Is part of the problem that Wall Street has more power than the President?

[Redbear]

That's part of what I get from this WSJ article.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123785266231219605.html


"... On March 10, Lawrence Summers, the chief White House economic adviser, met privately with financial executives for dinner at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. A few days later in a speech, he said that the past decade contained "too much greed and too little fear....Today, however, our problem is exactly the opposite."

Early on, Obama aides had had little to do with Wall Street heavyweights such as J.P. Morgan Chase Chief Executive Jamie Dimon. On March 11, Mr. Dimon was ushered into the White House and Treasury Department, where advisers brain-stormed with him about how banks and markets would react to their emerging policies. The following day, at a White House meeting, business executives implored Mr. Obama to get credit flowing again. "All right," the president said, according to a transcript of the meeting. He'd have his people "talk to Jamie...."

[avaistheone1]

1. Duh! Of course Wall Street has more power than the President.

How the hell could this bailout/wealth transfer from working and middle class to the super wealthy go on, if Wall Street were not more powerful than the President and all of Congress?

[Supersedeas]

10. and a Fourth Estate to back them up when necessary -- Madison Ave et al.

the ad biz is the news biz in 'Merica.

[ellenfl]

2. i don't know if ws is more powerful but we certainly need

ws cooperation if we are to get out of this economic debacle . . . imo.

ellen fl

[Karenina]

13. Did you not see this? Take note at 7:57

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x287788

The elected administration CANNOT overrule the Fed these days. The Feddies have been entrenched for GENERATIONS. Administrations come and go. Try to bust them at risk of your life. Andrew Jackson's triumph was so short-lived...

[QC]

3. BINGO!

[Skwmom]

4. I'm beginning to think the problem is that Wall Street was smart enough to make

sure that one of their horses won the race.

I really like Obama. He is VERY likable (and what a gorgeous family). But once I get past that, I'm beginning to think that those who said Obama was backed by the same crooks that gave us this mess were right.

[DURHAM D]

7. Yep.

Government is not afraid of Wall Street. Our Government is Wall Street.

[ShortnFiery]

12. But a smiling, gentler BUSH-REAGAN-CLINTON Corporate Ruling Era. n/t

[TBF]

16. Bingo. I campaigned for him too in the primaries. Then I started doing

some more reading. Now I'm pretty sure we never had a choice. He is "our American president".

[empyreanisles]

19. No one is in control of Obama but Obama.

Have some faith, people. Maybe I am biased because I am black, but people are pulling the trigger too soon here.

[wiggs]

5. Yes. 52 of the world's top 100 economies are corporations. (Used to be that way) nt

[EFerrari]

6. Yes. That is the problem, exactly. But we're not supposed to notice that. n/t

[tekisui]

8. I think so. BUT, only because that power was given to them by previous

administrations and Congresses. And, it can be taken back. It won't be easy, but it can be done. Now is the time to start taking the power back, as Wall Street is at its weakest in decades.

[Overseas]

14. Exactly!! //nt

[TBF]

17. You're right, but gaining back what we've lost since 1871 is not a mere

matter of tweeking here and there...

http://www.serendipity.li/jsmill/us_corporation.htm

[Rosa Luxemburg]

9. The Bushes had a very close relationship

[ShortnFiery]

11. Our President not only takes orders from Wall Street but also from The Pentagon.

:(

[vssmith]

15. The United States of Goldman Sachs

[RepublicanElephant]

18. time to take the big corporate $$$$$$$ out of campaigns... for real this time.

"After the most expensive campaign cycle in U.S. history, a bipartisan group of lawmakers will introduce legislation this week to create an ambitious voluntary public campaign financing system that would ban contributions from lobbyists and place strict limits on other sources of campaign cash.

Similar proposals have failed repeatedly in Congress in recent years, but proponents said they think the moment is ripe for the legislation to pass. When he was in the Senate, President Obama co-sponsored a similar bill, and during his presidential campaign he said he supported stricter ethics and campaign finance laws. The populist furor over the bonuses paid to executives at American International Group, the bailed-out insurance giant, and reports that the struggling financial sector has been lobbying lawmakers, advocates said, created a political climate favorable to changing the law."

