Paulson Plan Blasted By Small Banks, State Officials

Wall Street Journal:

Small banks, state officials and others began an assault on the Bush administration's sweeping plan to overhaul the nation's financial regulatory system.

Their criticism presages the long fight between regulators, financial institutions and a host of others if the proposals become legislation.

"It reads like amateur hour and it's because none of those guys ever worked in a regulated, chartered bank," said Camden Fine, president and chief executive of the Independent Community Bankers of America, a Washington trade group representing small banks, referring to the authors at Treasury. "A bunch of guys from Wall Street decided this was going to be their proposal."

Read the whole story: Wall Street Journal

Comments

[maggiemae656]

"Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson on Monday formally announced calls for consolidating bank regulation,
...creating a new type of insurance charter,...
improving the oversight of mortgage lending and allowing the Federal Reserve to peek into more corners of finance."

Every once in a while these stories mention insurance in the same conversation as the banks. What have they done that I've missed?

The big "secretive" pow-wow mentioned in the story includes the CEO of All State Insurance. Does anyone know what happened with insurance? (Other than the fact that they are one of the controlling interests of the U.S.)

[mamacat]

This latest proposal to "overhaul" something, anything, comes from the same people who sold us on the WMD story. This administration has consistently lied to us and misled us so that now I do not trust anything they say or propose. If someone from this administration passed me a firehose to help put out a fire, I would sniff it first to make sure they hadn't filled it with gasoline instead of water.
I suspect that when the truth comes out about this latest proposal from the neo-con White House, it will turn out that it is filled with ways to make it easier for fat cats to rob and steal from us. No thanks Bush.

[WIpatriot]

Let's play "Caption the Photo."

My submission is: "As I look to the futire..."

[ibsteve2u]

I'd have gone with:

"Hmmm...now how can I phrase this so that these suckers don't smell a rat..."

[WIpatriot]

You give Paulson too much credit, steve.

[WIpatriot]

"Somebody in the back row have a question?"

[Robin1962]

THE WAR IN IRAQ IS HAVING SERIOUS NEGATIVE EFFECTS ON OUR ECONOMY and those who voted for the war (i.e. hillary) should be to blame, in part, for the state of the US economy.

Look how the WAR IN IRAQ is affecting the US economy...

$3,000,000,000� 3 billion dollars PER WEEK! That is the amount America is paying for the Iraq War PER WEEK, money that should have been used here, at home.

Add to this:

Interest. We are financing the war with borrowed money (e.g. treasuries) that carries interest; so in actuality, the war is costing the United States MORE THAN 3 billion dollars PER WEEK.

Higher oil and energy prices. Instability in Iraq is adding roughly 30 dollars per barrel as a premium.

High utility bills. Due to high oil prices, demand shifts to other sources of energy - gas, coal, etc. - and greater demand will raise the equilibrium price of all sources of energy

Our dollar is weak and getting weaker. Since we have a trade deficit and is growing in large part to the rising cost of imported oil, the value of goods and services we import exceeds the value of goods we export. Everything we buy that's made abroad will cost more, Ceteris Peribus, because the dollar is weak.

Lastly, how do you think the world views our country since the argument was made for war? The evidence was weak and circumstantial, yet we rushed into war with Iraq thanks to hillary"s authorization.

[vippy]

Imagine, putting the power into just one company. Are we screwed. The regulations were there
before this administration pulled an Enron Accounting, that goes from the missing billions in Iraq
to all the financial companies and their fancy accounting, paying themselves a huge bonus while
the rest suffers. We are the modern Wild West when it comes to corporate greed.

[ibsteve2u]

lollll...of course Paulson's idea would benefit only the mega-institutions, and of course the small banks are upset. I mean, c'mon - how much money can Wall Street make on a leveraged buyout or an IPO of a six-branch county bank?

The worst possible interpretation of the motivation behind any action this Administration takes is that it is an effort to advance the interests of the average consumer or to ensure free enterprise, free markets, or fair competition.

Catch a clue; this Administration is all about making those people who have money more money, and that is all. And if that means sacrificing the small banks or the consumer on the altar of their greed, so be it.

[WIpatriot]

That's right, steve, small banks are a nuisance in their view.

[DesertLight]

Can't we just replace the stars on the flag now with 50 sickles and hammers?

[shockmagog]

Or instead, as the way things are really headed, how about 50 hobos eating out of little trash cans?

[WIpatriot]

How about 50 crossed rifles?

[maggiemae656]

Sorry, me thinks they already have a flag picked out for us...it's red with yellow stars.