When Barack Obama says that there is no need for a 9/11 Commission to investigate Wall Street, he is wrong.
Senator Obama states in part, "this is not 9/11 where we didn't know who did it." By saying this, Obama seems to reveal a lack of understanding for the need for public accountability. He also seems to fail to understand that Congress cannot be trusted to investigate Wall Street or itself.
On 9/11, we knew who conducted the airline portion of the attacks--it was the 19 suicide hijackers who held Saudi passports and flew the planes into the buildings. But what was perhaps more important to investigate and examine was who in our government failed to protect us from those attacks. Because we never wanted those attacks to happen again. We wanted to learn lessons. We wanted to be safer.
Anyone who followed the creation and work of the 9/11 Commission knows that the Commission's Final Report was far from perfect. The 9/11 Report ultimately failed to hold anyone accountable. In short, nobody was fired or publicly embarrassed. Pathetically, the 9/11 Report's most famous line might have been that "because everyone was at fault therefore nobody was at fault."
But the 9/11 Commission did conduct an expansive, fairly transparent investigation that would have never occurred without its creation. (Incidentally, Senator McCain was the first Republican willing to help with regard to the creation of the 9/11 Commission. He stood up to the Bush administration back in 2002 when nobody else in his party was willing to do so. Indeed, the 9/11 Commission's bill was called the McCain-Lieberman bill. It is for that and for Senator McCain's early stance regarding torture that I will always respect him. But for me, respect doesn't always and automatically translate into a vote.)
The 9/11 Commission's Final Report set out (at least) some of the systemic failures that occurred on behalf of our government agencies and institutions on 9/11 and made wholesale, sweeping recommendations. While those recommendations were never truly implemented, CIA, FBI, DIA, NSA, INS, the State Department, Treasury, NORAD, the Port Authority of NY/NJ, the airlines, airport security, Congress, and even Presidents Bush and Clinton did not escape the Commission's review. Sunlight turns out to be a fairly effective disinfectant.
Perhaps more to the point, the Commission's Final Report topped the NYTimes Best Seller List for months. In other words, the American people were interested and following along with this attempt at open government accountability. (Whether people actually read the 9/11 Final Report or simply placed it onto a dusty bookshelf is another issue.)
Sure, I know the Bush administration's lack of regulation is ultimately to blame for the recent Wall Street debacle. Just like the Bush administration is to blame for the failure to implement many of the 9/11 Commission's final recommendations. But, Bush will be retiring to Texas soon. So while we won't have the satisfaction of voting him out of office, we do have the hopeful notion of a new President who might better understand oversight, transparency, and accountability.
All I know is that I want the names. And I don't mean just the names of the guys who ran Lehman, Bear, Merrill, and AIG. I want the names of all the account managers, brokers, traders, VP's, etc. who participated in this Wall Street ruse. A scam of unsurpassed greed that is having more of a devastating impact on our economy than UBL had with the 9/11 attacks.
We need a systemic disinfectant and deterrent factor when it comes to Wall Street. An independent investigation with non-partisan, disinterested experts is a damn good start. As a taxpayer, I want answers and so should you.
And I have some news for Senator Obama: This Wall Street and economic crisis is not 9/11, inconceivably and alarmingly its effects on our economy look to be worse than 9/11. Senator Obama ought to recognize that.
Incidentally, the next 911-class disaster is ripe and ready to happen with Health Care and seniors. Even though most seniors are of sound mind, providers push seniors into signing unconscionable contracts and extort balance-billing payments that may lose them their home and life savings. Forget that no one understands most of this crap until they have been hosed.
Being of sound mind does not mean sophisticated to predatory sales practices in place today. From a provider’s perspective – the perfect sucker with assets.
Obama’s wife is right in the middle of this. I would give him the benefit of the doubt except that he used the same Harry and Louise style ads that those same thieves used to stop healthcare in the 90s against Hillary with the Democrats blessing.
We must get ahead of the looming Health Care rip-off of the American people after lining up and shooting the worst of the housing thieves. Stop balance Billing and void any providers health care contract of any kind with anyone over 60. We must protect these people now.
Do not get started on privatizing social security so the same ordinary Americans can be empowered to manage their own safety net in a sea of sharks and rigged parlor games.
We must begin to white-collar criminals no differently than any other crime. Even it means new statutes and law enforcement. Lying to and misleading people during the course of a sale, or getting people to sign unconscionable contracts or deals must be punishable as a crime like robbery, since that is exactly what it is. This potentially happens everywhere there is a broker or sales person. Not all brokers or real estate agents are bad; when it looks more like a con job, you have crossed the line.