Campaign Finance Challenged
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/23/AR2009032303142.html

[avaistheone1]

20. That's a piece of good news.

It is so depressing looking at the list of both republicans and democrats who have received campaign contributions from Wall Street. This whole Wall Street shake-down of the American public underlines the important of publicly funded elections.

[Jennicut]

23. Obama had to raise a bucketload of money to combat the lies of the media and Rethugs

but if only the stupid networks would give them free commercial time this would not be an issue. Its a sick cycle. Politicians rely on this money to get reelected and no one can do so without big time money now. The big biz send them money to influence them. They are reliant on each other and both are afraid.
I wrote a paper on this when I was 20 in 1995 in govt. class in college. Not much has changed sadly. :(

[genna]

30. I think Obama is different because he is not directly beholden to any particular interest

He raised money from far too many sources for one to be King. I concede I didn't read all his financial disclosures during the election, but Wall Street didn't pay him off.

[genna]

21. I guess I don't understand Wall Street installed Obama so they can get richer?

Even if Obama talks to every hedge manager, banker, or financial derivative specialists on Wall Street, how does the mere conversation make him beholden to them.


Since when does the WSJ tell the truth to main street when it comes to Wall Street's best interest.

I am all for a conspiracy theory, but saying Obama is Wall Street's pocket is the same as saying Nancy Pelosi has cost Obama his presidency. It is a charge without evidence to support the conclusion.

[Jennicut]

22. LOL. They hate Obama. He is "redistributing" their wealth!

Please people wake up! They really cannot stand him. Obama wants them to cooperate and start lending again. But he clearly wants the ability to seize banks AND firms (asked for the other day) to break them down and sell them off if need be. Its a mix of using capitalism to buy up the bad assetts and use nationalization in a case by case basis. You can say that is selling out or all of Wall St. needs to be blown up. But that is a philosophy he is going to pursue.
Wall St. so loves him...cause they tanked the market over and over again in Feb! Ha ha.

[ShortnFiery]

26. No, that' is part of the great deception: Financially we're getting screwed, but by a nice person.

By the time we realize it, we will morph over into full totalitarianism. I don't believe we are destine for "good times. " :(

[Jennicut]

27. Sigh. Capitalism itself is a screwed over method of creating a society.

Unless we get socialism that is never going to change. And that will never happen. Obama is pulling the country a bit to the left and all these wackjobs freak out and threaten him. You know what I mean?
Perhaps I see things from a different perspective as my parents are conservatives. Not even radical ones. They think he is a commie/ socialist. I get the anger over the bailouts but nationalization outright would probably never happen. I agree Wall St. wants to hold Obama hostage. Not with the market but with the lending to people. Obama would be crippled and then unable to enact any of his agenda. I think Obama realizes this when he talks about the bubble issues in the economy and wants to focus on actual real jobs, not inflated untrue "growth".

[ShortnFiery]

28. Yes, sadly you're spot on.

When it looked like McCain might have won the Presidency, I entertained the fantasy of moving to Sweden and opening a Head Shop with Tommy and Rae Dawn Chong. Go figure. :P

[Jennicut]

29. LOL!

Sweden is such a cool place. My Mom visited friends there when she was 20. Sadly she is now a Bush/Rush loving conservative.

[genna]

31. Once Bush and Obama put money in Wall Street we were all going on a ride

The only question I ever had was: How much is this going to cost us?

I though Bush was rewarding his friends before he left office. I still think the bad actors are being rewarded.

What I don't understand in this back and forth is: what can be done differently if we want to remain a market economy?

[Better Believe It]

24. Who do you think is calling the shots in the White House?

Kucinich, Nader or Bernie Sanders?

[ShortnFiery]

25. You got that right! + don't forget The Pentagon too? 512 Bn/year doesn't spend itself. n/t