Everyone's favorite liberal, Maxine Waters, is a (bad) quote machine. She lived up to her reputation once again in a recent rant lashing out at 'gangsta' bankers. The real shocking part of this story is - did Glenn Beck actually agree with Waters?
Waters told an audience, “It's time for the bully pulpit of the White House to bring the gangsters (aka the banks) in, put them around the table, and let them know that if they don't come up with loan modifications and keep people in their homes, that they've worked so hard for, we're going to tax them out of business.”
“Are banks gangsters? Yeah, I think they are,” Glenn said to the surprise of Pat and Stu.
“There's another generalization, though, and another stereotype that you just can't blanket like that. It's a blanket statement,” Pat argued.
Glenn suggested that, as an organization, Bank of America was a “gangster”, but was quick to point out he didn’t mean all the employees. “ I wouldn't say that about all the people that work in Bank of America.”
“I feel like it's so easy to just sit back and say the banks are a bunch of gangsters. I mean, the vast majority of the transactions these people do are solid and they're willing on both sides, including a lot of those mortgages where people who apparently worked so hard to get a zero % down mortgage for a house they couldn't afford,” Stu said.
“I hate to be dog piling on the bank, but, I mean, let's be fair here. There are people on both sides of the issue. The banks aren't loaning the money. They're not loaning the money. They're sitting on the piles of cash. Now, they're doing it because of some of the policies of the President. They're doing it also because they're a business and they know that the economy is in trouble, but the ones that are really doing the right thing, I think, the ones that are doing the right thing are the local banks, the small banks. They're really trying and the Federal Government is coming down on them like a box of rocks, where you've got these big huge five top banks and I know this isn't a bank, but I put Goldman Sachs into this. I think Goldman Sachs is in this web,” Glenn argued.
“Here they are. I mean, they have all the control, they have all the people, all in the right places, not that Goldman Sachs hasn't done some good things, but, please, please, you're in bed with gangsters. How are you not a gangster?” Glenn said.
“But you and I have known and know people involved in Goldman Sachs,” Pat said. “They're not out to screw anybody. They're not out to take anybody's house. They're not out to force somebody who makes $20,000 into a $10 million home. They're not trying to do that.”
“But they're in bed with gangsters,” Glenn said, “and I'm sorry if you're doing business with gangsters, there's somebody on your payroll that's a gangster themselves.”
After a break, Glenn returned to the topic.
“What Maxine Waters now is doing is setting the table for, please, please, just seize control and help the American people. It's extraordinarily dangerous. But she brings up the point of the gangster banks. I have to tell you, I think there are gangsters in our big businesses and our big banks. There are gangsters because they're gangsters in government and when you're in bed with a gangster, I'm sorry, but you are a gangster. You may not be a mob member, but if I'm doing business with the mob and turning a blind eye, I'm sorry, you might as well be one.”
“I'm not anti-corporation, but I think we have come up with a system of thuggery and gangsterism,” he continued. “
Stu, however, felt that the same people putting pressure on the banks to make predatory loans are the same ones telling people to walk away form their loans.
“Think about the process. Banks are forced and encouraged to give loans to people who can't afford them by the government and pressure groups. Banks are being accused of targeting the poor and -- so, then all these people get these loans and they default on them appeared, yet, who gets blamed for that? The banks,” Stu said.
“Then these same pressure groups come out and they say, Walk away from the loans, just walk away, drop off your keys so the banks get screwed on those loans. Then it's -- you know, again, they've got to deal with people walking away. Banks have to deal with that somehow. So, they tighten up their lending restrictions. So, what happens, government and pressure groups again say they're targeting the poor and sitting on their own all over again and the entire circle runs around and runs around and runs around and when did this end?”
“ It's too late for the banks because they compromised themselves all of the away long. You get what you deserve. You made your bed. Now sleep in it,” Glenn said.
“ I'm saying the structure in the system is distorted and bad. It needs to reset. Let them go out of business. Let people do what they are supposed to do. If you took out a loan, you're responsible for the loan. You've got to pay off the loan.”
Glenn also said that the banks, even though many were bullied into predatory lending, went along with thinking it would pass. “ We're talking about being bullied into it and being bullied into supporting these things. All of these companies, they all said, Well, do you know what? It's better to play along. It's better to get along. It will pass. It will pass. It will pass. Just do this and it won't work. The framework was helped to be built by these banks. They helped.”
