Obama pushes bank reform, lashes out at Republicans ("Never again will taxpayers be on the hook")

[Omaha Steve]

Source: Reuters

(Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Saturday accused Republicans of spreading misinformation about a Democratic bill that aims to tighten oversight of Wall Street banks and their practices.

After successfully shepherding his healthcare overhaul through Congress, Obama is now pushing hard for a legislative victory on financial regulatory reform, a popular issue with voters ahead of congressional elections in November.

The Senate is expected to vote within weeks on the reform bill, which Obama said in his weekly radio and Internet address would "hold Wall Street accountable" and put in place rules to ensure U.S. taxpayers would never again be called upon to bail out companies in financial trouble.

"Never again will taxpayers be on the hook because a financial company is deemed 'too big to fail'," Obama said.


Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE63G0N420100417

[Hannah Bell]

1. taxpayers continue to be on the hook. i don't get his statement.

not only for direct costs, but for indirect costs, i.e. lack of funds for schools, public services, cities, etc.

[Lagomorph]

15. Another point....

No matter what happens regarding taxes and bailouts, business passes on the costs to the consumer. Raising corporate taxes results in higher prices for consumers. Bailing out failing businesses results in (1) taxpayer funded money channeled to an under-performing enterprise, (2) a tax free year for the business because of operating losses and liabilities and (3) higher prices for consumers to pay back the people for the money we gave them in the first place.

We lowered taxes for 95% of the people, but we understand that the other 5% will simply pass on their tax bill and business costs to the consumers, aka, the people. They'll get their ROI, regardless.

Many big business are already getting tax vacations due to weak spending levels in the economy. They'll be able to get them year after year if we keep feeding them tax money. They keep the cash, but the bailout becomes a liability, paid for by the consumer, or in the case of bailouts, the taxpayer. It's very good for their liquidity. They're giving the taxpayer over valued stock certificates (propped up by the bailout) and getting a mountain of cash in return.

Higher taxes and bailouts get picked up by the consumer class, no matter who gets the bill.

[Bluenorthwest]

2. I do not like his passive language here at all

We were not 'called upon' to help, our money was taken from us and handed out without anyone calling and asking the people. Never again on the hook? Well. We never were, until the Beltway offered to put us on that hook. They put us on the hook.
This 'never again' routine is coming from the 'no mandates' guy. The public option guy. So when Obama says 'never' he might me 'more often'. His words are not always truthful in the end.
Clearly he does not understand that those who got bled need to be made whole. He's a lawyer he should get that one easily. Rip me off and say 'sorry I won't do it again'? No. Make me whole.
Again, the law did not put us on the hook, our leadership put us on the hook. They need to make up for that or just go home. I see the sitting batch in DC as liars, hypocrites, bigots, if we must add thieves, well, that will be the end of the road for me.
We want our money back. Our cities, our schools, our roads, our future. Sorry don't pay the bills, Barack.

[SkyDaddy7]

3. So, you would have voted for...

The worst depression in this country's history?

It is so easy to criticize if you are not responsible for the aftermath of your decisions.

[JoeyT]

4. As opposed to what?

The wonderful way the economy is ticking along now?

[dencol]

7. Yea - I'm not sure a depression was averted.

The misery may have just been prolonged for several years, but it seems we're doing little to fix the underlying problems. This may be a small step in the right direction, but hardly enough to regulate the unmitigated greed and exploitation of workers here at home and around the world.

[Lagomorph]

16. You're right, it was panic that was avoided...

The government was seen as doing something about it, which kept the witch hunters home, the rest was juggling the books and passing on the cost.

[SkyDaddy7]

12. Do what?

Do you remember what the economy was doing just a year ago? Yes, unemployment is bad but it would have been far worse had we just let the banks fail & not passed the stimulus bill.

You can't expect Obama to work miracles...I think he has done a good job with what he has been dealt.

[dothemath]

14. the instant gratification crowd

As opposed to what? It took the Bush gangsters 8 years to destroy the US economy and Obama doesn't fix it in 1 year and you call him a liar?
WTF is wrong with you? Or do you have an instant solution? If so, let's have it, genius. (spell that M O R A N).

[JoeyT]

18. Good argument, or whatever.

Anyone that disagrees with the president is a teabagger!
Even if it isn't really clear what their position was. Or even that they actually really disagreed with him at all or just thought maybe some regulation should've been sent down with the bailouts.

I'm not sure where you got the whole "liar" thing from, but meh.
You just keep humping away at that straw man and sooner or later you'll break it apart.

[Lost4words]

20. 30 YEARS to get HERE! 30 YEARS!

with the help of democrats along the way. 30 YEARS!

we couldnt have gotten here in just 8 years. :silly:

[Donnachaidh]

8. that meme died about three months ago

Yeah yeah John McCain -- booga booga booga booga....

