Dylan Ratigan Dresses As Thomas Jefferson, Warns Against "Gambling Casinos" (VIDEO)

On MSNBC's Morning Meeting on Friday, host Dylan Ratigan celebrated Halloween by donning a wig and dressing in revolutionary garb like his favorite Founding Father, Thomas Jefferson, channeling the former president's trenchant criticism of big banks.

Ratigan pointed out that Jefferson was the first and most vocal opponent of Alexander Hamilton's proposal for a federal bank. Jefferson's greatest fear, Ratigan announced in comparison to our current economic crisis, was a "bank takeover of the government that would leave taxpayers as slaves to bank-run gambling casinos." Quoting Jefferson directly, Ratigan said, "the banking establishments are more dangerous than standing armies."

Around Ratigan's neck hung a large padlock with TBTF written on it, signifying the government's complicity in the "too big to fail" doctrine. The popular (and controversial) finance blog Zero Hedge alleged on Thursday evening that the Obama administration is seeking to turn TBTF into official canonized law and the blog attempted to quantify the TBTF subsidies by the government.

From Zero Hedge:

In essence it guarantees that the massive mega banks like Goldman Sachs, BofA, and JPM will take on so much disproportionate risk the next time around (and with a moral-hazard encouraging Federal Reserve as risk regulator virtually guarantees their implosion) that not only will they blow up spectacularly once again, but that their bailout next time around will surely force America, already strapped with trillions of new upcoming debt courtesy of stimulus after stimulus, into sovereign insolvency.

The article cites an analysis by the Center For Economic and Policy Research as proof that government contributions to big banks amount to nearly 50 percent of bank profits. The article concludes, "as profits are a function almost exclusively of banker [compensation] as the only substantial banking overhead (consisting of base and bonus), the sad conclusion is that the government directly is funding at least half the bonus pool for all the TBTF institutions."

See the video of Ratigan as Jefferson below:

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Comments

[Okie-spin]

One of the easier acquisitions in business is a bank charter and also the best way to rob a bank is to control a bank.

There is no risk book or derivative position(s) that cannot be identified into categories or layers of common risk. JP/BOA/ML/­AIG/Citigr­oup/Goldma­n Sachs etc. (“the group of 20”) need to be held accountable. They failed and were not forced to declare bankruptcy and did not pay venture capital rates for the money borrowed from taxpayers. Now the banks that repaid the TARP loan are laughing at the taxpayer and doing the very same thing they did before.

We need to “split the baby” i.e., parcel the layers of common risk in the risk books owned by the group of 20 and transfer the management to other new and existing banking institutions. Any risk conditions that cannot be traded openly should be retained by the idiots that created them. If they cannot figure it out, let them declare bankruptcy.

This is what would be done to avoid a market disruption if the trades were transparent and traded initially on the open exchanges. This is the only way the group of 20 will be held accountable. Taxpayers received no upside, why should we only finance the downside?

This solution creates more jobs run by people we can trust, keeps banks at a controllable size as accomplished by our Canadian and European business cultures, and presents a consequence for business failure.

[josephXY]

Substantially supporting Ratigan, what he is saying, is implicitly the famous video with Peter
Schiff and a lot of other financial experts, forecasting, commenting, advising a while back ago.
They have extremely points of views and forecast accordingly. Some of them are really the worst
pundits who ever made on to TV.
The viewer knows in that case instantly how things worked out. And, by coincidence, giving
real substance to what Ratigan is saying. No waste of time:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2I0QN-FYkpw

[rubinoff]

Headline is misleading­,...it's Not about Casinos, but 'banks being run like Casinos.' and yes, slavesRwe.

[ReedYoung]

It's not misleading, the quote marks indicate that "Gambling Casinos" are an analogy to something else, and anybody who is familiar with Ratigan knows that he will be comparing high finance to casinos, and doing so unfavorably for high finance. Real, honest gamblers only lose their own money. In high finance, Bernanke, Paulson and Geithner have empowered them to lose my money and every other taxpayer's money. That is theft, pure and simple.

[mikesw]

I couldn't even bring myself to watch the segment. I couldn't imagine a whole show...

[dagnew]

You're missing a good and insightful program. Dylan tells it like it REALLY is.

[SiberianRat]

He's a bit loud and obnoxious at times, but I like his show. He's quite smart and insightful for his age (only 37) and he does get to the root of things quite effectively.

[weatherwaxx]

Ye gods.

[tgh86]

This is why I don't watch TV. Cable news has gone completely off the rails. I guess this guy is supposed to be the liberal Glen Beck right? Enough with the histrionics. At least the President is keeping a cool head.

[JamesinDentonTX]

Actually this would be the first time I have ever seen anything like this from Ratigan, I can only imagine he did it for halloween. Ratigan is no lefty either.

[jerrypl]

Darn right Dylan!!!! The banks are bankrupting the nation by draining the available treasury and Fed funds from the real economy and into the gambling clutches of the economic investment economy, which offers nothing to the real economy. Unfortunately those on the payroll of the largest banking crime syndicate operations don't get it. They will when it comes tumbling down.

http://eye-on-washington.blogspot.com

[JPMorganEmp]

I'm really not a big fan of this guy....I wish he would talk about something else. Nobody cares about this stuff.

[BlackWidowPilot]

Really? You speak for all 350 million of We The People?

Do tell.

Leland R. Erickson

Citizen

One of the 47 Million Declared "...not profitable enough!"

[bobfeld]

I CARE about "this stuff"..an­d YOu should too.

[SiberianRat]

You're a JP Morgan employee--of course you don't like him! Your company is one of the architects of the financial nightmare we're in!

[JamesinDentonTX]

Actually this may be the issue that finally brings the left and the right together.

[GrizzlyBowman]

I don't see anything different about him.

[Clayton139]

This is a Smart Show !

[petef59]

Jefferson was THE ultimate, dirty socialist damn hippie. HAHAHA

[BlackWidowPilot]

You have nooo idea, citizen:

"I hope we shall... crush in its birth the aristocracy of our moneyed corporations, which dare already to challenge our government to a trial of strength and to bid defiance to the laws of their country."

- Thomas Jefferson, letter to George Logan. November 12, 1816

Truer, more prophetic words were never written by one of the Founders of our nation.

Leland R. Erickson

Citizen

One of the 47 million Declared "...not profitable enough!"

[ilexwhite]

Can't get past the barrister's wig... Yes, it's beside the point, but still.

[grateful4thedead]

How to go Dylan! Keep up the great work. The wall street crowd and the Fed, ably assisted by Summers and Geithner, are hurting our country.

don't forget to visit zerohedge dot com

[jimrs]

Thank you Dylan Ratigan.

If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization,
it expects what never was and never will be.
Thomas Jefferson 1743-1826

[botan]

Where has Dylan Ratigan been all this time? The man is just incredible.

[vandegrasse]

Really! A Progressive on Cable TV, any TV. The political winds hopefully are changing!

[bobfeld]

He was hiding over at CNBC...The Communist News Business Channel

[vandegrasse]

I thought you people's obsession with Communism had d ie d with Reagan!

[bobfeld]

Hiding over at CNBC. The Co mmuni st new business channel.