Thisfascinating, scandalous quote in Kos's front-page entry got me thinking:
So the money is just being shuffled from one Federal bank account to another, with each Wall Street bank skimming off $1 billion per month for itself? "Pretty much."
Why not buy us some treasuries, skim our money off the top, then donate the money to progressive candidates, maybe people like Alan Graysonwho want to hold Wall St and The Fed accountable?
I'm not a finance person, but there have to be some finance people on Kos. How would we go about this? If we, as a humble citizen-collective are not allowed to partake in such financial sustenance, does that not provoke a lawsuit of some type? More in extended...
So the idea is we find a qualified/liscensed/bonded/fully tattooed, whatever it takes, Kossack who works in the field and can set this up.
- We set up a fundraiser (our collateral), with the idea that we will take the proceeds, however much, and apply for one of them thar 0% interest loans.
- We'll then turn the money around by using it to buy treasuries.
- We'll sell them back to the govt for a cool 2% profit, all of which we'll donate to a progressive candidate/cause of our choice.
BUT WAIT... you say...
You, as a humble citizen, do not have access to borrow money for 0% interest, because you are not a bank, nor can you realistically and without severe criminal penalty (funny how that only effects us) PRETEND to be a bank..
So... sorry, you cannot do this.
Likewise, I'm not a lawyer, but I'm a-thinkin' that directly turning said ill-gotten federal gains over to a Congressional Campaign is a non-starter with the FEC. Ya see, you have to wrap the money up and launder it so its not so directly obvious, 'cause that would be bribery.
So for the record:
Banks are allowed to borrow OUR money (as Republicans like to say) for nothing, turn the money around, and get even more of OUR money? You betcha.
I, for one, tip my hat. I thought derivatives were a slick idea. I thought taking out 6x the amount of insurance on junk mortgages was just dandy. But, damn, this is so simple its genius.
I have a thought:
Why not just endorse our paychecks over to a bank of our choice, and agree to serve at the whim of our new financially connected overlords?
Talk about your money for nothin'...