CNBC had a great moment this week

In all seriousness, this was an interesting exchange which was talking about the work that Andrew Cuomo is doing. (Again, where the hell is Congress?) The CNBC reporter was daring to ask why the US taxpayer is giving Goldman Sachs and European banks 100 cents on the dollar for these obviously bad deals. Remember, Goldman is planning to repay the TARP money early to avoid pay restrictions. Letting Goldman and others get away with such a good deal while others are suffering makes no sense to anyone besides Hank Paulson, Republicans, Geithher and the Goldman Sachs team.

This is a really important exchange because it cuts to the heart of what is wrong both on Wall Street and in US politics. The US is being fleeced by Goldman (and AIG) who are getting an amazingly good deal for the trash that they had insured by AIG. No matter how you slice it, paying our $50 billion for absolute trash is only good for Goldman. Cuomo should not be the only one chasing this and if we had a real leader at Treasury, this would not be happening. If Obama wants to help the country move past this debacle, Geithner and Summers have to go now. There's no reason why taxpayers should cover full payments for this and let the likes of Goldman walk away unscathed for their past actions.

The sad news here is that the CNBC reporter who called out Goldman and those allowing it is no longer at CNBC. His contract expired or was not renewed. If only he tapped into the phony-baloney "tea party" outrage or stroked a few more Wall Street egos.