To those watching these three men testify this morning: Are you feeling more confident?

[Skidmore]

I'm not. I don't consider myself to be a financial whiz at more than conducting my household budget, and I do that pretty well. I'm sorry, but all I'm hearing is not reform of the financial system but rationales to preserve it as much intact as possible. Wall Street likes this plan because THEY can continue to preserve some of the system they worked so hard to put in place. You know, the system that rewards a few and steps on the smucks that will be paying for those rewards.

My gut tells me that there are others who can better do this task than these three men. I don't think there is anything magical or allknowing about any of them. I do think the one thing they have in common is that they are all men of the Street.

[AndyA]

1. Your concern was discussed on Olbermann last night.

Obama has said that we have to get the system running again, then go in and change the way it runs. Apparently we can't make the changes first, there isn't enough time. It needs to function again for whatever that's worth, then changes can be implemented to prevent things like this from happening again.

I've been concerned about the same thing, and that made me feel a little better, knowing that Obama is going to go in and fix things once we get past the crisis stage.

[Tyrone Slothrop]

3. That seems unlikely to me

I mean, if things do get "fixed" or stabilized, then what will be the impetus to change things?

The only reason that there's an opportunity for change now is because we're facing a crisis of epic proportions. Once the immediate crisis is over, the public will for change will erode and be forgotten. You can see a little bit of that already; I mean, the DOW's recovered a slight percentage of it's losses over the past couple of weeks and you already see people claiming that we've definitely hit the bottom, that things are fine now, the problem is over, nothing to worry about, let's start celebrating.

Likewise, Wall Street will fight tooth and nail against any sort of regulation from Congress -- and without the public calling for change, that's not likely to happen.

[DeepBlueC]

7. The impetus will be saving the billions it has cost us

The president has repeatedly said that the economic health of the country is not appropriately measured by day to day fluctuations in the Dow. But people watching the Dow are thinking about their own pensions, their own losses and they are entitled to exhale if they think they have seen the worst of it. Two different things.

[Tyrone Slothrop]

13. But any change is going to have to be directed by Congress

And, seeing as most of our congresspeople are in Wall Street's back pocket, I just can't foresee them doing anything to change the rules unless their constituents are breathing down their necks.

If things reset back to some level of normality, who's still going to be pushing for more regulation? The public will reset back to their thinking that they'll all someday be millionaires as long as they play the market, the Street will again be funneling lobbying money back to the congresspeople and so on. Obama may still be pushing to institute a bunch of regulations in a year or two, but he's going to have one hell of a fight on his hands if the DOW is back up in the 10,000s.

[DeepBlueC]

14. we'll see

I think Congress is pretty much going to have to support regulation or face populist rage. WE have the majority and it has always been party position that we need new regulations. If anything I think we are likely to get more than we would have dared ask for out of the crisis.

[Skidmore]

17. I hope you are right about that. Congress seems oblivious to

their role in this mess. All I've seen from congresspeople and senators alike is a lot of fingerpointing, partisan sniping, and revision of history.

I really would like to see us take it to the Capitol steps. We do need a mob with pitchfork, and not just on Wall Street, but on Pennsylvania Avenue as well. They only get it rhetorically.

[Tyrone Slothrop]

23. Well, like Skidmore, I hope you're right too

Regulation is desperately needed. That said, I'm all too familiar with the short-term memories of the collective American public -- particularly so in a society where we have megachurches preaching the prosperity gospel -- and I don't really have a lot of faith in either house of Congress right now. They just seem much more interested in satisfying their corporate buddies than the public.

[DeepBlueC]

25. Did you see the hearing this morning?

[Swede]

5. Let's put out the fire first,then do things to prevent another fire.

That's the gist of what was said.

[ShortnFiery]

11. There won't be SQUAT to save once "the fire" is put out.

We didn't start THIS "fire" either. :grr:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jR-A4QFHZBA

[lamp_shade]

2. I feel a little more confident. I keep reminding myself that it makes no difference

who holds these seats, people will complain. Every academic and economics professional on this planet has her/his own pet solution and there won't be agreement on any of them. So I'm just hoping for the best.

