgage scam or predatory lending.

So, Obama, the centrist, is under attack by the Right with progressives mostly passive, even as the public demands action against corporate criminals and their enablers. (Yes, that cartoon in the NY Post was offensive, but is that what angry activists should be focusing on?)

Knock, Knock, is anyone listening?

See more stories tagged with: america, crime, obama, corporate america, corporate greed, banks, punishment, madoff

Danny Schechter writes the News Dissector blog for MediaChannel.org. His latest book is PLUNDER: Investigating Our Economic Calamity (Cosimo Books).

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