"No, Mr President, Larry Summers Did Not Resolve The Financial Crisis..."

[kentuck]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/william-k-black/no-mr-president-larry-sum_b_775307.html?utm_source=DailyBrief&utm_campaign=102810&utm_medium=email&utm_content=FeaturePhoto&utm_term=Daily+Brief

<snip>
I passed up the obvious title: "Heckuva Job Larry!" That was the moment of President Obama's appearance on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart that set all Americans cringing. Yes, he really said that Summers "did a heckuva job." The candidate that was gifted the opportunity to run against the legacy of one of the worst presidents in U.S. history has, as president, used Bush as his role model to continue many disastrous policies. It was strangely fitting that he would channel Bush's infamous praise ("Heckuva job Brownie") for the FEMA chief who failed New Orleans so badly in the hurricane

<snip>
Summers had financial red ink on his hands at the time he was appointed. He was Rubin's chief minion in the successful effort to defeat effective financial regulation and supervision. (Yes, the effort was bipartisan and the Republican leadership shares in the guilt.) Summers was not simply wrong, but also arrogant and brutal, in blocking effective regulation at the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Summers was made rich by Wall Street in one of those sordid consulting arrangements designed to buy influence and reward past and future favors.

President Obama's appointment of Summers as his chief economic advisor made the administration's overall response to the crisis predictable. (Robert Kuttner gives a detailed explanation of the policies that Rubin's protégés championed in his new book, A Presidency in Peril.) The response would follow the disastrous Japanese model that has harmed their economy and damaged their integrity. The dominant characteristics can be summarized quickly: (1) the government would act for the benefit of the largest financial firms and their CEOs, even when they directed massive frauds, by (2) engineering a cover up of the banks' losses and the CEO's misconduct; (3) the administration would use the fictional reports generated to conduct the cover up to declare victory (due to their brilliance); and (4) the same strategy would impair the recovery. (For more on the cover up, see here and here

<snip>
Creating fictional numbers and hiding losses at the Fed doesn't reduce losses. Unfortunately, it increases real losses. First, it leaves the looters in charge, lets them pay themselves enormous bonuses, and lets them cause greater losses. Recall George Akerlof's and Paul Romer's title -- Looting: the Economic Underworld of Bankruptcy for Profit. They showed that even without a bailout the fraudulent CEO could grow wealthy by destroying "his" bank. With a bailout -- and the Bush and Obama administration's de facto grant of impunity and an unlimited guarantee to the SDIs -- the CEOs can loot without it leading inevitably to bankruptcy. This has made banking an even more criminogenic environment for accounting control fraud and will cause recurrent, intensifying crises.

..........more

interesting read

[DCKit]

1. Nailed it. Few corporate CEOs care about the mess they leave behind.

They just want their $$$$$ when they walk away.

The banksters and Wall St., especially, are running accounting schemes to hide the terminal condition of their firms. When the next batch of shit (the actual financial condition of these firms) hits the fan, some of our biggest banks are going down.

[Tansy_Gold]

2. O M F G

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=132&topic_id=7922946#7922951

[jgraz]

4. Yep, you nailed it.

So many of us sounded the alarm about Obama's actions not matching his words. And we were continually told to sit down and shut the fuck up.

BTW, save that pic. You're gonna need it when he guts Social Security.

[Nite Owl]

8. We still are

no matter what the facts there are the faithful who refuse to come to terms with reality.

[mcollins]

25. Too much the head in the sand crowd. nt

[speppin]

16. I really fear what might happen to

Social Security--. And from a Dem President!!

[Tansy_Gold]

47. the pic is mine, the rubber stamp is mine, the oak table is mine

I ain't gonna lose any of 'em!

And you have no idea how sincerely I wish I had been wrong.



TG, NTY

[Tatiana]

22. Credit where credit is due. Damn if you didn't nail it. n/t

[laughingliberal]

30. TG shoots! She scores! nt

[earth mom]

52. There are still some of us around here that can say "I told you so" but many have been TSed

for telling the same truth.

Love the stamp! :thumbsup:

[ProSense]

3. Same

old BS:

"(Robert Kuttner gives a detailed explanation of the policies that Rubin's protégés championed in his new book, A Presidency in Peril.)"

Peril my ass!

