"White House Vows Wall Street Crackdown This Year"

[Clio the Leo]

White House Vows Wall Street Crackdown This Year

BY KENNETH R. BAZINET

The Obama administration insisted today that a financial reform bill must have measures in place that ensure taxpayers are not “on the hook” because of Wall Street’s bad behavior.

The financial crisis responsibility fee — a tax President Obama wants applied to the biggest firms in the financial sector — would help recoup “the extraordinary” Wall Street bailouts the Bush and Obama administrations had to impose in order to offset the finance industry’s greed and save the economy from total collapse, according to Assistant Treasury Secretary Michael Barr.

“The financial crisis responsibility fee would make sure that no taxpayer money is on the hook for the past financial crisis,” Barr told reporters.

Barr and other administration officials insisted that regulating the secretive and complex derivatives market, which helped tank the economy, also must be big part of the financial reform bill. Up until now, traders in derivatives have been allowed to get away with their unscrupulous practices.

Obama has warned Congress against weakening consumer protections in the pending financial reform bill.

The officials described Obama as being “very engaged” in shaping the bill, meeting regularly with “stakeholders” and his own staff. Even some Republicans expect a bill cracking down on the greedy Wall Street and banking industry will pass this year.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dc/2010/04/white-house-vows-wall-street-c.html

[rfranklin]

1. There's only one way to regulate Wall Street...

Make sure that when they screw up, they lose all of their money. The fact that the screw ups walked away with tens of millions is a guarantee that they will keep on doing what they've been doing.

[Dr Morbius]

2. I think this should have been done first, before healthcare reform.

I hope this time, "this year" actually means this year.

The economy cannot fully recover until this gets done. Investor confidence cannot return. We're building on sand right now, and will be until we implement some regulatory reform on Wall Street.

America should have learned her lessons by now: too much regulation may be harmful, but too little regulation is disastrous. We cannot allow the enemies of America to claim "free markets" to justify predatory practices. Not anymore.

[Hawkeye-X]

3. No more "Too Big to Fail" crap - if they're too big, cut them down to size

and break it up.

That's what you do when youo have an overgrown cancer in the system.

[Skink]

4. Pretty big tax.

maybe AIG can offer to insure these new taxpayers.

[ClarkUSA]

5. "Obama has warned Congress against weakening... the pending financial reform bill" Yeah!!

That's the type of CHANGE that gives me HOPE.

Love the idea of the "responsibillity fee".

[katandmoon]

6. I'Il hold my breath. NOT.

[cherokeeprogressive]

7. He's a Fierce Advocate for cracking down on Wall Street.

Yup.