Probably the funniest idea in circulation is Lloyd Blankfein's recent quote:
In January, Sanders was asked by Bloomberg Politics to list an example of corporate greed, and he listed Blankfein.
“I don’t take it personally since we never met," Blankfein responded.
But he added that Sanders' attacks on the "billionaire class" and bankers could be dangerous.
“It has the potential to personalize it, it has the potential to be a dangerous moment. Not just for Wall Street not just for the people who are particularly targeted but for anybody who is a little bit out of line,” Blankfein said. “It’s a liability to say I’m going to compromise I’m going to get one millimeter off the extreme position I have and if you do you have to back track and swear to people that you’ll never compromise. It’s just incredible. It’s a moment in history.”
Now, if you hate Wall Street, you probably concluded 'Lloyd Blankfein's terrified of Bernie Sanders! We're about to take him down!'
Heh.
But on Wall Street, what was heard was 'Blankfein's going to give Sanders the cold shoulder if he wins.'
Know why? Because if Sanders were to actually win the White House, and actually sit down for a thorough briefing from whomever he chooses as his economic advisors, those people are going to inevitably have to tell him the words he will not want to hear: 'We need help from Wall Street.'
Lloyd Blankfein can make make money anywhere in the world. That's how fast money moves these days. Faster than any act of Congress being enacted, for sure. Faster than any court case. Blankfein is far more worried about his competition or electricity blackouts than he is Bernie Sanders.
Blankfein also knows this rather ugly truth: a President Sanders is going to need him a whole lot more than the other way around. The election of Sanders wont change the reality of the global economy, financialization of output, or the necessity of growth fueled by consumption backed by credit. Hell, guess who was the largets broker of government bonds (which keep the government open) the Treasury sold last year? You guessed it. Wall Street. Buyer? The Federal Reserve.
You guys heard fear, but I heard a heavily veiled threat.
(You conspiracy theorists should look up the Treasury Borrowing Advisory Committee - its evil! They even publish the minutes!)
Now I don't think this is a healthy state of affairs. I'd rather have a government that didn't need Wall Street to stay solvent. Which is why I'm all for budget surpluses fueled by robust economic growth and high taxes.
Which brings me to my real point in this diary. Our candidates are trying to out hate wall street each other. Ok, fine. Laws are passed, bankers are hunted down and arrested or given the death penalty, kicked out of the Treasury, the Federal Reserve is nationalized, and the whole shadowy system moves to London. Success, we've gotten rid of them. What do we do to get growth going and incomes rising?
Neither of our candidates is talking about industrial policy, economic growth, or how we get the private sector to begin creating real wealth in the real economy. If we solve that problem, we will have gone a long way towards doing something that actually benefits the average person. Arresting Lloyd Blankfein might make some folks feel good. But it won't put any money in your pocket. And as Blankfein's probably guessing, even that probably isn't going to happen.