The administration claimed that it was vital that the Dodd-Frank bill provide it with receivership powers so that it could close a future Lehman without causing cascade failures. Now, the president tells us that he refused to follow the Prompt Corrective Action law and close insolvent SDIs because some official lied to him and told him that operating (not closing) a bank through a receivership would cause 100 banks to fail? That's why Obama has allowed the SDIs to operate with impunity and provided them with an unlimited federal guarantee? And he, a skilled lawyer, cannot see the contradiction in Treasury -- his Treasury -- claiming that the Dodd-Frank bill's grant of receivership powers would prevent such cascade failures?

Black: Let's ignore the things that are being done and claim that they will have no impact.

Dodd-Frank is just a piece of paper?

[jgraz]

5. "Dodd-Frank is just a piece of paper?"

No. A piece of paper would be far less harmful than what was actually passed.

[TheKentuckian]

6. Even if they shut down a big six bank (yeah, riiiiggghhht) it just moves us closer to

a monopoly situation.

It's a bad bill that won't stop another crisis at all and may compound such an event. Hopefully the consumer protection agency isn't so hobbled and snakebitten by fucking Timmeh taking the early lead that it isn't worthless so the law isn't a complete waste.

[jgraz]

7. The CFPB is just the sparkly distraction to get people to accept the legislation.

Frankly, every person who makes less than $1 million / year would be better off with real derivatives reform and no consumer protection agency.

Just like HCR's coverage of childhood pre-existing conditions, it's a single bone tossed to the masses to get them to ignore the feast placed before the ruling elites.

[ProSense]

10. Hmmm?

"Frankly, every person who makes less than $1 million / year would be better off with real derivatives reform and no consumer protection agency."

:rofl:

[jgraz]

11. In real life, when you don't understand something and are incapable of meaningful dialogue

do you fall to the ground and start laughing?

[ProSense]

18. OK, let's have a meaningful dialogue

"Frankly, every person who makes less than $1 million / year would be better off with real derivatives reform and no consumer protection agency."

What about the people who make under $50,000? Explain to them why derivatives reform will make their lives better.

Explain to them why this is going to make their lives better and why you the information at that link is fake.

[jgraz]

20. You're just kicking up dust now.

You can't point to a single provision that actually helps prevent a collapse, so you want to blanket me with more requests for information in the hopes that no one will notice that you're completely out of ammo.

Answer my question first, then I'll consider responding to your (bogus) requests.

[ProSense]

26. "You can't point to a single provision that actually helps prevent a collapse" But

I can: Title XIV - Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act


What happened to your quest for meaningful dialogue?

[jgraz]

29. OK, you did half of what I asked

You pointed to a provision in the bill. However, you can't show how it will prevent another collapse. Without real reform of the securitized debt market, minor tweaks to mortgage laws will do nothing for long-term economic stability.

[ProSense]

31. LOL, oh this is your interrogation?

You first

You got the provision, now get on with the initial dialogue.

People like Black can claim anything by simply offering their opinions. The fact is that there is a provision. He can stop prending that there isn't one and explain what impact the new provisions will have.

[jgraz]

34. Ok, we get it. You can't answer the question.

It was a trick question anyway, since there is no provision in the bill that would prevent another collapse.

[jgraz]

36. And yeah, I'll take Bill Black's opinion over Geithner, Summers and Obama any day.

Unlike that trio, Black does not have a vested interest in preserving the current broken system.

[TheKentuckian]

40. I agree, I'm just sayin

[ProSense]

46. It's a

conspiracy.

[ProSense]

9. Yeah, the consumer bureau will be worse than anything Bush could ever do.

"No. A piece of paper would be far less harmful than what was actually passed."

More hyperbole.

[jgraz]

12. You show exactly why it was harmful

It does absolutely NOTHING to prevent another crash, yet it gives apologists enough cover to pretend that the Dems passed actual reform.

Don't agree? Point to one provision in the bill that would have prevented the 2008 crash. Just one.

[EFerrari]

13. The other day Elizabeth Warren came out against a foreclosure moratorium

saying the states attorneys general were the best bet to deal with this crisis. We are so screwed.

[jgraz]

14. They wouldn't have appointed her to her current fake position without serious concessions

She agreed to play ball, that's why she's in the fake job she's in.

[ProSense]

15. Elizabeth Warren is trying to destroy America?

The Challenge of Overcoming Ignorance

[jgraz]

19. Oh yay, a little blue link.

I'll get right on clicking that.

