‘Dramatic enforcement actions’ coming to Wall Street soon: Geithner

[IDemo]

Source: Rawstory

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner Friday promised “dramatic enforcement actions” against Wall Street power brokers who helped guide the economy into a slump.

In an interview with CNBC’s Steve Liesman on “Squawk Box,” Geithner was asked about the “bit of chaos on Wall Street” (as Liesman characterized the Occupy Wall Street protest).

Geithner said, “People want to make sure that the government, Washington is acting to make things better now,” and pointed out consumer protections that Congress had picked up, such as the Dodd-Frank Act.

“What we’re focused on is trying to make sure that we are doing everything we can to encourage the Congress of the United States,” Geithner said. “In this case of course it requires Republicans, can’t do this just with Democrats, to get Republicans to take some steps now that can make growth stronger in the United States and tie that to some reforms to bring down our long term deficits.”

Read more: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/10/14/dramatic-enforcement-actions-coming-to-wall-street-soon-geithner/

[Bluzmann57]

1. All I can say is...

Seeing is believing. So far...nothing. And I expect it to remain that way.

[TheWraith]

22. Nothing? Dodd Frank is nothing? The Volcker Rule is nothing?

[woo me with science]

30. Dodd-Frank? DODD-FRANK?!

See, this is *exactly* the kind of milquetoast bullshit we can expect to be labeled as "dramatic" by this corporate administration.

:eyes:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/liamhalligan/7908516/Obama-signs-a-bill-that-lets-banks-have-US-over-a-barrel-once-more.html

Obama signs a bill that lets banks have US over a barrel once more
By Liam Halligan
7:15AM BST 26 Jul 2010

....
The closer you look at Dodd-Frank, the more apparent becomes Wall Street's influence. Limits on leverage – rejected. Limits on bank size – rejected. Restrictions on derivatives – well, some trading will go through a central exchange, allowing more scrutiny, but it's entirely unclear how much.

At every turn, this bill avoids decisions, delegating them instead to an army of regulators who will turn generalities into actual rules...Are there limits on credit card interest, ensnaring adjustable rate mortgages or predatory pay-day loans? Nope.

Some other omissions in the bill are breath-taking. There is no mention of Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac – the government-sponsored mortgage-providers that have already cost $145bn in bail-out cash, rising to almost $400bn by 2019. No mention, either, of capital requirements – which means the global banking system must rely, once again, on the ridiculous Basel process for resolving this crucial issue. Once again, Obama missed a chance to give a lead when it comes to financial reform.

Based on sound-thinking courageous judgment, the Glass-Steagall legislation was only 17 pages long. Packed with wheezes and loop-holes, Dodd-Frank runs to 2,319 pages. Enough said.

[BillyJack]

31. +1

[BillyJack]

32. +1 AGAIN - read this

[slipslidingaway]

33. ^^^^^ knr nt

[girl gone mad]

41. Not only that, most of it will likely never be implemented..

and what has been implemented was watered down (to appease the demands of the bank lobby, of course).

[TheWraith]

42. Typical of you to cherry pick one negative op-ed packed with right wing talking points.

Right back to the same one that they used on healthcare reform, that somehow the bill being long was proof that it was horrible.

The fact is that actually, many of the things that op-ed claims aren't covered in Dodd-Frank ARE covered in other financial reform bills.

Maybe you'd like to actually read FACTS before you go spouting off again.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dodd–Frank_Wall_Street_Reform_and_Consumer_Protection_Act

[woo me with science]

48. ROFL! So an article praising Glass-Steagall over Dodd-Frank...

is now "right-wing talking points"? Praising Glass-Steagall? Over DODD-FRANK?

That one goes in my Hall of Fame. :rofl: (and we'd better notify the Republicans!)

Now...back on point.

"Based on sound thinking and courageous judgment, the Glass-Steagall legislation was only 17 pages long. Packed with wheezes and loop-holes, Dodd-Frank runs to 2,319 pages. Enough said."



I assure you that there are many more articles just like this one, with even more specific complaints about omissions and glaring loopholes. I have posted several here in the past. I wish I could find one in particular that I saw a little while ago. The dismayed reviewer, like this one, noted the enormous size and Rube Goldberg-like complexity of this corporate mass of caveats and loopholes, and suggested that one motive of Dodd-Frank was simply to overwhelm anyone who tried to read it and implement anything in it. And, as posters have noted above, much of it probably won't ever be implemented.

So I had to laugh, too, that because you couldn't disprove ANY of the specific omissions cited in the excerpt I posted, you gave me a blue link to a forty-three page Wikipedia article.*

(and yes, I put it on Print Preview to check...43 pages) :rofl:


Oh my. Support OWS. They are our only visible hope.




.
*(To be fair, there was a glitch in your link, which led to a general page on "Dodd." But I went ahead to the Dodd-Frank page using my powers of inference...)

[Amonester]

2. "get Republicans to take some steps now"

Is "NO, NO, and NO" some steps? :shrug:

[Nuclear Unicorn]

11. Actually, I think the formal title of their plan is

Nein! Nein! Nein!

[Dragonfli]

20. lol - good one /nt

[Amonester]

29. Yup.

eggzacklay.

