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Yellen earned millions in speaking fees from Wall St, tech firms (2021)
91–100 of 132 posts
Re: Yellen earned millions in speaking fees from Wall St, tech firms (2021)
#92Earlier quoted context omitted.
Asking a question, not starting an argument. Is Trump the only President that didn't land in a pool full of cash when he left office and actually "lost" money / wealth while in office ?
Trump has been grifting his fans before, during, and after his Presidency. Trump forced the government to spend money on his personal businesses during his Presidency. Trump has been getting bribes before, during, and after his Presidency.
> Trump has been grifting his fans before, during, and after his Presidency.
We've seen politicians grift their supporters before. Looks at AOC and her 95$ _tax the rich hoodie_. I just find it hard to believe he has that many supporters with that deep of pockets to keep him flush. As far as statistics are concerned Trump's base is the poorest amongst current and previous Presidents.
> Trump forced the government to spend money on his personal businesses during his Presidency.
Right the golf trips.
> Trump has been getting bribes before, during, and after his Presidency.
That's just like business man, I suppose we can throw in tax avoidance in there too.
Re: Yellen earned millions in speaking fees from Wall St, tech firms (2021)
#93That many people find this acceptable is disconcerting. We have a revolving door system whereby the top regulator knows they will get a nice payout by the regulated after their days of regulating end. Clinton’s Secretary of Treasury got a very high paying job after his repeal of Glass-Steagall and the Clinton’s themselves were richly rewarded by Wall Street. Therein lies one of the curses of wealth inequality. Humans…
It's not so much that people find it discerning, is that there are only two parties in America. Because one person brings up that she made millions, means that another person will defend her because of their political ideology and party choice.
Bad behavior of politicians on both sides of the aisle should be deployed, but one person's corrupt politician is another persons freedom fighter.
Re: Yellen earned millions in speaking fees from Wall St, tech firms (2021)
#94Earlier quoted context omitted.
When the system massively incentivizes personal failures, that is also a failure of a system
The system always has and always will massively incentivize personal failures. That's why humans invented the concept of a "good person" -- it describes one who actively swims against the omnipresent tide. It's why people used to speak about "character" in politics. The tacit assumption is that once you're in power you are, by definition, unrestrained by external forces. The only one left who can restrain you is your…
> The tacit assumption is that once you're in power you are, by definition, unrestrained by external forces. The only one left who can restrain you is yourself.
I don’t understand. This is not some truth of all justice systems. It isn’t the case even in the US, except for a few limited cases.
There are a lot of parts of our system that incentivize being a good person, so I don’t know what you’re on about here.
Re: Yellen earned millions in speaking fees from Wall St, tech firms (2021)
#95That many people find this acceptable is disconcerting. We have a revolving door system whereby the top regulator knows they will get a nice payout by the regulated after their days of regulating end. Clinton’s Secretary of Treasury got a very high paying job after his repeal of Glass-Steagall and the Clinton’s themselves were richly rewarded by Wall Street. Therein lies one of the curses of wealth inequality. Humans…
No, it's a personal failing. Janet Yellen could have told them to fly a kite.
Yes. It is also a systemic failure. Wealth inequality tempts too many people in the penumbra of human morality that lies between those who are saints and those who are evil.
Re: Yellen earned millions in speaking fees from Wall St, tech firms (2021)
#96That many people find this acceptable is disconcerting. We have a revolving door system whereby the top regulator knows they will get a nice payout by the regulated after their days of regulating end. Clinton’s Secretary of Treasury got a very high paying job after his repeal of Glass-Steagall and the Clinton’s themselves were richly rewarded by Wall Street. Therein lies one of the curses of wealth inequality. Humans…
That is all true. But who wants to be a politician when they are public figures that are beaten, accused, humiliated by opponents, the public, and everyone really. You cannot do it right and most people will probably hate you, regardless of what you do. It's not a pleasant job. Unless you get money for all of this unpleasantness. And then, some entities have more money to give than others (you said that in your last…
I have no idea why you were downvoted for this comment. The change, in my opinion ought to include a cap on wealth and enough pay for politicians that they can govern while living in a very comfortable lifestyle. Present day pay ought to be sufficiently high that all but the very greedy don't look longingly for a payout in the future.
