Brothers, testifies before before the U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on October 6, 2008. Fuld told the committee, "I take full responsibility for the decisions that I made and for the actions that I took." He defended his actions as "prudent and appropriate." (Getty file photo)
BO666 Editor's Note: There were 1155 comments to this story. WOW.
Too Big to Succeed: Dodd's Proposal Creates a Cumbersome Bureaucracy
When President Obama asked a group of senior executives for suggestions on streamlining government, it's unlikely that any of them suggested layers of new bureaucracy, vague marching orders, or management by committee. Yet Sen. Dodd's 'compromise' financial reform proposal does all these things
The likely result? Banks and other financial institutions will still be tightly-run aggressive organizations that can develop and sell complicated and risky new products in a heartbeat. But the agencies tasked with their oversight will be complicated and slow, encumbered by hard-to-follow rules and divided lines of authority. Guess who comes out ahead in that scenario?More than a 1,000 Pennsylvania union members, laid-off workers and community allies rallied outside a downtown Philadelphia Bank America office, hundreds streamed through the bank lobby along with a delegation carrying a $145 billion check. Shouting, “No jobs, no future,” they demanded BofA endorse the check and help finance creation of the 11 million jobs Wall Street gambled away.
BO666 Editors Note: This is a new blog from the AFL-CIO. In a related story earlier in the week, they announced over 200 planned rallies against Goldman Sachs. This is the first time in a long time that I have seen them act so aggressively and so rightly against an establishment that is endangering not only their members but our nation at large. I was worried about them when the Supreme Court gave their ruling on campaign contributions knowing that with their might and influence they could and would influence elections. That being said, if they use this new influence in this manner they may be doing us all a favor. They could actually help vote out the bums that side with the banksters, insurance companies and now the health care industry. "The people are speaking".
They’re fed up. And they’re not going to take it anymore.
In today’s Wall Street Journal, Ruth Simon reports on the growing movement among state and local governments to funnel more money into small financial institutions. It seems that Americans are finally doing the simple math of putting two and two together. If big banks aren’t lending, why should they get our money? Why not move it to community-based banks that support local businesses, community organizations and civic groups?
The Market Oracle The Next Big Bank Bailout is on the Way Prepare To Get Reamed! Housing is on the rocks and prices are headed lower. That's not the consensus view, but it's a reasonably safe assumption. Master illusionist Ben Bernanke managed to engineer a modest 7-month uptick in sales, but the fairydust will wear off later this month when the Fed stops purchasing mortgage-backed securities and long-term interest rates begin to creep higher.