<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1" http-equiv=Content-Type>
<META name=GENERATOR content="MSHTML 8.00.6001.19222"></HEAD>
<BODY bgColor=#ffffff text=#000000>
<DIV><FONT size=4>"(Sorry, but I'm in a cranky mood and that comment ticks me
off.)"</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>No problem Stuart, </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>I agree with your analysis and Richard Mellow who wrote the
article from Oakland Ca. is engaging in a bit of wishfull thinking.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>Even if the banks were nationalized, since we the people don't
control the U.S, government at this point in time, than the nationalization more
than likely wouldn't benefit the people.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>David J.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="FONT: 10pt arial; BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=salevy@illinois.edu href="mailto:salevy@illinois.edu">Stuart Levy</A>
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A
title=peace-discuss@lists.chambana.net
href="mailto:peace-discuss@lists.chambana.net">peace-discuss@lists.chambana.net</A>
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Cc:</B> <A title=salevy@illinois.edu
href="mailto:salevy@illinois.edu">Stuart Levy</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Friday, April 20, 2012 8:43
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: [Peace-discuss] Big Five
Banks vs US economy (or vs othermeasures)</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV><BR>It's important to point out the vastness of the vast banks,
but I am uncomfortable with this specific comparison - of bank assets on the
one hand, to the US total production per year on the other. One is
measured per unit of time, the other isn't.<BR><BR>I'd be happier with a
comparison of bank assets ($8.5 trillion, yikes) to the total accumulated US
gov't debt (around $14 trillion). Or better yet, with total US household
net worth, around $57 trillion as of 2010.<BR><BR>Or maybe better, with total
US household net worth of the bottom 99%. Cutting off that top 1% of the
people removes around 37% of the total household worth, leaving $36
trillion. (Those figures from <A
href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wealth_in_the_United_States">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wealth_in_the_United_States</A>,
and through it, <A
href="http://www2.ucsc.edu/whorulesamerica/power/wealth.html">http://www2.ucsc.edu/whorulesamerica/power/wealth.html</A>
and <A
href="http://www.levyinstitute.org/pubs/wp_589.pdf">http://www.levyinstitute.org/pubs/wp_589.pdf</A>
(~:)).<BR><A
href="http://www2.ucsc.edu/whorulesamerica/power/wealth.html"></A><BR><FONT
size=2 face=Arial><BR><BIG>> If the crisis is acute enough the state will
nationalize the banks.</BIG></FONT><BIG><BR><BR>I surely hope so, but wasn't
it acute enough last time? Won't the next collapse just be blamed on the
current Administration, saying, We didn't adequately follow free market
principles? (Sorry, but I'm in a cranky mood and that comment ticks me
off.)<BR></BIG><BR><BR>On 4/20/12 7:32 PM, David Johnson wrote:
<BLOCKQUOTE cite=mid:DDBD088172A146E1A9E68D96E2D71A42@owneryr3fp4mcb
type="cite">
<META name=GENERATOR content="MSHTML 8.00.6001.19222">
<STYLE></STYLE>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>
<DIV class="region-inner main-inner">
<DIV class="columns fauxcolumns">
<DIV class="fauxcolumn-outer fauxcolumn-center-outer">
<DIV class=cap-top></DIV>
<DIV class=fauxborder-left></DIV>
<DIV class=cap-bottom></DIV></DIV>
<DIV class="fauxcolumn-outer fauxcolumn-left-outer">
<DIV class=cap-top></DIV>
<DIV class=fauxborder-left></DIV>
<DIV class=cap-bottom></DIV></DIV>
<DIV class="fauxcolumn-outer fauxcolumn-right-outer">
<DIV class=cap-top></DIV>
<DIV class=fauxborder-left></DIV>
<DIV class=cap-bottom></DIV></DIV>
<DIV class=columns-inner>
<DIV class=column-center-outer>
<DIV class=column-center-inner>
<DIV id=main class="main section">
<DIV id=Blog1 class="widget Blog">
<DIV class="blog-posts hfeed">
<DIV class=date-outer>
<H2 class=date-header><SPAN>Friday, April 20, 2012</SPAN></H2>
<DIV class=date-posts>
<DIV class=post-outer>
<DIV class="post hentry" itemscope="itemscope"
itemtype="http://schema.org/BlogPosting"><A name=4327308307335642176
moz-do-not-send="true"></A>
<H3 class="post-title entry-title" itemprop="name">Five US banks hold 56% of
the US economy </H3>
<DIV class=post-header></DIV>
<DIV id=post-body-4327308307335642176 class="post-body entry-content"
itemprop="articleBody">
<DIV style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; CLEAR: both" class=separator><A
style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 1em; FLOAT: left; CLEAR: left; MARGIN-RIGHT: 1em"
href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iiWMTQmePd8/T5HGfDpJw8I/AAAAAAAACoY/vfmaH6aOS4s/s1600/pol_banks17_inline4051.jpg"
moz-do-not-send="true" imageanchor="1"><IMG border=0
src="cid:772F9F8C4FE549828D55A67791BDEE9B@owneryr3fp4mcb" width=323
height=400></A></DIV>Public money sure helped the <I>"Big Five" </I>and I'm
not talking about the sports retailer. According to the Federal
Reserve, JP Morgan Chase, B of A, Citigroup and Well s Fargo collectively
held $8.5 trillion in assets as 2011 entered the history books.
