Robert Rubin, Robber Baron (Liar?)--A Threat To The People And The Democratic Party

[marmar]

from the Working Life blog:




Robert Rubin, Robber Baron (Liar?)--A Threat To The People And The Democratic Party

by Jonathan Tasini
Monday 07 of March, 2011


Forget the criminals on Wall Street. What is more telling, troubling and almost bizarre is how quickly the chattering classes and political power brokers have shaken off the stain of the financial crisis, inviting back to center stage some of the very people responsible for destroying trillions of dollars in wealth and costing millions of people their jobs. To explain, let's look at the re-emergence of Robert Rubin as Democratic Party economic sage. Strap yourself in, folks, because this takes a little explanation.

Why even care about Robert Rubin? Robert Rubin was at the center of creating the world that spawned the collapse of the financial system, and, in the process, he acquired a personal fortune for himself. His whole persona and ego were wrapped up in his role as a major "fixer": a Wall Street Democrat who could be an emissary to all corners of the political and economic world. He was, along with his political patron, Bill Clinton, seen as the architect of the economic "good years" in the 1990s.

He has now spent the past 2-3 years, evading his responsibility for the financial crisis, (mainly, in his role at Citigroup) by blaming others and, then, dropping below the radar screen. And it could be said, after reading his sworn testimony before the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, that he outright lied; if not lies of an indictable nature, then, certainly he had a convenient loss of memory and recollection. I'll come back to the Commission report in a moment.

......(snip)......

At best, he bungled his role at Citigroup, or, at best, was asleep at the wheel while collecting millions of dollars in compensation--so it just defies logic that anyone would turn to him for advice on how to run anything. ..........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.workinglife.org/blogs/view_post.php?content_id=15122