Re: Yellen earned millions in speaking fees from Wall St, tech firms (2021)
#97Earlier quoted context omitted.
When the system massively incentivizes personal failures, that is also a failure of a system
The system always has and always will massively incentivize personal failures. That's why humans invented the concept of a "good person" -- it describes one who actively swims against the omnipresent tide. It's why people used to speak about "character" in politics. The tacit assumption is that once you're in power you are, by definition, unrestrained by external forces. The only one left who can restrain you is your…
I don't understand this take.
What if Yellen's intention was to get a nice payout? What if, instead of a good actor making a bad choice you simply have a bad actor that is engineering their way into positions that would later benefit them through book deals?
If you can elaborate on what "get money out of politics" means and how it can prevent book deals after the fact, I'm genuinely curious.
I think building a more robust system that doesn't put the onus solely on actors within the system to be good and can be self-correcting and actually address the revolving door issue instead of just telling people to vote for good policy makers.
Re: Yellen earned millions in speaking fees from Wall St, tech firms (2021)
#98That many people find this acceptable is disconcerting. We have a revolving door system whereby the top regulator knows they will get a nice payout by the regulated after their days of regulating end. Clinton’s Secretary of Treasury got a very high paying job after his repeal of Glass-Steagall and the Clinton’s themselves were richly rewarded by Wall Street. Therein lies one of the curses of wealth inequality. Humans…
It's not so much that people find it discerning, is that there are only two parties in America. Because one person brings up that she made millions, means that another person will defend her because of their political ideology and party choice. Bad behavior of politicians on both sides of the aisle should be deployed, but one person's corrupt politician is another persons freedom fighter.
Yes, the disconcerting thing is really the inability of too many voters to be consistent in their beliefs/views. Defense of "my" candidate takes precedence over applying, in a consistent way, one's moral beliefs. We have people who decry Trump's sexual deviancy whilst defending Bill Clinton's. Vice versa.
Re: Yellen earned millions in speaking fees from Wall St, tech firms (2021)
#99Earlier quoted context omitted.
Trump has been grifting his fans before, during, and after his Presidency. Trump forced the government to spend money on his personal businesses during his Presidency. Trump has been getting bribes before, during, and after his Presidency.
> Trump has been grifting his fans before, during, and after his Presidency. We've seen politicians grift their supporters before. Looks at AOC and her 95$ _tax the rich hoodie_. I just find it hard to believe he has that many supporters with that deep of pockets to keep him flush. As far as statistics are concerned Trump's base is the poorest amongst current and previous Presidents. > Trump forced the government to…
If you think AOC and Trump's level of corruption are even within one order of magnitude of each other then you need to seriously question how you evaluate the information you are receiving. Trump is orders of magnitude more self-serving, greedy, full of avarice, corrupt, and debased than any other politician in the U.S. right now.
Trump's son-in-law made billions during Trump's Presidency. Trump forced the Secret Service to stay at his hotels while he traveled and charged exorbitant prices. The list of examples goes on. There is nothing remotely comparable about AOC and Trump when it comes to corruption.
Re: Yellen earned millions in speaking fees from Wall St, tech firms (2021)
#100Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yellen is center-right, not left.
No way. Maybe at one time, but her comments in recent years put her way out of that category.
The U.S. has moved so far to the right the last 50 years that it has distorted the electorate's idea of what 'centrist' means. Regan believed the tax on capital ought to the higher than the tax on labor. Bush Sr. supported cap and trade when it came to acid rain. The EPA came about during Nixon's Presidency.