WALLSTREETGREEDWATCH.COM: Recent Comments

Comment on Senate approves $787B Stimulus Plan

2009-02-15T05:19:22Z

The passage of this travesty makes it abundantly clear who is running this country now, and it is Nancy Pelosi. Barely 12% of this pork-laden monstrosity can even remotely be associated with investment in infrastructure, with much of the remainder consisting of political pig fat which was endowed upon Pelosi's caucus for her own aggrandizement. Ordinarily, "The Three Stooges" would be an appropriate cognomen to assign to the troika of Obama, Reid, and Pelosi; but it appears the only stooge in this stage act is Obama, who seemed more preoccupied with getting this bill -- or ANY bill, for that matter -- passed and signed by Presidents Day. This contrived haste resulted in the entirety of the bill being reviewed by precisely ZERO representatives and senators in both houses. The final bill wasn't posted to the White House website until well after the last vote was cast in the Senate -- a testimony to the lip service the Obama Administration has paid to "transparency."

I'm also thoroughly amused by the sudden resistence of Republicans to this largesse. Exactly when did they display this altruism and principled position when THEY were the party in power? It seems Republicans do their best work when they are in the position of being "the loyal opposition." Too bad for us peasants.

Comment on Senate approves $787B Stimulus Plan

2009-02-14T04:48:16Z

President Obama has proven to the world that persistence overcomes resistance in his bold move to honor his commitment to the American people that he would promote and sign a stimulus package by President’s Day. With the bill having passed in both the House and Senate, there will be a signing ceremony in the White House on Monday, February 16th 2009.

Albeit the bill had no Republican support in the House and only three Republican votes in the Senate, it cannot be said that the President’s hand was not extended to the balking conservative party. This writer believes that the Republican intransigence on this early test of the Obama Presidency will come back to haunt them in the days and months to come, as they are shown to be obstructionists in the very same manner in which they have accused their Democratic counterparts in the past.

Comment on How to fix the economy..Everyone Has an Opinion..What's yours?

2009-02-13T15:59:49Z

Bill --

Congress is preparing to vote on a final Economic Recovery bill.

President Obama is urging action in Washington because families across the country need help right now.

In the past week, thousands of you came together at house meetings to talk about how the economic crisis is affecting your communities. And thousands more shared your personal stories on our website.

Your voices were heard. Help is on the way.

Take a few minutes and read some of the stories your fellow Americans shared.

These stories are the face of the economic crisis, and they will be the focus of our recovery. Here are a few excerpts from the tens of thousands of stories people like you shared:
"As of a week ago, our family has joined the ranks of the unemployed and thus uninsured. We have two children, a 6 year old and a 10 month old. With my part time jobs and unemployment, we should be able to keep the roof over our heads, at least one car in the driveway and food in our stomachs for a few months. The state of our health insurance is what truly scares us."
Nichole H., Columbus, OH

"I live in a small rural community in central Minnesota and have run my own small business for 32 years here. These last 8 years have been a slow steady decline economically. This has caused me to continually find ways to tighten my budget. Our small towns are really struggling with infrastructure and loss of businesses to attract and hold workers in their communities."
Judy T., Motley, MN

"I am a teacher in Florida where we are 50th in the country in spending per student. I feel this generation of students is being cheated out of a quality education. I'm fortunate that I have a job. But our education system is failing our children. There are so many areas of education that are suffering because of massive budget cuts. The bottom line is: as the United States of America we can do better for our children."
Betty Jo A., Deltona, FL
Read more from Nichole, Judy, Betty Jo, and others who shared their economic crisis stories:

http://my.barackobama.com/yourstories

Ordinary people are telling the real story of the struggles and pressures families are facing right now. They drive home the importance of this recovery plan and the need to put it into action immediately.

The President's economic recovery plan is an important first step in getting our country back on track. But recovering from this downturn will require the faith, confidence, and hard work of all Americans.

Thank you for staying involved during this critical time for our country,

David

David Plouffe
Campaign Manager
Obama for America

Comment on Where have you been Harry Markopolos?

2009-02-11T04:41:06Z

After reading the recently published book “Chain of Blame” by reporters Paul Muolo and Mathew Padiila, a well researched treatise on the mortgage crisis and its effect on the U. S. economy, two things stand out.