I say that unscrupulous and unethical behavior during a sale gets the same punishment as theft or in the case of a large purchase, grand larceny. Get accountability now, especially if the sales techniques and training of these people are systemically unethical. Perp walks for the most egregious violators. For example, to deal with some agents or brokers, you often must sign documents that let them off the hook if they lie to you. These should be illegal now. Withholding important common knowledge verbally and then jamming it into small print in a contract is also wrong.
Caveat emptor, works fine with a street vendor. Financial ruin of ordinary people and potentially the country because of slick sales jobs by greedy brokers, some getting as much as $30,000 in commission on a single deal, demands immediate action. If there was ever something that demanded accountability on the level of 911, this is it
One of the reasons that America's moment at the top will be short-lived is that history is moving much more quickly than it used to. The countries that get into the digital age go into fast-forward. If you take a snapshot of the world today and say, "A-ha! This is what the world's going to look like for the next century," it's very dangerous. Tomorrow could look very different.â€
--Charles A. Kupchan
Read the rest of the 2002 Q&A with Mr. Kupchan here:
http://dir.salon.com/story/books/int/2002/12/02/kupchan/index.html
As I read, I was struck by the relevance to today’s climate. We had all better start (if you have not already) thinking outside the box that all is going to remain as we have known it, or the surprise of dramatic change to standard of living could prove fatal.
Something is happening in our world and Washington is not telling the truth because it fears the panic or the stampede. That could prove to be a catastrophic mistake on Washington’s part. Better to let us in on the grim news. Although, they really do not have to, just look around.
Obama/Biden 08
The idea of a commission has been suggested by McCain, no doubt in the desperate hope it'll deflect some of the focus on the current Republican created financial tsunami until after the election.
It is entirely possible there are enough stupid people in this country for this crazy ploy to work, hence Obama's reluctance to support it at this time.
Let's be brutally honest here: no one died in the Wall Street meltdown. People will be hurt financially. But nothing compares to the death, destruction and fear of 9/11. This financial meltdown will be history in a year, as soon as the stock market bounces back. 9/11 is a permanent scar on the soul of this nation.
It makes me terribly sad to see them compared.
I would suggest that if there is a lack of understanding, it belongs to Ms. Breitweiser. Unlike her, Obama understands that if one is attempting to collect information quickly, accurately and with a modicum of efficiency, so that those responsible for wrong-doing might be held accountable, one does NOT appoint a Congressional Commission to do so.
~AS~
Bravo for this article. I have always admired your courage and what you have to say!!
However, in the last several posts you've written for Huffington Post, it's become evident to me that you cannot or will not accept the fact that Hillary Clinton lost the Democratic presidential nomination to Barack Obama. Ms. Breitweiser, I voted for Senator Clinton in my state's primary, but now I, like many people who want real change in this country, wholeheartedly support the Obama/Biden ticket. As for a commission to investigate the financial collapse in the United States--no, we don't need another commission! We KNOW what has happened and who is responsible for this mess! We need a president who understands economics (that doesn't include McCain!) and who will institute policies that will benefit the vast majority of Americans who are on the verge of losing their savings thanks to the idiotic policies of the current Administration!
In closing, Ms. B., you seem to have become one of the PUMAs, who plainly are more interested in voting against their own best interests than in voting for the best candidate who is running for president!
You want appoint a commission 5 months from now that will study what happened on Wall Street for 2 freaking years while we the rest our economy goes down the toilet and so they can come back with a half-assed white-washed report blaming nobody. A president McCain would ignore the findings of that report just like president Bush ignored every commission report and just did as he damn well pleased anyway.
I'll tell you what happened. Deregulation. Your buddy Bill Clinton caved to Newt Gingerich with his Contract On Americans and signed the repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act. A law enacted to prevent the corruption and abuse in our financial sector that caused the Great Depression. Guess who lobbied his ass off to get that bill repealed? Phil Gramm, John McCain's economic guru.
This situation is not 9/11 and the last thing we need is a commission. We need to re-enact Glass-Steagall. We need REAL lobbying reform. The middle-class needs tax cuts and universal healthcare. Both the rich and business need to pay their fair share. It's not rocket science.
The fault lies at the feet of Reagan republicans and the Democrats who went along with the republicans in order to maintain power.
The fault also lies at the feet of every American bought into the misguided rhetoric of the Reagan/Bush policies and voted for republicans.