“It was not the banks that created the mortgage crisis,” the mayor said. “It was, plain and simple, Congress who forced everybody to go and to give mortgages to people who were on the cusp.” It was Congress, he continued, that “pushed Fannie and Freddie to make a bunch of loans that were imprudent; they were the ones that pushed the banks to loan to everybody.”…Mr. Koch, a Democrat, praised Mr. Bloomberg’s business acumen but said he differed with him on the question of the financial crisis and the protests. “I’m Jewish, not Catholic, but I believe in punishment,” he said. Referring to the settlements paid by Goldman Sachs and Citigroup to resolve claims by the Securities and Exchange Commission, Mr. Koch said they were just “the cost of doing business” in the view of the banks. “What do you think they got fined for — schmutz on the sidewalk?” Mr. Koch said. “They got fined because they abused their relationship with their clientele. And I want to see somebody — I want to see one of them, of a major corporation, punished criminally.” [NYT]

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Comments (39)

  1. Posted by Guest | November 2, 2011 at 3:37 PM

    "'I’m Jewish, not Catholic, but I believe in punishment,' he said."

    Eh? I'm fairly confident that there's at least something written about punishment in, like, Deuteronomy and Leviticus . . . and then, there's, you know, pretty much all of the Book of Jeremiah.

    - Not a Jew, but Has Read the Bible, Including the Jewish Part and "Newer Additions" by Non-Jews

  2. Posted by ShortNaked | November 2, 2011 at 3:44 PM

    I'm hoping our friend of Jewish heritage, that is prone to bouts of anxiety, will weigh in on how he feels about this comment from Koch

  3. Posted by so dry in here | November 2, 2011 at 3:45 PM

    Way to Shtup your own people. Douche

  4. Posted by blood in the street | November 2, 2011 at 3:47 PM

    The government, Mayor Koch, is utterly infallible, and you sir are going to hell for ever mentioning that our sainted elected officials, especially democrats, have ever made a single misstep in discharging the otherworldly power of the holy collective.

    - Nancy Pelosi

  5. Posted by The Legitimate Years | November 2, 2011 at 3:54 PM

    oy vey

  6. Posted by guest | November 2, 2011 at 3:58 PM

    and the current mayor suggested the former mayor should quit complaining and go get laid.

  7. Posted by Guest | November 2, 2011 at 4:06 PM

    Where are the customers' punishments?

  8. Posted by Guest | November 2, 2011 at 4:06 PM

    I think the Koch's are just upset about that Bloomberg magazine article, and Ed's firing back.

  9. Posted by Anonymous | November 2, 2011 at 4:07 PM

    Lynn T has some schmutz, but it is not on the sidewalk

  10. Posted by guestapo | November 2, 2011 at 4:08 PM

    For the love of god tell me this is a joke…

  11. Posted by Kegels123 | November 2, 2011 at 4:09 PM

    Schmutzing on the sidewalk is the NKI

    -Lloyd B

  12. Posted by guest | November 2, 2011 at 4:10 PM

    WTF is schmutz? please help me.

    - confused gentile

  13. Posted by Jew Briefer | November 2, 2011 at 4:16 PM

    Dirt, garbage, general filth…

  14. Posted by I'm a Dude | November 2, 2011 at 4:17 PM

    dirt, you putz.

  15. Posted by Guest or Not Guest | November 2, 2011 at 4:17 PM

    You have obvious expertise in the Book of Moronicus.

  16. Posted by Guest | November 2, 2011 at 4:18 PM

    The stuff we hire gentiles to clean up

  17. Posted by Bring It | November 2, 2011 at 4:21 PM

    Smegma you schmuck

  18. Posted by guest | November 2, 2011 at 4:23 PM

    Hey!

