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Thom's blog
Banksters Get Help But Not Homeowners?! Are We Crazy?
It's time to start helping the people, and stop helping Wall Street. According to an agreement announced earlier today, big bank Citigroup will pay $7 billion to settle a Department of Justice investigation into that bank's involvement with risky subprime mortgages. The agreement stems from Citigroup's role in the trading of subprime mortgage securities, which helped to cause the 2007 financial collapse and Great Recession.
Of the $7 billion total settlement, $4 billion will be in the form of a civil monetary payment to the Department of Justice, $500 million will go to state attorney's general and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and an additional $2.5 billion will go towards "consumer relief." But make no mistake about it. This agreement is another win for the big banks.
Under the agreement, Citigroup will most likely get a $500 million tax write-off. And in pre-market trading on Monday, Citigroup stocks rose by nearly 4%, despite the $7 billion agreement. This is nothing more than a slap on the wrist for Citigroup; basically a cost of doing business. And as for the mere $2.5 billion in consumer relief, while it will be going towards loan modifications, principal reduction and refinancing for distressed homeowners, it's nowhere near enough. And there are no guarantees it will make its way into the hands of the people Citigroup victimized, either.
If the Department of Justice was serious about holding Citigroup accountable for its actions, and helping the American people and economy recover from the Great Recession, then it would be taking a heck of a lot more than $7 billion, and giving that money directly to the American people. It would be helping out American homeowners, instead of continuing to protect the big banks. After all, it's consumers buying things like houses who drive demand and grow the economy. Not the big banks on Wall Street.
-Thom
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Tonight on The Big Picture on RT TV at 7pm and 10pm... Throw the banksters in jail! (check your local listings for stations or stream at RT or Free Speech TV, and catch past shows on Youtube)
Have a question or comment for Thom? Grab your phone, hit record and send your video to YourTakeMyTake@gmail.com and we may air it on "The Big Picture."
Need to Know: Throw the banksters in jail!- America's Lawyer Mike Papantonio, Ring of Fire Radio 
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Daily Take: Banksters Get Help But Not Homeowners?! Are We Crazy?
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Monday's Daily Stack 
Hour Two: The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster is Right Again!!
Hour Three: Did Holder Really Go After Big Banks- America's Lawyer Mike Papantonio, Ring of Fire Radio Science News |
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Tuesday on The Thom Hartmann Program, 12-3pm ET
Thom will be talking with Alexander Zaitchik of Rolling Stone Magazine, Media Matters for America and The American Independent Institute about how the Media should give no credibility to gun nuts...
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Are multi-billion dollar fines enough to punish the banksters?
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Watch & Listen to Thom
Conversations with Great Minds - Gareth Porter - War with Iran inevitable?
Conversations with Great Minds - Gareth Porter - The Iranian "manufactured crisis"
Or watch the Full "Big Picture" Show...
Full Show 7/11/14: The Untold Story of the Iran Nuclear Scare
For tonight's Conversations With Great Minds - I'm joined by one of America's leading investigative journalists. The winner of the 2012 Martha Gellhorn Prize for Journalism - Gareth Porter is known for reporting that cuts through mainstream narratives and tells largely unknown truths about American foreign policy. A Vietnam specialist by training with a Phd in Southeast Asian studies - he worked as the Saigon Bureau Chief for Dispatch News Service during the height of the Vietnam War and later served as the co-director of the Indochina Resource Center right here in D.C. Since 2006 - Gareth has been hard at work uncovering the true story behind the US-Iranian nuclear standoff - which he has written about in his fascinating new book - "Manufactured Crisis: The Untold Story of the Iran Nuclear Scare."
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Thom and Louise Hartmann founded the New England Salem Children's Village (NESCV) in New Hampshire in 1979. With states delaying payment for the children they entrust to the village, they need help with cash flow. Can you help? Now on Facebook. |
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