Elizabeth Warren Speaks With Michael Moore (VIDEO): Exclusive Footage

The House Financial Services Committee passed a watered-down version of the proposed Consumer Financial Protection Agency Thursday morning.

In the words of Financial Services chairman Barney Frank: "We have restricted the CFPA from what the administration proposed."

The CFPA is largely the idea of Elizabeth Warren, the Harvard law professor who serves as the chair of the Congressional Oversight Panel for the TARP program, and who has long advocated for stronger consumer protections.

The Huffington Post has been given exclusive video of a candid interview Warren gave to Michael Moore for his documentary "Capitalism: A Love Story," much of which never made it into the film. In it, she expresses her disappointment at the lack of accountability that has come with the massive bailout of Wall Street, and explains why the need for a strong Consumer Financial Protection Agency is so urgent.

The video is broken up into three clips below.

In the first clip, Warren delves into the ever more complex financial instruments that Wall Street has designed in order to continue to enlarge their profits at the expense of their own consumers. It is here that Warren explains why we need a robust CFPA:

Financial products, and they are products, just like toasters, are sold today with the most dangerous features embedded in them because that's what drives profitability. What's astonishing is that we let this happen. You can't buy a toaster in America that has a one in five chance of exploding. But you can buy a mortgage that has a one in five chance of exploding, and they don't even have to tell you about it... We have consumer protection for everything you touch, taste, smell, feel... But there is no equivalent for credit cards, for mortgages; there's nothing.

At one point Warren laments: "I teach contract law at Harvard Law School, and I can't understand my own credit card. No, I am not kidding you."

WATCH:

In the second clip, Warren describes how "the very people who drove the car over the cliff have been instrumental in shaping how the American taxpayer was supposed to save it. In the past," she notes, "when you drove the car over a cliff, you lost your job." She criticized the government for not conducting a thorough and transparent investigation into the causes of the financial crisis, which is essential because "responsibility is not just about blame. Responsibility is about making sure we fix this and it will not happen again."

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Warren also suspects any such investigation would have serious legal ramifications: "I was talking to someone who spent many years as a prosecutor, and he said when that much money disappears it's usually because somebody broke some laws somewhere."

WATCH:

In the final clip Warren talks about what led her to Washington and what motivates her to continue her fight to protect the working class Americans. Her family is from a poor background, she relates, but they worked hard and succeeded, and then were sucked into the crisis along with much of the nation's middle class. "If the people who were directly affected, people whose lives have been wrecked by this, are not represented at the table, we won't get the right solutions," Warren says emotionally. "Yeah, we'll patch this up - and then in ten years it crashes again and it crashes again and it crashes again... My job is to be here for the people who just don't get a voice in this game. They've been shut out now for 30 years in this. It's to say no more."

Moore ends by professing his belief that the financial crisis and the ensuing solutions prove that not only is our current system immoral but also that it does not work. Warren grimaces but does not disagree directly with Moore. Instead she takes a different approach:

But we made up these rules. The rules are of men, of people. We pick what the rules are. The rules have not been written for ordinary families, for the people who actually do the work. We have to rewrite those rules.

WATCH:

Comments

[highskooldropout]

Elizabeth Warren- intelligent, plain spoken, humble, passionate about social equality and justice .... very impressive person. Can we clone her about 100 times?
I like the comment about Michael Moore's movie "Capitalism" being a flop. I checked out some conservative website dogging the movie, followed a link to website listing movie box office totals. In the "documenta­ry-politic­al" category, Moore has 5 of the top 7 all time spots. Yeah, what a failure! The poor guy! Thanks to conservatives for pointing out this flop of a filmmaker! Another example of conservative self delusion.

[Luke3]

Michael's new movie tanked big time at the box office. It was one of the lowest grossing movies all year.

[mbaty]

Queen Elizabeth!

[rf-hawaii]

Didn't she just say we need to get rid of Geithner and Summers?

[tjfxh]

Elizabeth Warren for President!

[tlgeiger62]

Without a doubt, Ms. Warren is an invaluable part of the TARP Oversight Committee. Every time I see her on TV I am relieved that she's there. It can't be an easy task to do what she has been charged with doing and I believe she absolutely is there to stand up for the every day person.

[Carolab]

I saw her go up against Geithner in the panel hearing when he finally showed up. Impressive woman. Even with laryngititus as she had at the time.