[ProSense]

21. .

"In real life, when you don't understand something and are incapable of meaningful dialogue," how do you manage without the "little blue link" argument?

[jgraz]

24. If you want to make an argument, make it here

Your link-chasing is just another distraction technique.

[laughingliberal]

28. Yep. The attempts at resource burn are tres irritating.

If the 'financial reform" bill was so good, I'd think you could get one informed response to your question in #12:

"Don't agree? Point to one provision in the bill that would have prevented the 2008 crash. Just one."

[Name removed]

49. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[ProSense]

50. I see, it's propaganda if it

doesn't scream:

"OMG, we elected a secret Republican who is trying to destroy the country and the world. Where the hell is the progress? We are so screwed! At least we knew where we stood with Bush. This guy is a milquetoast corporate sellout who will wind up doing the country more harm than good."

[laughingliberal]

41. LBL/DF. nt

[EFerrari]

17. Yep. n/t

[defendandprotect]

23. How come we all know this about Summers and yet Obama thinks he "did a heck of a job"...????

[EFerrari]

27. A lot of people saw him coming, as Tansy Gold posted up thread.

They were told to shut up and go away. Ditto re Arne Duncan, Rahm Emanuel, Holder, Salazar, keeping the Bush Pentagon. And at the time, I admit I wanted to believe that we were just over-reacting.

[defendandprotect]

42. Right ... I'm asking "tongue in cheek" ... even if Obama missed Summers ....could he have

missed understanding Rahm -- Duncan -- and the rest of them?

All the stuff that shocked most of us into a very rude and early awakening!!

Rather, it's looked like an Obama/Rahma team -- DLC meet "New Democrat" =

pro-corporate administration!

[jgraz]

33. Obama thinks we don't know about Summers

Remember his surprise when people booed Max Baucus? Obama was giving a healthcare speech at a college and he said what a (paraphrasing) "heckuva job" Baucus was doing with the healthcare bill. That statement was met with immediate, loud boos, and Obama was flummoxed.

He doesn't understand that the game has changed underneath him. People now have access to youtube and internet blogs. It's much harder to fool all of the people all of the time.

[defendandprotect]

43. Basically, I think you're correct ..... it's almost humorous .... but ....

even the use of "heckuva job" is frightening -- isn't there a Repug copyright on that one?

What you might be saying is that the White House almost doesn't acknowledge the truth of

itself to itself? And approaches the public as if they were Wizard of Oz?


Amazing!

:evilgrin:

[girl gone mad]

32. Bill Black for President.

[jgraz]

35. I'd settle for Sec. Treas.

Alan Grayson for President. :D

[laughingliberal]

37. +1000 nt

[Greyhound]

38. They still hope that they can simply lie their way out of this collapse as

they've done so many times before. If the lie is compelling enough and there is still enough money in the hands of the gullible, it might work again, but sooner or later the critical line will be crossed and the illusion will collapse.
:kick: & R

[jgraz]

39. They still don't get Teh Internets at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue

[defendandprotect]

44. We're but only the "keyboard warriors" ...!!

[defendandprotect]

45. Dodd game-playing and no reinstatement of NEW DEAL rules + regulations ....

Glass-Steagall Act -=

And that leaves us open to another road of corruption, crime and bail outs?

That's a biggie --

Or the Obama/Duncan pushing of Charter schools and destruction of public education?

Are they succeeding in hiding that and I'm just an over-informed "Madfloridian" DU'er ...???

[Greyhound]

48. Everybody that reads this and similar sites is far more informed than

the "average American". We're the geeks, political junkies, and policy wonks that nobody want to talk to.

We are following so many paths to our demise that they're hard to track, but what we aren't doing is anything to actually fix the systems that have failed. We allow 'our' governments to not enforce the laws that are supposed to protect us even as those protections are stripped away (just in case a few uncontrolled people find their way into government).
:kick:

[cornermouse]

51. I kee coming back to the "if they're too big to fail", they need to

be made smaller so that they can be allowed to fail. Until you do that, nothing done is going to be successful in stopping them from doing it to us again because they don't pay any penalty or price.

[earth mom]

53. "Heckuva Job Larry!" -no one has to wonder where Obama got that one from. We are so screwed.

:grr:

[The Uncola]

54. K&R

[The Uncola]

55. K&R