[C......N......C]

4. They are all making points. It is so complicated that they shouldn't even be talking

about it now. Give them a chance and see what happens. Geithener just said it will work !

[DeepBlueC]

6. Both Treasury and the Fed have come out for new regulation

To me that is reason to celebrate. Right now they are putting out the fire and they are constrained by the lack of regulatory authority to do what they think would be best. I also understand and approve of the direction they want to go in regulating businesses. That is all good to me. I tend to think they have been unfairly maligned by people who ought to know better. The media in particular seems to do very little in the way of educating themselves. What I really hated today was MSNBC anchor muting the actual informative testimony to blather herself to no good purpose and to bring on commentators to discuss what they themselves ought to have been listening to so they could maybe offer INFORMED comment later.

[alcibiades_mystery]

8. They seem to be saying that the system needs complete reform

But that we should put the fire out before we start rebuilding the house.

I'm more comfortable that the Geithner plan is one element of a broader series of elements, rather than an end unto itself. Moreover, I think the way it is structured will actually make other parts of the planned changes more difficult to oppose than if they had been proposed initially.

[leftofthedial]

9. bingo.

these are the champions of the status quo, who are utterly unwilling to admit that the status quo is the problem.

they have dreamed p these elaborate and nonsensical rube goldberg ways to put...something!...back into the empty banana skin, and they hope we won't notice that the fucking banana is gone.

Of course, it will cost us and our grandkids' grandkids trillions more, but, gee! Those monkeys on Wall Street will just love their new "banana."

This is beyond absurd.

[ShortnFiery]

10. The ultra wealthy think they're so wise: "Here American Taxpayer, ...

SUCK UP this *shit sandwich* that you and your children and children's children will pay DUES to the upper 1% for ... NO! Really, it's delicious! We, The Corporate Masters of Government and Wall Street, made it JUST FOR YOU PEONS. Just for you to suffer, er ... ENJOY!

Go on, just take a bite please? It's a delicious shit sandwich ... trust us." :grr: :crazy:

[Skidmore]

15. It's beyond that they think they are so wise but that they believe that

only they are entitled to success, to their lifestyle, or to winning in life. It's an idea that once success has been achieved, that you are owed its maintenance inperpetuity for yourself and your family.

[sad sally]

18. amen...like the necessary evil

which as we know becomes less and less evil and more and more necessary.

[ShortnFiery]

19. True, a GOPer Representative on C-SPAN Journal exclaimed, "Wages are too high!"

These are the EVIL and GREEDY legislators that we must deal with. Plus don't fool yourselves, BLUE DOG democrats sing the same "Corporations First and Foremost" refrains that the corrupt GOP does. :grr:

[bdamomma]

24. maybe we should serve them with a shit sandwich they deserve it.

[leftofthedial]

12. Geithner is demonstrating the OPPOSITE of leadership.

Before you can solve a problem, you have to recognize what the problem is.

We think the "patient" is our economy--us, you, me, our families, our jobs, our savings, our homes, our communities. His "patient" is the Wall Street status quo, which exists solely to enrich a few people beyond all imagining.

[Skidmore]

16. I've been thinking the same thing. There is a perception by Wall Street, I believe,

that we out here are the problem, not the money making schemes they so brilliantly connived together and used to rip the nation off.

[Oilwellian]

20. Yes, I'm more confident than ever...

that we are totally screwed. :grr:

[TahitiNut]

21. FIRST you land the plane and THEN you repair it and correct design flaws.

The last people I'd expect to discuss REPAIRS (regulations and enforcemnt) to the financial system would be Geithner and Bernacke in front of Congress. They're there to answer about landing the plane ans saving lives ... of passengers, of crew, and of people on the ground.

It really makes little difference whether folks LIKE the way the plane is designed at this point.

[Skidmore]

22. Problem is that hwe are no longer in a plane, but

in a submarine at about the level of whale poo, as far as I'm concerned. And we've lost the periscope and compass while being commandeered by pirates.