First is the massive self- dealing by Wall Street iconic investment firms in the creation of the exotic mortgage-backed investment vehicles which led to unprecedented investor losses and subsequent bailout efforts of Congress, the results of which are yet to be fully realized. The book also produced a surprise as to how close to home the experience is shown to be, in that our very own San Marcos City Council Member Chris Orlando is quoted as being a bit player and a spokesperson for ACC/Ameriquest Mortgage, one of the failed mortgage companies which plays a prominent role in the Chain of Blame story.

A “which came first, the chicken or the egg?” type argument currently exists in real estate and financial circles as to the cause and effect of the mortgage debacle. The Authors of Chain of Blame, leave no doubt that without “under the regulatory radar” Mortgage Backed Securities (MBS) and their cousins, Credit Default Swaps (CDOs) which created a huge market for “Subprime” mortgages, the current disaster could have been avoided.

Sub Prime mortgages were a product historically shunned by banks and insurance companies for many years. However, the high-yield seeking Wall Street investment bankers bought into some creative mortgage originators’ concepts of packaging those high risk, high yield loans into mega investment bonds and hedge funds which supposedly would then protect the investor against potential losses. This worked for a time, as long as home prices were stable or rising. But, just as attempts to build a perpetual motion machine fail because it is against the law of nature, so too it has now been proven that it is not possible to create an investment that will never loose. Men have been trying to do so for more than two thousand years, always with catastrophic results.
Another recently published book “The Ascent of Money” by Harvard Professor Niall Ferguson, illustrates the latter point by tracing the many failed attempts since biblical times to create no-loss investments, always bringing financial ruin to investors and governments alike.

When the U.S. real estate bubble burst, the Mortgage-Backed Bond house of cards came crashing down, with the result being trillions of dollars of savings investments and real estate equities disappearing in a heartbeat.

So here we are, facing the worst financial crisis in modern history brought on through the greed and arrogance of Wall Street and the mortgage community while our leaders and heads of foreign nations (many of whom purchased those no-lose bonds) wring their hands searching for solutions.

As I write this, our Congress is playing politics as usual, using age-old and many times failed arguments, better described as “fiddling while Rome Burns”.

Comment on Firms gear up to fight new regulations

2009-02-11T03:22:30Z

Bill --

Last night, President Obama gave his first-ever prime time press conference to call for immediate action on his economic recovery plan.

Today, the Senate voted to pass the President's plan. But there's another round of voting in both houses of Congress before the president can sign it into law.

Make sure that your voice is heard in this process.

Watch the video and share your economic crisis story. If you've already shared your story, talk to a friend, neighbor, or family member and record their story.

Comment on How to fix the economy..Everyone Has an Opinion..What's yours?

2009-02-09T19:09:00Z

Bill --

Americans have organized Economic Recovery House Meetings in all 50 states -- including 382 in California, 255 in Florida, 115 in Ohio, 199 in New York, 105 in Washington, and 149 in Texas.

That's more than 3,587 meetings in 1,579 cities and 429 congressional districts.

This past weekend, meeting hosts and guests watched a video of Governor Tim Kaine answering your questions about the president's recovery plan. Then they shared their own stories about how the crisis has affected them.

Watch Governor Kaine's video and share your economic crisis story.

The media is filled with numbers about the economic crisis. But the numbers do not tell the full story.

The story of this crisis is in homes across the country -- homes where a family member has lost a job, where parents are struggling to pay a mortgage, and where college tuition has slipped out of reach.

That's also where the story of our recovery begins -- in communities where repairing roads and bridges, manufacturing green technologies, and rehabilitating our schools and hospitals will directly impact the lives of ordinary people and their families.

President Obama's recovery plan will help struggling families right now by saving or creating up to 4 million jobs. But it will also help strengthen our economy for the future by investing in crucial infrastructure projects in health care, education, and energy.

Share your story about how this economic crisis is affecting you and your family and join your fellow Americans in supporting bold action to speed our recovery:

http://my.barackobama.com/sharestories

Thank you for organizing so much support at this crucial moment for our country,

Mitch

Mitch Stewart
Director
Organizing for America

Comment on Angry Senator wants pay-cap on "Wall Street idiots"

2009-02-07T22:31:48Z

I have not been able to keep up my website greedonwallstreet.com. I would like to sell to someone who would do as good of a job as you do on greedwatch.com Thank You,
Jerry

Comment on Angry Senator wants pay-cap on "Wall Street idiots"

2009-02-02T07:17:44Z

CONGRESS NEEDS TO ACT NOW

We need to rebuild this country now! We no longer can afford to pay points and interest for the funds to rebuild the country. We need jobs in this country and we need jobs now!