[lovuian]

3. I agree talk is cheap let's see some ACTION

please

[yourout]

4. And this time we really really really mean it.

Talk is cheap.

Money is king.

[backscatter712]

5. This is why we have OWS.

Without pressure from the base, we wouldn't even get this pabulum.

We're clearly gonna have to keep pushing hard if the boardroom psychopaths are really going to be held accountable for their criminal actions.

[CJCRANE]

6. I was excited

until he mentioned Republicans.

:boring:

[Scuba]

7. Ow, ow, my wrist!

[Earth_First]

8. Are they boiling the water for the noodles?

I bet no less than 2 individuals serve a total of 10 years, combined.

[xchrom]

16. Just 11 years for that hedge fund fraudster.

I bet he walks out STILL RICH.

[TheWraith]

23. Thank the judge. The prosecutor recommended 24 years. nt

[xchrom]

25. Thank the system that let's a judge that far along

To make judgement like that.

There's no reason NOT to throw the full weight of the law at that guy except corruption in the judiciary.

[EdMaven]

36. madoff? i'm wondering whose toes *he* stepped, as he was not the biggest fish in the stagnant

rotting pond by any means.

[dkf]

9. Are the SEC and current regulations so ill equipped to handle what is going on?

Why do they need Republicans?

[clayton72]

10. Over 1000 went to prison in the S&L scandal of the 1980's...

How about some prison time for those who sold ethnic communities on variable arm loans when they had the credit scores for the good fixed rate loans that white folks with similar credit scores got? How about for the folks who bundled those loans and sold them as mortgage back securities when they knew they were a crappy investment? Or those at the rating agencies that gave them AAA ratings so that pension funds could put all their money into the toxic assets?

[gratuitous]

12. Thanks folks, he's here all week!

Try the veal, and remember: It's hip to tip.

Wait, this isn't very funny at all. Don't quit your day job, Tim. Whatever that might be.

[leveymg]

13. I'm afraid the only enforcement actions on Wall St we'll see are against unauthorized protests.

That's what America has become, and I blame Obama, Geithner, along with the GOP slimeballs who created this debacle.

First we lost our jobs, then our homes, and now the Constitution. This Administration and almost all of Washington are part of the problem, and unwilling to impose any solution other than cracking down on the inevitable stirrings of popular discontent.

[malthaussen]

14. It's Important to Realize

That nothing is going to change anytime soon. It is going to take a long time -- years -- for real reform to be enacted, and for any part of OWSs goals to be addressed. The most important character trait the members of the movement need to demonstrate is stamina.

In the meantime, the existing powers may throw a few bones at the peasants. And they will probably be rubber.

-- Mal

[nadinbrzezinski]

15. Chief cynic

Once we see it...actions and all that.

[piratefish08]

17. a call for his resignation would be a believable start for me............

[JBoy]

18. Stay calm he knows exactly where the crooks are -

"They're in the area around Tikrit and Baghdad Wall Street and east, west, south and north somewhat."

[nineteen50]

19. He knows

they will do nothing.

[sabrina 1]

21. No need for Congress or Republicans. Has Geithner ever heard of

the Department of Justice?

Still, they are finally hearing the people they so totally dismissed up to now. The victims of the crimes they refuse to prosecute.

If they want anyone to believe they are serious, Senator Levin's Committee sent them an indepth report of their two year investigation into the Wall Street Meltdown. All they have to do is assign a team at the Justice Department to start reading it. It's long and will take time, but as Sen. Levin said in response to questions about possible criminality they may have uncovered 'there were definitely signs of corruption and criminality and we have referred our findings to the DOJ.

That was months ago. Since then there has been no further news about the report.

[lunatica]

24. Using the Republicans as an excuse why they can't do nothing about nothing.

Jesus! They really think we're idiots.

Well I used to tell my boys that the minute they thought they were smarter than everyone else was the minute they proved themselves to be stupider.

[SomethingFishy]

26. So he's going to dramatically enforce the rules

that he spent the 00's breaking?

Fuck him.

[elehhhhna]

27. He's a traitor. He sabotaged Elizabeth Warren. Screw his lies.

[Bodhi BloodWave]

43. how did he sabotage her? unless i'm wrong she wanted to run for senate n/t

[vets74]

45. Senator is better than getting pissed on.

Compliance is a prosecutor's job anyway.

[elehhhhna]

47. Vanity Fain Nov. issue, profile of Warren. He's disgusting.

[Marr]

28. Yeah, from the cops and towards the OWS crowd.

Maybe that's what he means.

[Missy Vixen]

34. Watch out!

There's a sternly worded letter on its way!

:woohoo:

[EdMaven]

35. yeah timmy, it's only going on 4 years.

[ellie]

37. Yeah, okay.

[marmar]

38. Right, like Timmy would do anything that would upset his peeps.

[Name removed]

39. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Marrah_G]

40. Actions- until I actually see guys on WS in cuffs...

... then it's all just words. I've heard lots of words that ended up either void or turned completely on their heads.

[vets74]

44. Coulda sworn I saw Geithner out there at OWS NYC under a blue tarp.

Jeans and two sweatshirts, a red bandana, old Frye boots.

Needed a bath.

That Geithner.

[Poll_Blind]

46. Wake me when the shuttle lands, Tim. nt

PB