Rick Santelli may be the greatest spokesman for American socialism since Eugene V. Debs came down the pike.
He's now minimizing on the AIG bonuses, and once again (like every analysis made by CNBC) misses the larger picture. He is doing a pretty good job of making the case for the cause opposite his point of view.
Outspoken CNBC Chicago floor reporter questions populist, political outrage over $165 million bonus paid to bailed out executives
Since his now-famous Chicago Tea Party outburst from the floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange in February, CNBC’s Rick Santelli had seemingly disappeared from the spotlight.
However, on CNBC’s March 17 "Squawk Box," Santelli, using similar theatrics, noted that the Obama administration as been very concerned about $165 million in bonuses paid out to American International Group (AIG) executives, even though they were recipients of bailout money from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP).
...
"Now think about it this way – maybe I’m missing something, but the outrage seems to be about ‘M’s – millions of dollars, right? Hundred and sixty five dollars, OK?" Santelli said, as he drew a large capital "M" on a sheet of paper. "I would think that it should be looked at as a pretty big positive because when you go from the ‘M,’ maybe you should try to go to the ‘B’s – which is the billions of dollars. And maybe that’s going to even enlighten for the ‘T’ – trillions of dollars."
...
Rick is doing great, even though he is a complete douchenozzle. I think he should continue down this path in order to get previously apolitical folks who aren't real attuned to these sorts of economic discussions to really consider - for the first time - the proper relationship of capital to business in our economy. Its true worth, its rate of return.
The vig thats due for the investment.
After all, finance isn't an end in and unto itself, it is a means to an end, and once people realize that once more, they can break the stranglehold of the finance geniuses who got us here.
This is where the Santelli rants come in handy. Every time Rick opens his mouth, he makes a case for regulation and control, driving people away from unfettered corporatism.
Thanks, Rick!