Robert Reich wrote The Continuing Disaster of Wall Street, One Year Later "So will the President succeed on financial reform? I wish I could be optimistic. His milktoast list of proposed reforms is inadequate to the task, even if adopted. The Street's behavior since its bailout should be proof enough that halfway measures won't do"
Simon Johnson writes Where Are We Again? (Pre-G20 Pittsburgh summit) "The collapse of Lehman Brothers in particular and the ensuing financial crisis in particular exposed serious weaknesses in our banks, insurance companies, and financial structures more generally. We were ‘saved’ by radical central bank action and additional government spending. Over the past 20 years, crises have become more severe and more expensive to counteract. We are on a dangerous and slippery slope.
Yet there is no real reform underway or on the table on any issue central to (a) how the banking system operates, or (b) more broadly, how hubris in finance led us into this crisis. The financial sector lobbies appear stronger than ever. The administration ducked the early fights that set the tone (credit cards, bankruptcy, even cap and trade); it’s hard to see them making much progress on anything – with the possible exception of healthcare (and even there, the final achievement looks likely to be limited)."
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To date, I have seen not one single shred of real evidence (i.e., through actual deeds or actions, not just words) that Obama is not 100% "owned" by Wall Street. I don't mean ideologically challenged, I mean bought and paid for!
Question: Why does Obama bother going to Wall Street to give a speech?
Answer: Because it doesn't take a nickle out of the pockets of the Banksters, and the theatrics is priceless (i.e., going into the wolves' den).
If Obama was serious about reforming Wall Street he could simply, from the Oval Office, have called in the heads of the SEC and the Justice department and told them to get to work investigating the myriad of obvious violations of securities law that occured over the last several years. But he doesn't do this simple thing. Why not? Instead, he gives a speech.
Stupid me, of course the Banksters are going to change their behaviour because Obama scolds them likely an angry daddy. I can see the them crying right now, crying all the way to the bank - yet again.
In 2009, Wall street bonuses have never been higher; and why not. Too big to fail has only gotten bigger. These people know with 100% certainty they can bet the house (literally that's what they did) and if they win, they get to keep all the profits and if they lose, Uncle Sam (i.e., you and I as taxpayers) will bail them out - yet again. Nothing has changed, it has only gotten worse.
If Obama was serious about changning Wall Street behaviour, he would have just set aside 5 billion dollars from his stimulus plan to hire Attorneys and Accountants and Investigators to go after (and clawback from) the Banksters/thieves who stole hundreds of billions (maybe up to a trillion dollars over the last decade) in fraudulently obtained profits and bonuses and whose actions caused the global financial collapse which wiped out 15 trillion dollars of aggregate wealth from the global economy.
It would have been interesting to watch the Repubs crash and burn trying to argue against Wall Street investigations and prosecutions. But Obama blew it, plain and simple. He had/has a once in a lifetime opportunity to get the average citizen to really trust the Democrats again, and he does nothing!
The Democratic party dominated US politics for three decades after FDR (and the democratic party) earned the trust of the American people by exposing and prosecuting the Wall Street excesses and crimes that helped to bring about the great depression. Obama has the same opportunity but is not taking it. Surely, it is not because he is unaware of this political history. He simply refuses to do it. He had the FDR moment, the FDR opportunity, and did not grab it. Why not?
What a joke! The economic crime of the century is confronted and prosecuted by our courageous president (and Chief law enforcement officer) with "a speech".
Until the criminal banksters are indicted, prosecuted, given their day in court, their ill-gotten gains confiscated (think RICO statute) and, they do some serious jail time with the general criminal population (no country club jails), nothing will be diffirent. Right now, there is only upside for the Banksters to continue their ways. There is no risk for them....zero. If it were me, I would continue to push the get rich quick schemes as well. By the way, now that mortgages and related MBSs are tainted, I understand they are looking at "pooling" life-insurance policies as well (can anyone say LIBS - Life Insurance Backed Securities). If nothing else, you have to admire their balls and creativity. Might as well let them bet on cockroach races with our money. At least that could be televised and we could enjoy an modicum of entertainment value for our money.
I'm still waiting for the change I voted for.
TT
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