The same Washington spinsters who have driven our country into the ground seem to be out in full force this morning, claiming that their latest policy "victory" is the most "sweeping change" of our financial regulatory since the Great Depression.
Actually, it is nothing more than window dressing.
The real sweeping change of our financial system took place over the past 20 years. The irresponsible repeal of Glass-Steagall in 1999. The Commodities and Futures Modernization Act of 2000 by Larry Summers and Bob Rubin -- the one that legalized the most destructive financial instruments of all, derivatives. The leverage exemption at the SEC in 2004, asked for (in person) and received by Hank Paulson and friends.
Of course, there are small victories here -- there is better investor protection and, most importantly, an awakened citizenry.
What's not fixed?
- The Cops (regulators and ratings agencies) working for the crooks.
- Banks still Too Big To Fail.
- Banks gambling with your deposits.
- Banks allowed to "mark to myth" and use off-balance sheet accounting to bonus themselves into the atmosphere, with the taxpayer taking the fall.
- Banks getting trillions from the Fed, Fannie and Freddie -- AKA you, the future and present taxpayer.
What does it mean for us?
It means that the same people who brought you these horrible changes -- rising wealth discrepancy, massive unemployment and a crumbling infrastructure -- have now further institutionalized the policies that will keep the causes of these problems firmly in place.
Meanwhile, all involved in the facade try to pretend that this should be considered a success because, gosh, real financial reform is just too hard and those crafty banksters will just outsmart us anyhow. Many in the media are either too complicit, too confused or too lazy to contradict this spin, but the rest of us shouldn't buy that BS. Real and lasting financial reform is actually quite easy to implement -- and the last time we had a crisis of this magnitude, we kept the banksters in check for 70 years.
Time and time again in America, they don't win -- we do.
And I believe as we head towards election time with leaders whose only plan for creating new jobs is a few more workers manicuring soon-to-be even bigger Bankster bonus-fueled estates coupled with a few more government handouts, this lesson will be learned once again.
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Zach Carter: Wall Street Reform: A Good First Step
This bill is unquestionably deserving of support. It will make the global economy a fairer marketplace. But it will not end the too-big-to-fail incentives that encourage Wall Street to take wild risks.
Lynn Parramore: "Disappointing and Inspiring": Roosevelt Fellows and Colleagues React to FinReg
I asked Roosevelt Institute fellows and New Deal 2.0 colleagues to explain the good, the bad, and the ugly on the FinReg bill.
Wait until they start raising you taxes to pay for the Wall Street life style.
They don't worry about anything because no matter how bad it gets, Dems will still vote for Dems and Repubs for Repubs. They have no respect for the average American and treat you with scorn time and again and people line up to give them their support still.
We're in free fall and so many seem to barely notice.
Seems obvious that the next generation is toast if their parents don't put some new people into Congress who haven't already been lined up, vetted and groomed to deliver more of the same by the status quo brokers that are robbing this country blind.
But more to the point: This business did not start with Bush or Clinton or Bush or even Reagan, although each is culpable in this nightmare. It may actually have started in the early 1970's with Prop. 22 in California, as this event triggered a series of land restriction scenarios all over the place. And, it is artificial reduction in land availability, poorly managed, that seems to have set in motion a succession of events and counter events that lead to home prices going out of reach in many places. The lack of "affordability" had many sociopolitical problems, including racial overtones. It created a momentum for "affordability" that lead politicians to create and allow all kinds of convoluted and "creative" financial no-no's in a desperate attempt to increase "affordable" home "ownership." This, I think, is the underlying issue that prompted politicians of ALL stripes to dismember the monetary, banking, and tax systems, bit by bit over the last 35 years as the whole thing careened out of control.
Politicians have always bought love at the ballot box by spreading around money they steal from us taxpayers. Perhaps we might consider this axiom as we try to "regulate" the money, and the banksters who finance said politicians.
Though NOT even remotely "sweeping change", this legislation IS "victory" for the Robber Barons and their government servants - as usual.
They will surely succeed at plunging us into the depths of neo-feudalism unless enough of us wake up and collectively stand up - loud and strong.
Andrew Marshall put together the most comprehensive piece I have read so far with regard to the advanced agenda of the transnational elites who own and control most of the world's wealth and resources, and they seek to control global populations as well so they can ensure their continued dominance.
"In April of 2009, a major global charity, Oxfam, reported that a couple trillion dollars given to bail out banks could have been enough “to end global extreme poverty for 50 years.”[46] In September of 2009, Oxfam reported that the economic crisis “is forcing 100 people-a-minute into poverty.” Oxfam stated that, “Developing countries across the globe are struggling to respond to the global recession that continues to slash incomes, destroy jobs and has helped push the total number of hungry people in the world above 1 billion.”[47]"
It's a very good read, however chilling.
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=19873
http://www.standfordemocracy.com/ratify/
Forward it to your friends.
not holding my breathe......look for a double-dip in the economy as soon as the summer effect on the economy is over....should be easily noticed by late sep to oct