dagblog - Comments for "Schumer: "Leave the bankies alooone....""

we show we truly care for one

jollyroger — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 00:11:47 +0000

we show we truly care for one another

Well, that's the rub, is it not? We can't even get so enlightened a player as our own Flavius to sign up with this program....

raise marginal ratesI like

jollyroger — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 00:08:20 +0000

In reply to The change that would

raise marginal rates

I like Ike...I never thought I'd be nostalgic for a Republican .

focus on State-level action,

jollyroger — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 00:06:09 +0000

In reply to "Obviously there are folks

focus on State-level action, setting up public financial institutions for small business and infrastructure and regulated mortgage-markets,

One word: Preemption. (ok, several words of explication--when the federal government farts, the state governments must stand up and salute) The bad regulation drives out the good.

Thank you, Obey; I fell

we are stardust — Tue, 31 May 2011 22:32:04 +0000

In reply to "But mostly everyone's

Thank you, Obey; I fell through the Looking Glass with that one.

Certainly valid. I think my

Flavius — Tue, 31 May 2011 22:27:53 +0000

In reply to Mmmm...but you do agree with

Certainly valid. I think my view is valid too but I think it's time to move on.

"But mostly everyone's

Obey — Tue, 31 May 2011 21:36:12 +0000

In reply to It's fun to dream about a

"But mostly everyone's objective is to maximize their self interest."

Flavius, you do realize that this is the definition of psychopathy - seeking only to maximize one's self-interest (i.e. lacking empathy, and the ability to feel guilt, shame or remorse). And even psychopaths are aware that others don't work that way.

In other words, you are a very rare kind of human being - a psychopath who believes everyone else is a psychopath as well.

Mmmm...but you do agree with

we are stardust — Tue, 31 May 2011 17:05:36 +0000

In reply to Can't even fathom why you

Mmmm...but you do agree with him it seems. Not looking backward is another thing you have in common with our President. But why make laws if you won't prosecute lawbreakers? And we already pay armies of employees in the DoJ, so... Oh, yeah; they are busy looking backwards to prosecute whistle-blowers. I forgot.

I can't imagine how you think prosecutions, convictions and sentences aren't disincentives to most crime. To my mind, the lack of prosecutions is incredible incentive/deterrent.

Can't even fathom why you

Flavius — Tue, 31 May 2011 16:35:17 +0000

In reply to Can't even fathom why you

Can't even fathom why you read Nocera; he has become all about not prosecuting bank fraud:

Easy . Because after I read him I know more than before I started. I like that And I learn more reading people with whom I disagree.. Today I leaned that in 2007 the average comp of the CEO's of the Too Big to Fail banks was $26 Million.

As to prosecution ,all crimes should be prosecuted but since that will have little effect on reducing them , practically those expenditures should be limited in favor of spending money on things that would.

Like auditing. Or drinking a beer every afternoon at the bar next to the bank's HQ..Prosecuting is backwards looking. I prefer preventing crimes that have not yet occured.

"Obviously there are folks

Obey — Tue, 31 May 2011 15:58:45 +0000

In reply to The point is to break up the

"Obviously there are folks whose overall record is less "liberal" than Schumer who are willing to do the right thing on this, so saying we need to elect 50 Senators more liberal than Shumer does not describe the task."

Granted, it is not an exact measure of the task. But the fact is that the plutocrats own the Democratic party right now. Progressives are very much the junior partners in the coalition with Wall Street, they get listened to only when ... they agree with the bankers. The dems can pass some decent policy on social issues - issues where the rich and the working class share values - but they can't pass any policies that raise taxes on the rich or hurt corporate interests (hence HCR based on regressive taxes and corporate subsidy). They can't pass policy that has well-organized grassroots support and 75% approvals. Saying progressives just need to organize better and elect better reps is misguided, imho. It isn't going to happen without a revolution in how the Dem party is structured and operates and in its dominant political culture. And there is apparently little understanding of how broken the national party is.

So, sure, 50 senators left of Schumer does not describe the task. the task is much greater than that.

Greater, and in a different sense, much easier. Forget about Washington, and focus on State-level action, setting up public financial institutions for small business and infrastructure and regulated mortgage-markets, expanding banking for the poor, prosecuting mortgage related financial fraud, exposing abuses and clamping down on them, implement counter-cyclical fiscal policy. Just like most of Asia learned to do after the '98 crisis, insulate the states from the fallout of Wall Street casino finance. In short, it's impossible to collar the rabid predator that is Wall Street at this point. It is however possible to ... lock them out of the house.

Can't even fathom why you

we are stardust — Tue, 31 May 2011 15:39:00 +0000

In reply to The change that would

Can't even fathom why you read Nocera; he has become all about not prosecuting bank fraud:

Yves:

Aargh, it is frustrating to see how quickly establishment-serving shallow arguments become conventional wisdom. We get a big dose of this line of thinking from the New York Times’ Joe Nocera in an article titled, “Biggest Fish Face Little Risk of Being Caught.”

Now you can’t disagree with the conclusion: no major banking industry figure is going to be brought to justice. But the explanation he offers is incomplete and misleading, and serves to misdirect the public from more fundamental and more troubling causes.

Even Gretchen Morgensen is getting on with some of the 'too hard' meme. It's the law to prosecute crime!