Something wonderful is happening, twice in one day, serious journalists are asking the same question? What happened to Financial Reform? They are asking for accountability and Solutions. My voice for the People has been joined by the voices of Pro Publica, gone mainstream at The New York Times and Gwen Ifill on PBS last evening, 5/22/14. An idea whose time has come: FINANCIAL REFORM! Mark your calendars on May 22, 2014, a Pro Publica writer, Jesse Eisinger, questioned the wisdom of the President of the United States by asking the question, ” why is there no action on Financial Reform”? He notes that all strong Regulators were removed or have resigned. Why?
We know that Dick Durbin tried to help the American people by proposing a change in the Bankruptcy Laws. People’s homes would have been excluded and thus saved from bankruptcy and foreclosure; under his legislation , their loans would have been modified to reflect reduced valuations .
- Senators Warren and McCain proposed Glass Steagall for the 21 st Century
- The Volcker Rule to control derivative trades was crafted under Dodd Frank but never implemented.
- Sherrod Brown and David Vitter also proposed legislation on derivative trades
- 16 Senators, 1/2 the total needed , are pursuing legislation to overturn Citizens United.
- Sarbane’s has proposed legislation for Public funding of campaigns
Yet our President remains silent? Why? We the people are entitled to know the reasoning behind doing nothing. We can handle the truth.
On the same day, the scathing NY TIMES article was printed, Gwen Ifill of PBS interviewed Timothy Geithner, who evaded answers to her questions. He stated, ” they did the best they could in 2008, and there was Collateral Damage; ” we the People” were the collateral damage. He is reverential when speaking about The Economic Titans of our day. Awe struck when he speaks about them and their inability to grasp the enormity of this Financial Crisis and their inability to cope with it’s consequences. Now he is a part of that Titan Group!
It’s odd to hear him speak, when Charlie Munger and Warren Buffett were warning the faithful for 10 yrs that the sky was going to fall and that the Country would go through ugly times. At the time I had no idea how Bad was Bad, but I assume Warren and Charlie and Michael Lewis knew.
Fast forward to 2014, a lot of us believe that we are no closer to Financial Reform now? We also know that TBTF has gotten bigger? Why? When is Congress going to stop being the “whipping boy ” for bad policy and earn the Country’s respect? Who in our government is capable of providing leadership and passing legislation that protects the People and not Big Business. It is past time to reverse this State of Inequality..
Does no one other then several small voices, like mine, speak for ” we the People”? Who is going to take the first baby steps toward reform?
When I was at Ford Motor Company, there were problems with the paint finish at the Wayne Assembly Plant. I would meet with the operating committee of the Plant weekly and no one would acknowledge the problem. Finally, after weeks of discussion and verbal abuse, the Supervisor of Paint stood up, took responsibility and stated before all of us what he perceived to be the problem and how to resolve it. The Plant Manager congratulated him and we proceeded to fix the problem. It was that simple!
Pfizer was more proactive. It was( around ) 1980, we had contaminated a batch of streptomycin . I had the authority to stop the line. Everyone, managers, hourly employees met in a conference room, we brainstormed the problem. The cause of contamination was identified, isolated, cleaned and the line was up and running within 12-18 hours. Oh, I forgot to mention we took the time to notify the FDA , our Regulatory agency. All procedures followed in a thoughtful, orderly manner. Problem solved.
Denial is not a river. The Country has experienced severe economic retrenchment. We cannot afford to throw up our hands and pretend no problem exists. Rather we should be adding programs to help ” we the people survive”. We the People for the People, it’s my voice and everyone’s concern. We can’t afford to let this opportunity go to waste. The time for action is now. We have work do to if we have the will. If we can build space ships, decode DNA, the list continues, we can do anything. Anything except remain silent and do nothing!
http://nyti.ms/TyVASa NY Times Floyd Norris byline 5/23/14 Financial Crisis, over and already FORGOTTEN!
