Wednesday, February 04, 2009

American Banks Nationalized by Force!

Sometimes the crackpot conspiracy theories are right. This story got by me. From an article in Time magazine:

"On October 13, the nine bank bosses, assembled in the Treasury's imposing boardroom, were each handed a piece of paper [by Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson]...

"[The government's program] called for the U.S. government to take partial ownership of nine leading banks... "

Although Wells Fargo chairman Richard Kovacevich resisted, Paulson gave the bankers no choice." (Emphasis mine.)

Now Wells Fargo is being slammed in the media for conducting their traditional celebration to reward sales bankers because they took bailout money -- even though they were forced to take it. In other words, the banks have been nationalized, some against their will. And today Obama announced a salary cap for executives in companies who took (or were forced to take) bailout money.

Where is the outrage? The word nationalized has been scrupulously avoided in the media. Shouldn't the federal government be in the hot seat, not Wells Fargo?

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