Working Life

I’ve spent a fair amount of time recently on the very bad deal made by New York and Virginia with Amazon to lure the company to build its new headquarters in those two states. Amazon is an important story because of the power it exercises over our economy—a power that grows every day. This week, […]

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I like a good sense of humor as much as anyone. So, I tip my hat to the people over at Standard and Poor’s — especially the legal department — for giving me a chance to just have a good ‘ole belly laugh. You see, all that stuff about S&P’s culpability in the mortgage scam that robbed millions of people of their jobs and savings is just made-up, and, to boot, the lawsuit filed by the Justice Department is “political retribution.” Seriously. Now, c’mon, did you laugh or not?

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One of the great myths that created the seeds of the financial crisis was that the ratings agencies–Standard and Poor and Moody’s–where “independent”. What a crock–the ratings agencies gave positive ratings to the crummy debt securities that were at the heart of what led to millions of people losing their jobs and they have been the water boys for the financial elite who peddled this crap. Now, we have a conviction of S&P: Guilty in a court of law.

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Among the myths promoted by the traditional press–myths that hurt the entire country–is the “independence” of the ratings agencies. And that myth was one of the underpinnings of the financial crisis–the ratings agencies gave positive ratings to the crummy debt securities that were at the heart of what led to millions of people losing their […]

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I’ve been mystified for a while at the continued willingness to listen to anything that comes out of the mouths of the people at Standard & Poors. The Justice Department is investigating S&P and these fools had a deep role in creating the financial crisis–yet when this discredited group of bozos downgrades the U.S., everyone […]

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   Over the past few months, I’ve written a number of pieces about the ludicrous spectacle of anyone taking Standard and Poor’s and Moody’s seriously anymore. When S&P downgraded the U.S. rating, it underscored how entirely corrupt the system has become.     Joy and celebration: maybe S&P even broke the law.  The investigation is […]

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   This is a bit late and dumb: The Senate Banking Committee has started gathering information for what could become a hearing on the ratings agency Standard & Poor’s, a committee aide said Monday.    I mean, c’mon. As I wrote yesterday, S&P is a tiny cog in the corrupt economic system. You want to […]

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