That's equal to 56% of the US economy up from 43% before the crisis
hit. As Rahm Emmanuel said, a good crisis is a terrible thing to waste
and the 1% have come out of this one very well off indeed.<BR><BR>These five
banks are about double the size they were 10 years ago <A
href="http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-04-19/big-banks-now-even-too-bigger-to-fail"
moz-do-not-send="true">Bloomberg Business Week </A>tells us and some
sections of the capitalist class are concerned about five financial
institutions holding such a concentration of society's assets. These banks
backed up by what BW calls an <I>"an invisible government umbrella"</I> pose
a "<I>clear and present danger to the US economy"</I> a report from the
Dallas Federal Reserve stated last month.<BR><BR><BR>The Dodd-Frank
legislation was supposed to curb the power of the largest financial
institutions, prevent fiurther consolidation and impose capital requirements
on banks as well as increase the government's powers to take over any large
financial institution facing failure. The banks are boasting that the
increase in assets and improved balance sheets are proof that they are
stronger now and could weather the next storm so public finds won't
have to rescue capitalism from the edge of the abyss as we did this time. In
accordance with Dodd-Frank, the banks are supposed to come up with their
plans for preventing a meltdown like 2007 by July of this year.<BR><BR>But
BW reports that the ratings agencies are not convinced and that the state
will step in again with poublic fiunds to rescue any one of these behemoths
that lookls like its going under. The state is, as Marx pointed
out, the executive committee for the capitalist class as a whole and will
not allow the system to collapse. No ruling elite commits class
suicide.<BR><BR>Some, including right wing workers and small business types
who suffer under the weight of the giant corporations argue that the only
solution is to break up the big banks but capitalism inherently drives to
monopoly. Bigger is better, more powerful, more aggressive. The big
fish always eats the little fish in their world no matter how much
legislation is passed. <BR><BR>If the crisis is acute enough the state
will nationalize the banks. They tend to use the term
<I>"conservatorship"</I> here in the US as it sounds less socialistic.
It is in the cards that there will be further crisis in this sector and the
economy as a whole. The US banking and financial system is not immune
from the EU's sovereign debt crisis which continues to worsen. But for
some, the crisis is a great opportunity just like 911 was for the defense
industry.<BR><BR></DIV>
<DIV class=post-footer>
<DIV
class="post-footer-line
post-footer-line-1"><SPAN
class="post-author vcard">Posted by <SPAN class=fn><A title="author profile"
href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/00997976754939725087" rel=author
moz-do-not-send="true" itemprop="author">Richard Mellor
</A></SPAN></SPAN><SPAN class=post-timestamp>at <A class=timestamp-link
title="permanent link"
href="http://weknowwhatsup.blogspot.com/2012/04/five-us-banks-hold-56-of-us-economy.html"
rel=bookmark moz-do-not-send="true" itemprop="url"><ABBR class=published
title=2012-04-20T13:29:00-07:00 itemprop="datePublished">1:29 PM</ABBR></A>
</SPAN></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></FONT></DIV><BR>
<FIELDSET class=mimeAttachmentHeader></FIELDSET> <BR><PRE wrap="">_______________________________________________
Peace-discuss mailing list
<A class=moz-txt-link-abbreviated href="mailto:Peace-discuss@lists.chambana.net">Peace-discuss@lists.chambana.net</A>
<A class=moz-txt-link-freetext href="http://lists.chambana.net/mailman/listinfo/peace-discuss">http://lists.chambana.net/mailman/listinfo/peace-discuss</A>
</PRE></BLOCKQUOTE>
<P>
<HR>
<P></P>_______________________________________________<BR>Peace-discuss
mailing
list<BR>Peace-discuss@lists.chambana.net<BR>http://lists.chambana.net/mailman/listinfo/peace-discuss<BR></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>