[Wisconsin Dave]

50th AMENDMENT

Abolish our capitalist dictatorship and replace it with democratic equality.

U.S. Constitution, 50th Amendment

(1) Delete: “All men are created equal”

(2) Add: “All men are not created equal, therefore the highest priority
of government shall be to protect those less intelligent from the
supremely intelligent rich.”

[SharpDressedMan]

Stiill hallucinating?

[JPHR]

Cynicism can't replace action.

[rf-hawaii]

Intellect is not necessary to be among today's rich. Association with the right crowd is more important.

[DocTwain]

I'd support her in a primary challenge against Barack "Goldman Sachs" Obama.

[RTIII]

Me too.
.

[liberalOrgonian]

In a windstorm of greed which took over the financial systems,
Brooksley Born and Elizabeth Warren have shown integrity,
honesty and concern to better a corrupt system.
Is it a trend for women to be less greedy?
We want one of these remarkable women to represent us as fed chairman.

[TommyMcCarthy]

Well said! With regard to Brooksley Born.....s­ee also "The Warning"

pbs.org/Frontline Simultaneously inspiring and chilling

regrds
tm

[rf-hawaii]

A must-see ...

http://video.pbs.org/video/1302794657

[GaBu2]

Elizabeth Warren for ruler of the world!

[twebster321]

Check out http://livinglies.wordpress.com & http://tawebster.spaces.live.com to get the REAL scoop on the accounting swindle that has left us picking up the tab - MAKES ENRON LOOK LIKE PRE-SCHOOL!

[jinxed]

ENRON was the test balloon for wall street just like the savings and loan debacle in the 80's was the test balloon for the banksters.

[SharpDressedMan]

Were you in Beck's Rx cabinet again?

[Levonsky]

Elizabeth Warren for Secretary of The Treasury and Fed Chairperson!

[Joethepauper]

For what? What has she DONE? I hear a lot of words, but where did our money go? She's the one in charge of letting us know and tracking that money. She's a decent actress, but I was hoping for ACTION! Find that money and keep them from using it to hire lobbyists to write loopholes into the legislation (of which there hasn't been any in over a year). When I see REGULATIONS, I'll give her props, but not until SUBSTANTIAL AND PUNATIVE REGULATIONS are passed and THE CULPRITS ARE IN PRISON. That hasn't happened, so she's not effective. Get Spitzer in there! The price of the escorts is nothing compared to the price we will pay for the next round of bailouts.

[ccairnes]

Now let's see, Spitzer was in politics and a law enforcement while the ripoff was going on, as I recall. Warren was never and isn't now in law enforcement or politics. What did Spitzer do that would lead anyone to think that he would devise regulation to protect the public or put culprits behind bars? Warren, on the other hand, has the intellect and moral fiber to do something with this mess if given the opportunity and the authority.

[Josh Seipp]

She has the power to: hold hearings, review official data, and write reports. That's it. And I think she's doing a great job. i wish she had the power to do the things you outline there, and if she did, I bet they'd happen.

[littlesprout]

A "decent" actress??? Are you kidding me? She is taking action. She's using her voice and she's been talking more loudly as each month passes.

Do you hear ANY ONE of the officials that were elected so much as asking one of these questions let alone all of them? Do you hear Obama even asking these questions? No - you don't - THEY all receive hundreds of thousands of dollars from Goldman and Chase and Citi and BOA whereas Elizabeth Warren doesn't.

She is the only person who's taken a hard and vocal line on this - standing up and demanding answers to questions and articulating them in PLAIN English.

Get a clue and open your eyes and ears.

[Boxjob]

Wrong again Mary Lou. Elizabeth Warren was appointed by the House of Representatives and has been honest. The one who let this hapopen, indeed insisted this happen in the President. I believe him guilty of perfidy.

[whitewater]

Elizabeth Warren and Sheila Blair should be required reading for all young families trying to build a nest egg.

[Matt7]

Ah . . . reading. There's the rub. An earlier poster said that if she were on TELEVISION, in place of Oprah, they'd WATCH her.

[Amit Tikare]

This is not TV but but close enough for anybody who cares ..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akVL7QY0S8A

[bioluminescence]

Every four years Americans come together to form a union of voters. They get to change the faces of the middlemen and bag men for the monied ruling class who never give up their places at the table.

