Saturday, March 28th, 2009
There are two laws known as Glass-Steagall Act. The first established the FDIC. The second separated banking types to keep banks from dabbling in different kinds of banking.
The second Glass-Steagall Act was repealed in 1999 when it was signed into law by President Clinton.
”Today Congress voted to update the rules that have governed financial services since the Great Depression and replace them with a system for the 21st century,” Treasury Secretary Lawrence H. Summers said. ”This historic legislation will better enable American companies to compete in the new economy.”
Larry Summers was the Treasury Secretary, the same job Tim “Turbo Tax” Geithner has now, when the law was repealed. He is now the Director of the National Economic Council and Assistant to the President for Economic Policy under President Obama.
Change you can believe in certainly seems to be the same old business as usual.
The 1999 New York Times article was full of warning against repealing Glass-Steagall.
”Scores of banks failed in the Great Depression as a result of unsound banking practices, and their failure only deepened the crisis,” Mr. Wellstone said. ”Glass-Steagall was intended to protect our financial system by insulating commercial banking from other forms of risk. It was one of several stabilizers designed to keep a similar tragedy from recurring. Now Congress is about to repeal that economic stabilizer without putting any comparable safeguard in its place.”
Notice who counters the warning:
”If we don’t pass this bill, we could find London or Frankfurt or years down the road Shanghai becoming the financial capital of the world,” said Senator Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York. ”There are many reasons for this bill, but first and foremost is to ensure that U.S. financial firms remain competitive.”
Schumer is leading the government interference. He is the one clamoring over the banking industry’s arrogance. He is the one who voted for an unprecedented stimulus package without having read the bill and then feigned surprise when he found out it hurt his constiuents. Schumer is the one who said American taxpayers care not a hoot about pork in government spending.
This was not a Democrat-only bill that got pushed through. It was actually a minority Republican Congress that wrote the repeal of Glass-Steagall. With the help of the Democratic majority, Congress got this passed.
The hypocrisy of our lawmakers seems to know no bounds. Glass-Steagall was the protection to the American taxpayer that banks do not dabble in too many banking industries. It was what kept AIG from doing derivatives.
Hold these guys responsible, dear reader. The snow job they are engaged in is massive. These are the same folks who are pitching to take control of not only the banking industry, but any business it deems “needs government help”. Yikes! I am unwilling to give these folks that kind of power.
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Wednesday, March 11th, 2009
If the Brady’s had a driveway with a garage and a back entrance to the house, why does Mr. Brady enter the house via the front door after work? How does he get home? Carol Brady drove the station wagon, got into an accident, and drove home. Mike arrived home from work and entered the front door. The bunch lives on a cul-de-sac. It makes no sense . . . It’s Wednesday. I wonder who is the guest of honor at the White House on the taxpayer dime . . . If New Jersey’s gubernatorial election were held today, I truly think Corzine would lose. I base this on my colleagues, bastions of liberalism, complain about this budget and economy . . . NJ Transit seems to have the right approach: business is down so it is cutting spending. I wonder if someone has whispered that approach to Governor Corzine. He seems unaware it’s an option . . . On what grounds does disgraced Wayne Bryant think he is entitled to use his campaign funds to defend himself in court due to his gross corruption? . . . New Jersey government’s cluelessness seems to have no bounds. Corzine’s treasurer stated today, “The governor stands shoulder-to-shoulder with the New Jersey property taxpayer.” CLUELESS! My property taxes are about to jump high . . . President Obama claimed he wouldn’t hire lobbyists. Today it was announced that he hired two more lobbyists. Hypocrite . . . President Obama claimed he would change the way government business is done (ala Jim “I’m a Gay American” McGreevey) by not signing any bill with earmarks. Today, not in public, Obama signed a bill with nearly 9000 earmarks. Hypocrite . . . Congress has spent more than $1 billion per hour since Obama took office . . .
Posted in Entertainment, New Jersey, Politics | 3 Comments »
Sunday, February 1st, 2009
For the 72nd year, New Jersey’s Chamber of Commerce has put on the Walk to Washington. This train ride from Trenton to Washington D.C. is purported to be a networking trip. Politicians, businessmen, and others pile into many train cars and “walk” up and down, boozing and gladhanding to D.C. where they then have a dinner with the New Jersey delegation.
Apparently, this year the event was scaled back so Governor Corzine would not be filmed partying during a recession.
The underlying issue, however, is why? Why does the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce sponsor such a trip to do business outside the state? It’s not like the taxpayers aren’t increasing the federal delegations’ budgets by another $90,000 so they can travel back to their districts.
Wouldn’t it be better for New Jersey to have a train trip around our state with the big dinner at a location in New Jersey? It seems like the Chamber’s role is to promote New Jersey business. It seems like politicians represent New Jersey. So why does everyone go out of state for this function?
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Monday, November 24th, 2008
Remember about a month before the election when the economy tanked? Then right before we voted, both the President-elect and the undistinguishable candidate voted in favor of $850 billion of taxpayer money to bailout the banking industry? Of course, that morphed to about $1.5 trillion.
If you hadn’t been paying attention, lots more taxpayer money has been doled out to various private businesses since. AIG has gotten its third installment of our money. I guess the lavish spa treatment wasn’t enough for them. And we all saw GM, Ford, and Chrysler beg for money last week.
In a late-night Sunday deal, which seems to be the modus operandi of late, regulators agreed last evening to prop up CitiGroup to the tune of $306 billion plus $20 billion from the $850 billion pot that has already been commandeered from us.
U.S. government regulators were nearing approval of a radical plan to stabilize Citigroup on Sunday in which the government would soak up tens of billions of dollars in losses at the struggling bank, according to people briefed on the discussions.
When does this end? Rumor has it that home builders will be on the Hill asking for taxpayer money to stabilize home prices so the industry doesn’t tank. Who will line up after them?
This is a bad deal for everyone. The government is eating up bad debt. The consequence for building a poor business model is . . . ? Well, I haven’t figured that out yet as there is no consequence. At least not for the companies. The American taxpayer is being forced to pay though.
My father worked three jobs from a wheelchair to provide for his family. He taught me to work hard, keep my mouth shut, and that good work ethic would pay off. Sadly, Dad was completely wrong. That is not how the workplace operates these days.
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Tuesday, June 17th, 2008
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