Suze Orman To Bush: "You Owe The American People Every Penny Of Your Fortune And Your Family's Fortune"

In a long profile by WWD's Jacob Bernstein, Suze Orman sounds off on George Bush and blames the ex-president for the financial crisis (near the bottom of the first page):

Sitting in a green room after her TV interviews, she lambasts everyone from Alan Greenspan to Larry Summers to the former president of the United States, who holds an especially dark place in her heart. "Commander in Chief?" she says of George W. Bush, with a mix of disbelief and scorn. "You blew up every single financial vessel we had and if you think you aren't personally responsible, well, the blame starts at the top. There is no higher top than you, SIR! If I were you, I would feel so absolutely horrific that I would take every penny I had and distribute it to anybody and everybody to help them in whatever way I could. You owe the American people every penny of your fortune and your family's fortune."

Orman also calls being impersonated by SNL's Kristen Wiig the “greatest honor of my career" and that often during her show she is forced to stop and think, "Ugh. I’m playing Kristen Wiig."

Read the full profile here at WWD.com.

Watch Kristen Wiig impersonate Suze Orman below:

Comments

[haveitoldyoulately]

You Go SUZE

Maybe with the state of the economy, we could use TWO Secretary's of the Treasury

It's just to huge for one person

[cutesky]

Your're right Suze!!! Tell the bum where to go!!!!

[unionave]

I want to join the Suze Orman fan club . Where do I sign up ?

[Tiggy]

I will second and third that!

[lillibelle]

Caveat Emptor! Just be prepared to lose your savings.

[p1pablo]

She's all about personal responsibi­lity...
From the article: “How do you call a market when the people that are running the banks and the brokerage firms are lying to you through their teeth?” Orman says. “How do you call anything? I was naïve enough that I just believed them all." Ok. So all our economic woes are GWB's fault and her inability to see what was happening was the fault of Wall Street. Suze and Cramer need to do a show together.

[mataliandy]

The difference is Cramer ran a hedge fund and described how he used to manipulate the markets by intentionally feeding false information through CNBC commentators to force stocks to move one way or another so he could maximize the spread.

Orman, on the other hand, simply relied on information that was being told to her without knowing how the underlying game worked.

The upshot: Cramer knew he was being lied to and spread the lies anyway. Orman didn't.

[darker]

IN THE WHITE HOUSE Dickie & Georgie DEREGULATED everybody and everything
in business and finance. THAT"S WHO screwed us all.

[RedDotMA]

Honestly, are we really to believe that one man is responsible for this mess? This began in the 90's (Clinton), continued in the 2000's (Bush), and if we can't be honest with ourselves and assign a good amount of blame to Frank, Dodd, et all who turned a repeated blind eye to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, then we are not being honest with ourselves. I'm not saying Bush et al shouldn't be held accountable, but let's be serious. Change, as I understood it, meant getting away from the mindless Bush-bashing of the past 8 years, so let's live up to that. After all, if Clinton presided over XX months of growth, so did Bush (in other words, if one deserves scrutiny, then both deserve scrutiny).

If you want to advocate for Capitalism as a failed doctrine, then have the courage. Otherwise understand and acknowledge that this is a complex economy, and the fall guy isn't Bush, it isn't Cheney, and it isn't the mythical Wall Streety boogieman. It's cyclical and it's been brewing for a while. There's plenty of blame to go around. If we all really want change, then let's stop looking in the rear view mirror and start having an honest discussion about how to improve things. Let's stop being hostile to one another, and start respecting disparate points of view. Let's analyze the problems, and react, rather than past populist bills without actually reading them Capitalism will prevail, just give it a chance.

[lynettema]

GW himself demanded that Fannie and Freddie increase the percentage of subprime loans they purchased. This was part of his belief in an "ownership society." This also garnered big profits for the financial services business. You Republicans may want to forget what GW did, but the rest of us will not.

[Greyghost1]

Everybody who voted for Bush should pay up too.

[darker]

EVERYONE WHO VOTED FOR BUSH-CHENEY
SHOULD PAY
DOUBLE!!

[mataliandy]

Bush bashing wasn't all mindless. The frenzy of deregulation during his administration did a boatload of damage, and the money wasted in Iraq only made it worse. Yes, there was additional deregulation under Clinton, so he shares a chunk, too, but so do Bush I and Reagan.

[weatherwaxx]

No. Actually, it began with the deregulation under Reagan, and continued under Bush 1, leaving a national debt 4X what was there when Reagan took office.

Clinton got the economy at least going in the right direction - remember the budget surplus that Bush poured down the rat-hole in Iraq after falsifying information?

Do your homework. The country has done better under Democratic administrations.

Capitalism has huge problems. So does Socialism. What we need is a system that rewards initiative but has social safety nets. Capitalism as practiced -- the biggest crook takes all and to hell with everyone else -- is a social dead end.

[nylibgrrl]

You're not saying that Bush shouldn't be held accountable for his actions, yet you dismiss any criticism of said actions as "mindless Bush-bashing" and urge us to move away from it. The last sentence has been the mantra of the deregulationists from the get-go. These statements, along with the "populist bills" comment ,in support of your phony plea for bipartisanism confirm which side you're really on.

Capitalism may not have failed entirely, but the radical, near-anarchic form it had taken in this country certainly has.

[LynnW49]

Go, Suze!

[monicaangela]

You're right Suzy, the entire Bush family, including daddy bush and anything left over from grand daddy Bush should be turned over to the American public, the entire family has been nothing but a blight on the country since their arrival.

[berkawoo]

The Bush Family are no different from a New York City crime family. Its "our thing" and make no apologies for it. They have a nefarious remorseless mindset that is the fiber of their being.

[ptgkc]

Right on, Suze!

I hope you can convince some of your co-workers at CNBC to listen to your views. If not, at least maybe they can put some reporters on that balance all the other pro-Republican, anti-tax, union busting talking heads.

[Alaskan1970]

Great Going Suze. Talk louder. Maybe a few will begin to see the truth for what and where ithe mess belongs.

[wwwtips]

Suze Orman, thank you to remain the American people about how the Bushes and his followers had destroyed the finance and economy of your country.

[manyamile]

sorry i am such a ditto here
but
you go
suze!

[CommonSenseMom]

YES! Slam Dunk!!! Rock on Suze!

[yorkie]

SHE MAY THE NEW E.F. HUTTON,,,WHEN SHE TALKS WE LISTEN!!! HOPE SHE KEEPS SPEAKING HER MIND ON HER SHOWS ETC...

[vandegrasse]

I hate my own walls now because of Wall Street! You should see them all splattered with cream pies and pizzas! God!

[vandegrasse]

Way to way go Suze!