Substantive discussion in the House-Senate financial reform reconciliation conference is focusing on the Lincoln amendment, with some back-and-forth on the Volcker Rule (as manifest in the Merkley-Levin amendment). The FT reports today that Paul Volcker is no longer opposed to the Lincoln approach - now it has become clear that this is really just about (substantially) raising the capital that banks need to back derivatives trading. And the influential Tom Hoenig, of the Kansas City Fed, appears to be strongly in the Lincoln camp.
While our most experienced regulators weigh in, the lobbyists start to struggle. The mobilization of broader support against gutting the legislation also helps - the earlier Senate debate has raised sensitivity levels and there is a new concentration to the public scrutiny. The reconciliation process itself is much more open than would ordinarily be the case -- a result of outside pressure.
But amidst all this excitement and potential moving parts, don't forget about the Kanjorski amendment (not currently on the list of most prominent topics).
The Kanjorski amendment would greatly strengthen the hand of regulators vis-à-vis big banks and further reinforce their power to break up those banks. This is not, unfortunately, the same thing as the Brown-Kaufman amendment, which would have broken up the largest six banks outright.
Still, the Kanjorski amendment is important for the next time that one or more major banks get into serious trouble. Judging from their current swagger and the slogans you hear from top bankers ("our risk management is now simply amazing"), we only have to wait a few years for the next bailout cycle.
A great deal of discretion would remain with the regulators, and of course this is a potential danger. But the heightened public awareness of the idea that "bailouts are bad" at least increases the chances that management and directors would be replaced in a failing megabank. Whether creditors would face any losses remains a more open question - but at least the Kanjorski amendment, if applied properly, would put that possibility firmly on the table.
Brown-Kaufman was turned back on the Senate floor, but the Kanjorski amendment is an integral part of the financial reform bill that passed the House. And Congressman Paul Kanjorski is a formidable member of the House conference delegation.
When you argue and push hard this week for the Lincoln amendment and for Volcker-Merkley-Levin, don't forget to also push for the Kanjorski amendment.
This post originally appeared at the Baseline Scenario.
Living on credit/using a lot of credit is basically making a deal with the devil. And, as long as you keep up your end of the bargain, 'Lucifer' lets you keep living in your house, driving your car, and otherwise behaving as though you actually have money, which you don't. You have the illusion of money, coupled with the illusion of financial security, when at the end of the day, all it is, is just a bank account, a loan. A securitized loan, sometimes, meaning that your payments now go to satisfy investors. Not all bad, right? Not all good, either. But, where it gets ugly is when people start doing things to meet their bills, and the people on the receiving end start playing games that end up screwing people, sometimes, for life. Stay away from credit and lending unless you know what you're doing, and don't sign your life away. You only live once, do you want to live on the banks' plantation, slave in gilded cage?
1) They need a real patriotic sounding name mixed with something homey like the word "family" or something which sounds busy and industrious and hard working like "commerce" or "business progress", etc.
2) The funding needs to be as obscure as possible so "just anyone" can't find out who the backers are; i.e. it's not cost effective for middle class types to investigate with the intent to prove conflicts of interest and corruption at said think tanks.
3) They are routinely tasked to produce "studies" that back the most Orwellian crapola you can imagine for the sole pupose of being used as PR for some business or government big wig.
4) Principled individuals are never employed.
5) "Employment" for "scholars" or some other academic sounding title is used to provide a temporary seat for unemployed politicians still favored by some nutball elite millionare someplace.
6) They have private armies for their security and said armies engage in vengeful acts beyond the press slanders and into physical vandalism.
They are a form of mafia, period. We are like a termite ridden tree. It looks the same but has been totally hollowed out. Whatever vestige of democracy we ever had is gone.
It seems to me that the rich people get their propaganda outlets for very little of their money and we the people need to learn how to create and support organizations that will support us.
FREE COMPETITION IN CURRENCY ACT
Stop inflation, bubbles, and recessions by permitting free market money to compete with Federal Reserve Notes. - http://www.downsizedc.org/etp/campaigns/85
AUDIT THE FED!
Would you like to know what the Federal Reserve is doing behind closed doors? - http://www.downsizedc.org/etp/campaigns/112
the gold standard is the tool of tyrants all through recorded history, Caesar killed the Roman Empire with it
At last a couple of the Wall Street banks are stuffed to the brim on Greek debt. When Europe implodes later this year, all of the banks are going to be crawling back to Obama for another 14 trillion dollar handout.
http://www.franconomics.com/fourteen-trillion-dollar-value-drain-II.html
And if Obama/Bernanke have their way, their buds are going to get that hand out, in the name of the American people.
Here's the link to the amendment. You can educate yourself at www.congress.org which lists all congress contact information, bill and amendments, how they vote and who received campaign money from what businesses.
www.fairelectionsnow.org will take the big money out of our elections and allow our elected officials to work for us during their term instead of campaigning for cash and reelection.
We can make a difference but not by posting here unless it leads others to educate and inform themselves and those they know and love. It begins with YOU and ME.
If now us, who? If not now, when? If not here, where?
2) If not now, when?
3) If not here, where?
The answer to "1)" is to reframe the question. We have never been in charge. The elite have always been in charge. The reform must come from a principled elite, period. The unprincipled elite are quite adept at anticipating the "gripes" of the average citizen and countering through PR, fraud or force.
The answer to "2)" is VERY SOON. The fact that the elite controls the currency is the hammer lock they have on our government (no mattter who is elected). How long do you think our wars and pro-corporate policies will hold up without world financing? We are effectively broke. The Chinese are slowly eating our lunch. When our currency crashes, we will be forced to be a more peace loving, sensible country.
The answer to "3)" is a country or group of countries with a stronger currency than ours (not here).
There are essentially two ways to game the system:
1) Selective enforcement of laws (i.e. you only crack down on your enemies- see 1980-1998)
2) Make banking gambling and fiscal irresponsibility legal (see 1999).
If people scream loud enough, they'll go back to 1).
Big deal.
Two parties but just one elite. Anyone else doesn't count except as cannon fodder and tax targets.
A great way to stop this would be to stop hiring "regulators" that came from the very banks that they are supposed to regulate! Can I propose to have career government service people doing the regulating? This way, it doesn't matter whether the democrats or a rethugnikans in office, these people would only answer to the taxpayers! Part of the problem is the revolving door between government and the industries that they are supposed to regulate - people keep going from one to the other depending on which group has "the power" - if there are careerists in those jobs it wouldn't matter as long as they are doing their jobs for we the people!!
To slightly paraphrase a song about "Just another way of saying Bobbie got the blues"..
the term "discretion" Is "Just another way of saying the public just got screwed".
Or mathematically, the formula for gauging actions to protect citizens, "discretion" equals ZERO.