If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
The Blog
The following conversation did not take place... but wouldn't it have been interesting if it did? Geithner: Glad I found you. We really need to talk...
And so it goes, the revolving door between government service and big money in the private sector spinning so fast it becomes an irresistible force hurling politics and high finance together so completely it's impossible to tell one from the other.
A corporation is accountable to its workers, its customers, its community, its country. The executives who run American corporations have forgotten that. Or they reject it.
Through the 2MP initiative, services of second mortgages have the option to modify the lien or to extinguish it -- which is an admission that the mortgagor is not likely to be repaid for the second mortgage, and they clear their interest in the property by filing a lien waiver.
To have brought Goldman to the judgment of its citizen peers in a court of law would have been calmingly therapeutic for the nation as a whole. What transpired, however, seemed like a rigged extravaganza.
Why has the SEC apparently pursued such minimal settlements? The answers are surprising in that they reflect a wide discrepancy of views.
The SEC faced the choice: litigate with Citigroup, the big, powerful, well-connected Wall Street bank, or litigate with a single Federal District Judge who can't actually defend himself.
Wall Street banks in general are laying off more and more people given the headwinds of the financial sector. But that is the point. How many of the laid off could have been kept on the payroll with just a portion of Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit's paycheck?
This morning Barack Obama channeled one of American history's truly transformative figures by visiting the tiny Kansas town where Teddy Roosevelt gave his "New Nationalism" speech over a century ago.
The ruling of Judge Rakoff has caused consternation on Wall Street.
Hopefully the next time a bank commits a crime, the guys who fell asleep at the wheel won't have their defense paid for out of your retirement account. We'll only see improvements in banks when directors are liable.
You can believe in the free market, or you can believe in today's Wall Street. But you can't do both.
The failure of the SEC or any other government agency to hold the banks accountable provides the essential justification for citizen action of the sort the Occupy movement has offered.
As we ring out what has been a pretty lousy year for most of us, Wall Streeters are all aglow -- thoughts turning to sugar-plum fairies dancing in their brains, bearing bundles of spring bonuses.
In light of the financial meltdown, many thought that, finally, the Wall Street cop -- the SEC -- was back on the beat. Sadly, the agency's recent settlement with Citigroup makes it look like they are still more interested in appearing tough than being tough.
Yes, big banks are a big part of capitalism. But OWS and the Tea Party both see that what the big banks are doing on the backs of the taxpayer is not capitalism. It's a Frankenstein's monster-version of capitalism masquerading as free enterprise.