At this time we are borrowing the funds at interest to rebuild our roads,schools,water systems,sewer systems and such. The projects we build cost us with interest over 30 years about three times the amount we first borrow. Example: we borrow 200 million dollars, using bonds, to build roads and schools. When the bonds are paid back over 30 years (with interest) it cost us about 600 million dollars to build the roads and schools.

Why should we pay three times the cost for the improvements we need as a nation? Have we have deemed we have the right to create money. Why should we charge ourselves interest on something we can create interest free ? We should save our cities,states and nation these vast sumes of money.

We could be rebuilding our nation at a third of todays cost.We should be doing it right now.
Lets start small. Let's create only 500 Billion and loan it interest free to the first cities or counties that apply with approved capital improvments projects that are ready to build today(projects that those cities and counties were going to use approved bonds to fund). Lets allow the funds to be payed back over 25 years interest free through property taxs( just as the bonds are paid back now). As the funds are paid back extinguish the funds.

The new schools and new roads and new water treatment plants will have been built at one third of todays cost. In turn the community will retain twice the equity as the the cost of these projects. To be freely spent and invested in their communities.Creating more jobs. The community ends up with new streets,new schools and new water treatment plants at a third of todays cost.
People are put back to work rebuilding our nation immeediately.

CONGRESS HAS GIVIN THE BANKERS THEIR CHANCE .
IT'S TIME FOR CONGRESS TO GIVE OUR COMMUNITIES A CHANCE.
THE TIME FOR CONGRESS TO ACT IS NOW!

Comment on Angry Senator wants pay-cap on "Wall Street idiots"

2009-02-01T01:06:34Z

What happens if?

For years, we Americans have been told we don’t save enough and spend too much. Now we are being told by not spending enough we are hurting the economy. When we were given a “stimulus bonus” last year, apparently we saved it rather than spent it. We paid down our credit card debt…that was a no-no we are being told.

Once the world’s largest credit nation, we are now the world’s largest debtor nation, owing our financial future to Russia, China and lesser nations who have purchased our debt/bonds. China, unlike America is a nation of savers, as is Japan. However their economies are dependent on Americans buying their goods. As our economy has pulled back in recent months, China’s economy has begun to slump, due in no small way to our buying fewer Chinese imports.
An unanswered question is what will happen if the Chinese quit buying our debt and begin to buy debt from their own country in an effort to shore up their own economy? I am not sure we want to experience that possibility.

Congress is now debating whether to give us another stimulus bonus with the caveat that we must spend it to help the economy. However, many economists are continuing to tell us to save more. Which is it? Thousands are being laid off from their jobs every day. Certainly those idle workers will not be spending for anything but essential food and clothing. Retirees who have lost more than half of their nest-egg through 401K meltdowns will not be spending. There aren’t enough Wall Street Fat-Cats to sustain the nation’s economy, although at times it seems they make enough money to do so.

Who will be left to spend us into prosperity once more?

Comment on Firms gear up to fight new regulations

2009-01-31T23:11:40Z

Congressional oversight is a must

The debate on this proposed regulatory issue will prove to be a test of the strength and resolve for the new administration and the Democratic majority in Congress. Effective oversight, if not banning altogether, Hedge funds and their companion Credit Default Swaps is essential if the financial markets are to stabilize any time soon.

The greed and gullibility of national and international institutional investors has come close to destroying free market principles. The ebb and flow of reasonable profits and losses are part of a stable financial environment. To believe that one can hedge against losses to the extent touted by some of the purveyors of these exotic instruments is to believe in the tooth fairy. Unfortunately, when institutional investors fall for such malarkey, they jeopardize the future of their trusting constituency, as we are now witness to with the dramatic reduction in 401K retirement accounts of thousands upon thousands of unsuspecting hopeful retirees.

Recent actions by what seems to be tone-deaf Wall Street executives, lining their own pockets with exorbitant salary increases and bonuses is clear evidence that they cannot be left to their own devices when it comes to accountability and fair play. Whatever constraints are ultimately meted out by congress and the administration will be well desered and long over due.