It's not being used to fearmonger dissent. At least not with the adults. :eyes:

[SkyDaddy7]

13. ???????!

[JackRiddler]

17. You'd think people would be tired of the banksters' chicken-little bullshit.

No, rather than burdening the economy with bailouts for parasites, rather than capitulating to extortionists and allowing these criminals to prosper from their fraud and live to commit new crimes, I would have put the many trillions destroyed so that banks could pay off a fraction of their nominal casino bets into establishing a public utility banking sector and converting the energy basis of the economy.

And Depression 21 has barely even started. I honestly hope the next crash (the remainder of the same crash) comes after the 2010 election, so that it might finally force some much-needed FDR into BHO, rather than give us a Teabag Republic.

[scentopine]

6. yes, totally agree, thank you. -nt

[high density]

9. So do nothing and fix nothing?

I'm really trying to figure out what people expect Obama to do. He can't retroactively go back and tell the bankers to be nice so that we never had to go through 2008. Now Obama has said he's going to fix the problem and some people here sound like Mitch Fucking McConnell! Get a grip on reality folks, what happened happened.

[cornermouse]

5. You really ought to watch Moyers last night.

http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/04162010/transcript3.html

BILL MOYERS: And you say they continue to hold the global economy hostage?

JAMES KWAK: Exactly. Because what's happened- what we learned in 2008 were certain institutions are so big and so interconnected that if they were to fail, they would cause systemic shocks throughout the economy. That's essentially what happened in September 2008 when Lehman Brothers collapsed. And what's remarkable, and I think what essentially proves the point of our book is that almost two years later, nothing has changed.

Or the only thing that has changed is that these banks have gotten larger, more powerful, both economically and politically. And they've been flexing their muscles in Washington for the last year and a half. So Neal Wolin, the Deputy Treasury Secretary gave a blistering speech to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in which he said, look, the financial sector has been spending more than one million dollars per day lobbying against the reforms we need to fix the financial system. Now, Simon and I think those reforms that the Administration has proposed do not go far enough. But we think they're certainly better than nothing. What Wall Street wants is they want nothing. They want to stop this in its tracks and go back to where we were five years ago.

SIMON JOHNSON: It's amazing, Bill. But this is this is politics and this is money. And you know, there's a ground game, which is campaign contributions, which are surging in. I'm sure on both sides of the aisle. And there's also the ideological space. It's amazing. The Chamber of Commerce that claims to represent the broad cross section of American business is siding with six big banks, who favor policies that are directly contrary to the interests of most of the membership of the Chamber of Commerce. And that's just not just me saying that. That's Neal Wolin. That's Treasury. That's the White House saying that now. Calling fortunately, they've come to the point where they're willing to call the Chamber of Commerce on that. But I don't know if that message is getting through to people.

[high density]

10. Right, nothing has been done in 2 years

So now Obama wants to fix that. The Republicans say no freaking way. We'll see what happens.

[Enthusiast]

11. We must get the message out

even on the right wing M$M.

The people must be told the real cause of the crisis and not some convoluted Limbaugh fairy tale explanation of Barney Frank, Fanny Mae and Freddy Mac. They must be told of the extreme danger that unregulated derivatives represent. And they must be told that Republicans are protecting this unregulated status quo.

[Lost4words]

21. wont happen on M$M, is corp owned who do you think they are looking out for?

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ + POWER = what we got now.

[Enthusiast]

24. I know. And this is why

there is push back against reform.

This was their motive starting clear back when they did away with the Fairness Doctrine and started acquiring and consolidating media in every form. This is not democracy.

[Lost4words]

26. I enthusiastically agree!

I hope you dont mind my play on your UID.

[Enthusiast]

27. No problemo.

[No Elephants]

23. +1. Moyers has done many shows on the bailout and on this bill, inc. with Prof. Warren.

Lord, I am going to miss that show after he retires.

[No Elephants]

19. Yet, Obama opposes ending "too big to fail." As long as that continues, we will bail out again and

you can take that to the bank, literally and figuratively.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4346732

Please see also, http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4346303#4347695


Kabuki theater is really wearing on this country.

[Lost4words]

22. I tend to agree fully with you this morning.

the house holds the winning cards, the house has stacked the deck, the house controls security and information flow.

house = power elite

[SOS]

25. Let's see that in law

Other than FDIC insured deposits, banks are prohibited, by law, from ever again receiving one penny from the federal government.
Take that implicit backing and smash it.
That'll adjust their leverage and risk levels in a hurry.

Just as the American worker has been told: You're on your own.

But can this really pass the Senate, which a wholly owned subsidiary of Wall Street?