    -Jamie Dimon

  19. Posted by Dr. Venkman | November 2, 2011 at 4:26 PM

    Dr. Peter Venkman: This city is headed for a disaster of biblical proportions.
    Mayor: What do you mean, "biblical"?
    Dr Ray Stantz: What he means is Old Testament, Mr. Mayor, real wrath of God type stuff.
    Dr. Peter Venkman: Exactly.
    Dr Ray Stantz: Fire and brimstone coming down from the skies! Rivers and seas boiling!
    Dr. Egon Spengler: Forty years of darkness! Earthquakes, volcanoes…
    Winston Zeddemore: The dead rising from the grave!
    Dr. Peter Venkman: Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together… mass hysteria!
    Mayor: All right, all right! I get the point!

  20. Posted by Alt_EST | November 2, 2011 at 4:27 PM

    We've been schmutzing on the sidewalk for six weeks now.

    -OWS

  21. Posted by one | November 2, 2011 at 4:31 PM

    ''These two entities — Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — are not facing any kind of financial crisis. 'The more people exaggerate these problems, the more pressure there is on these companies, the less we will see in terms of affordable housing.''

    -Barney Frank (NYT 09/11/03)

  22. Posted by Guest | November 2, 2011 at 4:34 PM

    Snooki wants some schmush schmush!

  23. Posted by one | November 2, 2011 at 4:39 PM

    Bloomberg: What if you're wrong?

    Koch: If I'm wrong, nothing happens! Things go on – peacefully, quietly. We'll enjoy bagels! But if I'm *right*, and we *can* find the schmutz … Bloomy, you will have fulfilled the dreams of millions of hippy protesters.

  24. Posted by Double Helix | November 2, 2011 at 4:45 PM

    Worst comment this week. Fucking awful.

  25. Posted by Guest-ee-cue-los | November 2, 2011 at 5:00 PM

    Amen

    The NHF

  26. Posted by Guest | November 2, 2011 at 5:03 PM

    - Bawney Fwank (NYT 09/11/03)

    There, I fixed if for you

  27. Posted by PermaGuestII | November 2, 2011 at 5:27 PM

    "Vote for Cuomo…"

  28. Posted by PermaGuestII | November 2, 2011 at 5:29 PM

    She's going to get schtupped in the tuchus instead.

  29. Posted by Anon | November 2, 2011 at 6:17 PM

    Schmutz & Wollensky

  30. Posted by bogey4 | November 2, 2011 at 6:29 PM

    Wait a second, so is he inferring that Blomberg is Catholic? I always thought Bloomberg was a Jewish name.

  31. Posted by Guy | November 2, 2011 at 7:01 PM

    Yeah but, see, uh, those books were all written . . . so he was saying . . . um, nevermind.

  32. Posted by TheJokeBriefer | November 2, 2011 at 7:02 PM

    I emitted a large guffaw.

  33. Posted by Domestic Expat | November 2, 2011 at 8:30 PM

    So the current financial crisis?

  34. Posted by guestzilla | November 2, 2011 at 8:37 PM

    Like the former governor

  35. Posted by Tautology | November 3, 2011 at 12:00 AM

    If anything, the abusive god of the Old Testament confirms how tolerant Jews are.

  36. Posted by magicallydelicious | November 3, 2011 at 11:36 AM

    You're dissing on Fannie and Freddie!? WTF guys!? We already completely debunked them having any impact on the crisis. Despite them owning more than half the entire market for mortgages and serving essentially the same role as banks they are not responsible at all because they only chose the best loans! They had ZERO impact on pricing and none of the government subsidies, implied or otherwise, had any role in the creation of the housing bubble.

    - P. Krugman

  37. Posted by Dr Livingstone | November 3, 2011 at 1:52 PM

    'general filth' = Lynn Tilton?

  38. Posted by Bristol Airport Hotels | April 19, 2012 at 7:24 PM

    GHSCdf Hey, thanks for the article post. Cool.

  39. Posted by adult toys | April 25, 2012 at 8:20 AM

    Thanks for the article post.Thanks Again. Keep writing.

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