Obama Promises New Era of Big Government

[futurecurrents]

Well you recite the typical right-wing perspective on it, but that is mostly wrong. And yes the bill has flaws but to dismiss it because it's not perfect is foolish. It's a very good start.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/26/business/economy/26inquiry.html

"While the panel, the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, accuses several financial institutions of greed, ineptitude or both, some of its gravest conclusions concern government failings, with embarrassing implications for both parties."

"The report could reignite debate over the influence of Wall Street; it says regulators “lacked the political will” to scrutinize and hold accountable the institutions they were supposed to oversee. The financial industry spent $2.7 billion on lobbying from 1999 to 2008, while individuals and committees affiliated with it made more than $1 billion in campaign contributions."

"The report does knock down — at least partly — several early theories for the financial crisis. It says the low interest rates brought about by the Fed after the 2001 recession; Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the mortgage finance giants; and the “aggressive homeownership goals” set by the government as part of a “philosophy of opportunity” were not major culprits.

On the other hand, the report is harsh on regulators. It finds that the Securities and Exchange Commission failed to require big banks to hold more capital to cushion potential losses and halt risky practices, and that the Fed “neglected its mission.”

Quote from Tsing Tao:

Gee, Dodd-Frank how do I hate thee? Let me count the ways...

First of all, it was a bill that was designed to be a regulatory result of the financial crisis, assuming that the reason the crisis happened was because of private-sector greed, when in fact it was due to poor lending standards, brought on by the US Government and policy put in place by it (and the two idiots with which the bill gets it's name). Essentially, the government ordered a substantial percentage of private-sector commercial mortgages to be on a non-commercial basis, then issued executive orders to Fannie and Freddie to make the majority of their mortgage loans on that basis and finally, having the Fed keep interest rates so low for so long. So the premise of the bill is faulty from the start.


Next, the GAO claims that the bill costs $1.25 billion before starting up, and comes with 3,000 new government positions, and 7 new agencies, including the new Consumer Protection Agency that has been set up for the sole purpose of harassing banks and forcing them to pass on more of their expenses to their customers (because every new regulation that increases costs to them is paid for by either the consumer, or by the Fed). It also includes a regulator of the ratings agencies, but this is irrelevant because it doesn't stop the number one reason rating agencies are even an issue - that the agencies receive payments from the security issuers that they rate (which is like criminals paying the judge to find them innocent).

Then Dodd-Frank actually tried to regulate the derivatives trading, which is stupid because they have no jurisdiction over exchanges outside of US soil, so the banks just moved everything overseas and put it outside the reach of DF.

In it's original chalkboard makeup, DF might have been a good thought. However it was watered down by an army of financial lobbyists who won over both Dodd AND Frank and a host of other co-signers, and turned what it COULD have been (which was a restoration of Glass-Steagal) into worthless toilet paper.

And you think Obama should claim credit for it? The only people who find this law (2300 pages of crap) for anything other than the shit it is, are the uneducated.

 

[denner]

Quote from Ricter:

The economy is improving, the NEI is working (the current account is looking pretty good, considering), private debt is falling, public debt is flat, interest rates are zip, inflation is zip, and the world is paying us to hold their money.

This is what I'd call "reckless complacency". It doesn't help matters that it takes a team of forensic specialists to ferret out real data from all the bullshit released on a weekly basis, STILL I find it troubling that reasonably level headed individuals cannot connect the dots and see the flaws in this outlook.

 

[Lucrum]

Quote from Scataphagos:

State of the Union to be yet another campaign speech?

To be fair, it's the only kind of speech Odumbo knows how to give.

 

[Lucrum]

Quote from futurecurrents:

You know, we're traders here....

Actually your liberal buddies Ricter and IQ47 are not, by their own admission.

 

[377OHMS]

Quote from Lucrum:

To be fair, it's the only kind of speech Odumbo knows how to give.

The State of the Union speech will be a campaign festival of class warfare, lies, distorted facts and stale ideas.

This President has failed. Plain and Simple.

No amount of pomp, circumstance or phony styrofoam greek columns can obscure the truth any longer.

Accomplishments:

1) Thousands of assault weapons sold to mexican drug cartels

2) Offshore oil exploration and production halted

3) Oil pipeline plans killed in infancy

4) Unconstitutional subsidization of GM results in cars that burn

5) Illegal taxpayer funded loans to cronies explode in face

6) Illegal immigration made legal by defacto executive order

7) Class Warfare initiated

8) Several traditional allies toppled in favor of islamofascists

9) Destruction of public property by OWS encouraged

10) Gasoline prices doubled

11) Bill of Rights abrogated, military authorized to detain citizens

12) Guantanamo kept open and expanded