But Americans don't have to wait four years to form a powerful union. They can do that any day and everyday if they wanted. They could form a union of consumers and cut the cash flow of targeted companies to a trickle if they wanted to. Big money thinks in quarters. If quarterly profits fall significantly earthquakes roll through companies.


If Americans want to take back their country they have to stop waiting for common sense from politicians and start wielding dollars and cents to the monied interests who have this country by its throat.

[LHoney]

Dollars and cents?? 95 percent of the population holds only 5 percent of the pie. We are cooked...

[THEPILGRIM]

No, we are not. Do you know what a GDP is? Gross Domestic Product.
If we boycott large corporations like Wall Mart for example. If all Americans for 1 month would stop buying at Wall Mart they would go out f business.
If all Americans stop for 3 month paying their credit card bill, Cap One and Co would go out of business.
Get the picture!

[bannorhill]

If you look at the 20 richest people in the US at least 12 are self made. They started with nothing and worked their way up. 5 more are children of self made people.

If you want to make it don't look to the government. Do it yourself.

[Spiritgirl2]

As usual Elizabeth Warren is right on target. American sheeple - take notice those people that speak of "small government" and "conservative principles" are THE VERY PEOPLE THAT ARE WHORING FOR THE CORPORATE OLIGARCHY! STOP PUTTING THEM BACK INTO OFFICE!!

"WE", this nation needs people that are willing to stand up to the OLIGARCHY to beat the barbarians back behind the gates! Yes, I hear you now, "those people aren't working hard enough - because I've got mine! Stop pretending to yourself that all is well, stop acting as though the deck hasn't been rigged! This isn't about individualism, this is about what we claim as a MORAL SOCIETY - FOR THE BENEFIT OF ALL, NOT JUST THE FEW!!! Are you so blinded by your greed, that you believe you too will be among the Forbes 500 Richest - so you too can screw over your fellow citizens - puhlease, get over yourselves!

At what point will you all get tired of the "Peeing on your head and telling you it's rain" story?! At what point do you not understand that unless "WE ALL STAND TOGETHER WE WILL SINK!" How much worse, and how many Americans must be homeless/j­obless/und­erpaid/und­eremployed­/on the soup lines - before you are willing to acknowledge that the system and those in charge are pimping "US" out for their private gain??!!!

[Joethepauper]

So re-write those rules!! Quit TALKING about it and start DOING something! It's been over a year! They have made even more money during that year. I could have told MM everything she just said 10 years ago. There was nothing new in that conversation. The reason the rules need to be re-written is because we allowed entities and people with vested interests write those rules. Here's an idea, Elizabeth: Find your old credit card contract from the 80's, and make that the new credit card contract. Furthermore, look at mortgage contracts from the 50's and use those forms. Repeal Graham/Leach/Blyly, bring back Sarbanes/Oxley, ban lobbying, look into either a Tobin Tax or a financial transactions tax, and start arresting people who are gaming the system. I'm not an economics professor at Harvard, and I would have already had at least a few dozen people in prison by now. DO SOMETHING USEFUL!!! Get Spitzer in there. He was effective. I'll chip-in for the escorts if he can solve some problems.

[oldguru]

None of this is going to happen as long as Sumner, Geithner and that crew are still in charge. Economics is one area that Obama has very little experience in. He needs a team around him that represents the COUNTRY, not Wall Street. I would love to see Elizabeth Warren, Paul Krugman, Eliot Spitzer and some of the progressive economists in charge, but we have to convince Obama that he needs to fire the team he has now. Instead of venting on Huffpo, why don't we write to the President and ask him to rethink his reliance on these Wall Street men. That is what I intend to do.

[Joethepauper]

I have, but that's about as useless as writing your Congressperson. They don't read it (just like they don't read the bills that the lobbyists write for them). If there is a reply, it's a form letter thanking you for your question (no mention of what the question you asked was). No taxation without representation, right? Write your Congressperson or the White House 100 times, and at least 99 of them will get form letters in return. Lobbyists, however, have no problem walking right up to Capitol Hill and having lunch with them. That's not the kind of "representation" George Washington would have wanted, and I think he would be forming a second American Revolution over it. Wall St., Congress, and K-street have negated Bin Laden's entire existence. He's sitting in his cave laughing because whatever his plots for Wall St., Congress, and K-street were, he's much better-off letting them continue what they are doing, because they are causing America's demise much faster than his guys ever could. That's why we haven't been attacked since 9-11.