RE: “No Banker Left Behind,” by Ry Cooder … (Comedy / Satire – Music to Your Ears, Mock’n’Roll–8)
Everything what the letter of this song says happened in Venezuela. I just read the post then I saw the video but the most comical was to see the lyrics of this Comedy / Satire reflected in something that actually happened.
The 1994 banking crisis in Venezuela was a massive insolvency process that affected almost a third of private commercial banks, causing the disappearance of some of the most emblematic financial institutions and the collapse of that country's private economic system. The process began with a strong banking run at the beginning of February 1994, followed by a series of considerable monetary contributions from the State to help the banks with problems, reaching their subsequent nationalization, which was completed at the end of that year. Of the affected banks, the most renowned were Banco Latino, Banco Consolidado and Banco de Venezuela. The crisis lasted until 1995.
I did not know that, but it's good to hear.
In the US, they've had 2 huge such bailouts in the past 20 years. The first was in 1998, when the banks got together to bailout the hedge fund LTCM. Then in 2008, the government stepped in to bailout the huge investment banks and various other corporations (which is what inspired Cooder to write this song).
It's always the same. The bankers / fraudsters / criminals are saved and assisted. The common man is left to struggle on his / her own.
Also, it's good to remind people that the 1994 "collapse of Venezuela's economic system" happened before Chavez came to power. The mainstream media tells us that Venezuela's economic difficulties began with Chavez.
Anyone who is willing to do some basic research will soon find that Venezuela's problems did not begin with Chavez, nor with Maduro. The roots of the problem go much deeper.