Biden Blasts "Cowboys on Wall Street"

Vice President Joe Biden blasted the "cowboys on Wall Street" Monday, squarely placing blame on the nation's financial center for "an economy built on a bubble."

Biden's remarks came during a campaign event in Detroit for a pair of Michigan Democrats in Congress, as reported by Dawson Bell of the Detroit Free Press.

Discussing the economy, Biden said it was easy to forget "just how horrible things were back in January." But now, as a largely jobless recovery begins to take shape, Biden told the crowd that the administration's measure of success will be whether the nation's middle class emerges from the recession in better shape.

It's the second time this month Biden has referred to the "cowboys" on Wall Street.

During a Nov. 2 campaign event for then-Congressional candidate Bill Owens, Biden said:

Ladies and gentlemen, derivatives, gambling with your money, taking risks that exceed anything reasonable, leveraging things 30 to 1 is still permissible if we do not and if you wondered whether or not they'd go back to their same old ways, I just ask you to pick up the paper. What will -- what will Bill's opponent do about that? I know what he'll do; support reasonable, rational means by which we can get banks starting lending money again. We can make sure that people have a fighting chance and that we do not leave our future in the hands of a bunch of gamblers and cowboys on Wall Street.

Owens, a Democrat, won the race to represent New York's 23rd Congressional District. Meanwhile, various reform proposals for the financial services industry are making their way through Congress.

Comments

[ChampLessFuzzy]

Thank you Joe, you are correct but being too kind with descriptio­n...cowboy­s is too good of a term. I could offer far worse, but as others have pointed out, try "unethical thieves".

Mr. Vice President, you have my permission to start some re-regulation of these turkeys; while you're at it, go right ahead and pop 'em in the nose...I know you're good for it ;-)

[hypnotoad72]

So congress and the President have their hands tied by these cowboys? Ironic; the bankers seem to be the hogs for the hogtying contest, not the politicians (regardless if they're bought'n'sold or not or whatever)

[opama]

can politicians ever stop talking and instead, do one tiny thing, no way

[kamact]

"Cowboys" is an extremely generous label - thieves is a appropriate term for a group who have caused more damage to Americans than any terrorist group.

Kamact, a capitalist who believes in the benefits of regulation and progressive taxation

[econ1]

This may be why we are likely to repeat this whole process.

It is someone else's fault. Not the government regulators that encouraged (or even demanded) that banks lend to less credit worthy borrowers, or that kept lowering the requirements for loans to be purchased by Freddie and Fannie, or decided on a tax policy heavily favoring real estate over productive investments. Not those of us who borrowed beyond their means or spent everything and more.

So now we are....ins­isting that banks loan money, lowering the requirements for Freddie and Fannie, giving tax credits to buy a house.....­.

People seem to be adjusting their behavior by saving but the the government is just more of the same.

[Havingfun100]

Yep and Congress and the regulators had NOTHING to do with it. Go ahead and take the easy road, Joe. People usually attack when they don't have a solution. I love that so many people think the only greed is on Wall Sreet. Congress is fully culpable and equally as greedy....­.they just rarely have to pay for their greed. Barney Frank and Congress helped to create the housing bubble which was the backbone of the crisis because they didn't have the guts to say not everyone should own their own home, only those who are financially able. Also, where were the regulators? Jeez, Joe, we can recognize a political stunt when we see one.