Major Doubts Greet Paulson's Plan For Financial Rules Overhaul

I think you may well be right. William Murchison just published a column where he defends the free market approach. But he argues that the candidates ought to be discussing the issue. The url is
www.creators.com/opinion/william-murchison.html

The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, (November 12, 1999), is an Act of the United States Congress which repealed the Glass-Steagall Act, my question is, did this help bring us to where we are today? I'd like someone to begin to explain how deregulating, allowing these banks to play in all these various financial markets, was and is good for the economy? How is it that everytime there's some form of deregulation, corruption finds it's way into the mix? This is also a bill that President Clinton signed into being, what does Hillary have to say about this?

Thank you Milton Friedman. This is nothing more than another phase of the "Shock Doctrine". The US used to confine the utilization of disaster capitalism to foreign countries. I guess 9/11 was just seen as too much of an opportunity by the Chicago School to not implement their economic policies. It's beginning to feel a lot like Pinochet's Chile, after the CIA's implementation of their 9/11 in 1973.

One of the central points of this plan to destroy effective regulation of the financial markets is to place considerably more power with the Federal Reserve Board.

This is by far the most outrageous of the suggested changes. Bush and his minions truly despise the entire concept of oversight. The members of the Fed are appointed for 7 year terms and it is extremenly difficult to yank them out of their seats of authority. Bush wants to give these people more power and less accountability.

Wow... sounds like a situation ripe for corruption. Gee, think the financial markets might be tempted to subvert the new, all-powerful, unaccountable True Believers that Bush will shove into the Fed???
No wonder it's in Bush's plan.

The shrub sure has a penchant for no accountability...

This is typical Bushco.

First, de-fund a fully functional agency so as to make it dysfunctional. Loudly complain about the inability of government to do anything effective. Surreptiously create a shadow organization within the administration that is unencumbered by previous law and regulation to nominally regulate, but in actuality give free reign to those subject to regulation. Declare that the current regulations don't work and urge Congress to pass new laws to deregulate. Then reap the profits for (Bush & his cronies) while the public suffers and pays.

The Paulson proposal is a bunch of rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic, elimination of the very effective pre-Bush SEC, addition of new agencies that won't do anything, and effectively giving the purveyors of the wreckless mortgage-based derivatives and other extraordinarily dubious and unregulated securities a free reign to continue raping the American public of their hard earned dollars.

Major doubts???

This thing is Dead On Arrival.

quack, limp
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Sounds like a Lame Duck to me...

Paulson always looks like he's sniffing an armpit.

Kudos to Huffpost. The photo is better than a Mastercard advert. Pricelsss.

Keep up with the 3 stooges photos. I need some humour in my life. BRAVO.

Paulson: "Some may view these recommendations as a response to the circumstances of the day," Mr. Paulson said. "That is not how they are intended."

That was a good one.....

"Hey, don't get any fancy ideas like we are responding to any actual events of the day that concern something real. This is all strictly window-dressing. Consolidating power under the banner of the FED is such a great idea anyhoo.We were gonna do that anyway. Just like the Nazi's"

I wonder if these people have any idea how full of shit they are?

I agree with this Huffpo poster: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ian-welsh/the-paulson-plan-doing-w_b_94378.html

This plan is just another in a long line of convenient usurpations of power from the citizens, done at a time that is convenient for them. They have been planning this. As Krugman points out it does NOTHING to resolve the actual problems. From his point of view it's a Dilbert company solution, doomed to fail. I think it's more sinister than that. Read the article at the link above.

CYA. Bush has driven the economy into the shitter. Now he wants to at least say that he had a plan, and congress did not pass it.

Hell of a job Paulson!

I cannot conceive what is worse, the actions of Bernanke making saving money a joke in the U.S. or Paulson's obvious bias's for his past associates and tenure on Wall Street. If ever a saying applied, Paulson IS the Fox guarding the chicken house. Sort of like, when Bush retires (Thank God) and the next President appoints him as Good will Ambassador to the world.

