“It isn’t just that some clever crook on Wall Street can steal a billion dollars and never see the inside of a courtroom. It was a small bank owned by an immigrant family in Chinatown that had nothing to do with the crash.ĭefending lawyer said “You can’t throw a rock without hitting a bank that cost Fannie Mae billions of dollars in loss but you know it’s not in this courtroom.” Lots of people aren’t even aware of the divergent standards of justice… at least not the full extent.Ībacus Bank: was the Lee Harvey Oswald of banks taking the fall for the 2008 crash. “What deserves a bigger punishment - someone with a college education who knowingly helps a gangster or a terrorist open a bank account? Or a high school dropout who falls asleep on the F train.” “This goes far beyond the oft-quoted liberal cliché about how we now have “two Americas,” one for the rich and one for the poor… the new truth is infinitely darker and more twisted.” He goes into some detail about the universally acknowledged, yet invisible systems that perpetuate The Divide.
Going in I’d expect these obviously true statements would simply be based on more information than they were, but Taibbi isn’t satisfied simply confirming what we already know. People with not so much power get away with not so much stuff. Obviously powerful people get away with stuff. The premise of the book isn’t exactly mind blowing at first glance. Case studies combined with legitimately complicated explanations of financial crimes that span years, countries, and endless names made for a tedious summary, but I think it came out well. That’s kind of the point of a case study. Still I didn’t try to summarize those parts as much since they can’t be done justice in a couple sentences.
Some human experiences can’t be fully appreciated with stats. The frequent extended use of case studies was an effective tool. I mean I already knew it was absurd, but I didn’t fully appreciate it. The section on justice in the immigration system was particularly absurd. It’s pretty hard to read without becoming angry to some extent. Dave Chappelle did it better, but it’s a good premise for a book too. Matt Taibbi juxtaposes the temperament of the justice system on each side of this “ Divide.” Basically Gandhi for the winners, Stalin for the losers. The Divide is a critical examination of the US justice system.
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