Albany Times-Union Editors Urge Eric Schneiderman To Defy WH Pressure And Stand Up To Wall Street

[Hissyspit]

Via Glenn Greenwald:

http://www.timesunion.com/opinion/article/Don-t-fold-now-Mr-Schneiderman-2138352.php

Don't fold now, Mr. Schneiderman

Published 12:01 a.m., Wednesday, August 24, 2011

They are fair questions, made all the more so by the ongoing revelations about the near collapse of the American economy three years ago. What's wrong with aggressively investigating the practices of the major banks? What's wrong with holding them accountable for their contributions to that crisis?

Nothing we can think of, certainly.

Yet here's New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, a Democrat, under fire from the unlikely quarters of a Democratic White House, for his continued opposition to a deal that would let banks off easy for their questionable practices. Mr. Schneiderman resists the terms of a proposed settlement, especially those that would make it harder to prosecute such discredited dealings as bundling loans in mortgage securities. On Tuesday, Bloomberg News reported that he was removed from the executive committee of state attorneys general working on the settlement.

- snip -

It's disingenuous, meanwhile, for the Justice Department to be arguing that its motivation to settle with the Wall Street banks is all about helping the homeowners who took out those bad loans. A deal that would prevent further legal action against the banks is a disservice to all the homeowners who could be the victims of the next mortgage debacle.

COMPLETE EDITORIAL AT LINK

[xchrom]

1. Recommend

[wildbilln864]

2. k&r!

we should show support for Mr. Schneiderman.

[ProSense]

3. This is absolutely ridiculous

<...>

It’s disingenuous, meanwhile, for the Justice Department to be arguing that its motivation to settle with the Wall Street banks is all about helping the homeowners who took out those bad loans. A deal that would prevent further legal action against the banks is a disservice to all the homeowners who could be the victims of the next mortgage debacle.

There’s this possible motivation for the Obama administration, too: Wall Street banks wield great political influence, and are generous contributors to political campaigns. Perhaps the White House wants to win them over, or at least neutralize them in a presidential race that’s already under way.

That’s not Mr. Schneiderman’s problem, however. He should continue to stand up to Wall Street. Immunity from litigation should be out of the question until we know what exactly it is we’re forgiving

<...>

If the President had control over the state AGs, none of these AGs who object to the settlement would be on the panel. The President is going to get slammed one way or another: for doing nothing to help homeowners, settlement or not. To claim that the motivation is political donations is despicable.

Miller removed Schneiderman from the panel.

Bloomberg

<...>

“New York has actively worked to undermine the very same multistate group that it had spent the previous nine months working very closely with,” said Miller, who is leading the state group. For a member of the executive committee, that “simply doesn’t make sense, is unprecedented and is unacceptable,” Miller said.

<...>

An executive committee of 13 attorneys general, not including Schneiderman, and two state banking regulators is leading negotiations on behalf of all 50 states, said Geoff Greenwood, Miller’s spokesman. The executive committee has a smaller committee that negotiates directly with the banks, he said.

<...>

The attorneys general who want to continue their own probes after an agreement include Martha Coakley in Massachusetts, Delaware’s Beau Biden and Catherine Cortez Masto in Nevada. Delaware is also a member of the executive committee. the 50 state attorneys general.

<...>

“Ongoing investigations by attorneys general cannot be shut down by efforts to settle quickly and those responsible must be held accountable,” Kanner said. “While it is Attorney General Miller’s prerogative to remove us from the executive committee, we will continue to be an active voice on these issues as a part of the 50-state coalition and in other forums.”

<...>

So unless, Miller is working on behalf of the WH, this is preposterous. What about Biden?

[gratuitous]

4. When someone makes a "mistake" that profits him

He's more like to make that "mistake" in the future. If the banksters get off scot-free for the mortgage debacle they helped create, and all the blame goes to "irresponsible" home buyers, there's nothing to stop the banksters from pursuing the same shady practices in a year or two from now.

[ProSense]

5. Another aspect of the story that's overlooked

is that Kathryn Wylde, the person mentioned in the NYT article yesterday, is a Cuomo ally:

The seeds of the pro-Cuomo lobbying giant known as the Committee to Save New York were sewn in 2009.

Activists Confront Kathy Wylde At Home

While Yves Smith tried to link her to Obama in her criticism, she conveniently forgot that she knows Wylde is tied to Cuomo:

<...>

That brings us to the most interesting question: who is this Kathryn Wylde? The organization she heads, the Partnership for New York City, is an influential group. She ranked 11 on a 2009 list of New York City’s most powerful women.

<...>

A little less than a third of the individuals named to Gov. Cuomo's New York City economic development council today--or their organizations--gave campaign donations to the governor.

The donations totaled $183,530.

Just two of the 24 members appointed to the council donated personally to Cuomo in recent years. Kathryn Wylde, president and CEO of the Partnership for New York City, gave $1,000. Her organization also gave $16,250.

more

Wylde slams AG

Partnership for New York City President Kathryn Wylde has had choice words in the media for Attorney General Eric Schneiderman's lawsuit accusing Bank of New York Mellon of fraud during the housing bubble. She has called the suit “grandstanding of the worst kind,” a “careless action” and “an outrageous charge” that could derail an $8.5 billion settlement between the Bank of NY-Mellon and Bank of America over toxic securities.

Some insiders say Ms. Wylde's attacks raise a conflict of interest; she sits on the board of directors for the New York Federal Reserve, which regulates banking. However, Ms. Wylde noted that the board, which also includes banking CEOs Jamie Dimon and Richard Carrión, serves no regulatory function.

link

Something is going on in NY, and it likely has nothing to do with the President.


Check out the videos on her organization's site and some of her writings:

New York Needs Real Reform, Not Higher Taxes

<...>

New York's two biggest areas of spending are Medicaid and education. Both are tough to scale back. But New York's Medicaid program has the most generous eligibility standards in the nation and provides patients with "Cadillac" health care plans. It also allows virtually any New Yorker to shelter income and assets in order to qualify for taxpayer-funded benefits during the last years of life. This is why our Medicaid costs are double the national average. It is not easy to cut spending on health care, but it is unfair to increase taxes on some New Yorkers so that others, who could well afford private health insurance, can shirk their responsibilities.

When it comes to education, 21 percent of the $52 billion state school budget goes for non-instructional purposes. The state has far too many local school districts, each insisting on running its own transportation system and maintaining a gaggle of administrative employees, consultants and turf prerogatives. New York's education spending is 67 percent higher than the national average, without a commensurate advantage in student outcomes. Districts resist consolidation, but their parochial concerns should not trump taxpayer interests.

<...>

Advocates for a millionaires tax argue that the state has a revenue problem, resulting from a financial crisis and global recession that depleted public coffers. But the current year's tax revenues are estimated to be only $100 million short of their all-time peak of $60.8 billion in 2007-08 and are projected to grow to $64.8 billion next year. In short, New York's fiscal crisis is a consequence of spending too much, not taxing too little.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has called for fundamental reform of the programs and policies that have made New York the highest cost, highest taxed place to live and conduct business in America. He seems to have momentum to bring real change to Albany. He is trying to take the actions required to make our state competitive again. Adopting a millionaires tax at this time will only detract from those very promising efforts.