What balls Paulson has to actually stand up at the podium and deliver this steamy pile!

HuffPost's Pick

I live in a small politcaly moderate state, with a population of 31 million people, that"s a hell of tax base yet our roads are falling apart, one of major military bases is being shut down, our school system which used to be in the top 5 in country is under pressure, and yet a bunch of corrupt ignorant Bible thumbing Southerners call us socialist. I"m tired of this nonsense that irrespirable homeowners created this melt down, when Greenspan dropped the prime though the floor encouraging barrowing and driving housing prices though the roof along with property tax assessments. I am tired of the "Alice in Wonderland" Bush administration pouring hundred of billions of dollars into Iraq with dubious results, ignoring the will of more than 70% of the American people yet our fearless chicken hawk VP response is SO. I"m really tired of George Bush"s neo-con happy talk cloaked in religious code.

I am a responsible home owner, I live in a modest 3 bedroom 1,600 square, 60 year old Cap Cod in a established neoborghood, I put down 35% on my home, I drive a fuel efficient car, yet I am getting killed with exploding property taxes, a 300% increase in heating cost, in fact every bill I pay is up by at least 30%, and some yahoo, my taxes support, calls C-Span and refers to people like me as socialist and communist, because I want my government to work for me again.

Doubts? There are doubts? I don't have any steenkin' doubts.


It sucks. It's a pure give away. Paulsen should be run out of town for trying to make this pig fly.

Apparently theses crooks are walking away from the Friedman model, they are suppose to correct themselves, right!. I wouldn't trust these crook as far as I could throw them, This is a scheme that is all these people know. I wouldn't trust anything that they came up with. They have stolen too much already. Congress beware of this plan we must be vigilant and tell congress not to be suckered again by these thieves.

What has the Bush Adminstration done right since they took office?????

ANYTHING?????

Why would you trust them now??????

Seriously, no one from this administration needs to be doing ANYTHING until the door hits them on the ass on 1/20/2009 after their horrendous track record. With Bu$h and his cronies, EVERYTHING is about the RICH getting richer and the POWERFUL getting more power. The little man means nothing to them. That's why Bu$h wants the tax cuts to the VERY rich to be permanent. That's why healthcare and energy costs have SKYROCKETED during his tenure. That's why we invaded Iraq, so the people in war profiteering and Big Oil would get more of the pie. We are left with a recession and foreclosures. Gas and food prices keep climbing. And the people, the REAL people, are left with crumbs from that Bu$h pie.

Frankly, I don't want THIS administration doing ANYTHING that regulates ANYTHING. They have lost the credibility and moral authority to impose any kind of structure on any of our institutions.

In the past 5 years Bear stearns 3 top execs received remunerations of over 125 million each. Not bad for bankrupting a company.
Republicans for years have touted the "moral hazard" philosophy when it comes to helping the poor and the middle class. The Republicans, for example, considered it a moral hazard to this nation when Medicare was passed, by that they meant the medicare participants had to pay something, hence we have copay. Take note what copay will the company that took over Bear Stearns have to pay the taxpayer?

I ache for a parliamentary democracy or something like it in the US. It's nice to want things.

The Federal Reserve is responsible for the down fall of our monetary system, now the Bush administration wants to put them even more in charge. We were warned about this by Thomas Jefferson. It is time for a revolution, and everyone in the Bush administration needs to be tried for being a traitor to this country.

Shoulda stayed at Goldman. Another reputation in the trash!

This administration only abuses power. So, they should be given no more power. And, they use their power to the detriment of our people, our nation and our planet.

You can be sure that any policy enacted and any legislation passed will have been largely written by the banking and financial services industry, and crafted for their greatest possible monetary and PR benefit. Whatever genuine limitations they might have to initially accept on their activities they will work on gradually eroding over the next 10-20 years, at which time we'll be right back where we started, if not much worse.