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Let’s Question the Bank CEOs…OPEN THREAD and **LIVE BLOGGING**

By Larry Doyle on February 11, 2009 at 11:30 AM in American Consumers, Bank Nationalization, Banking Institutions, Current Affairs, Economic Stimulus, Economy, Housing & Housing Crisis, Housing & Urban Development (HUD), Mortgage Crisis

(bumped up by Susan)

LIVE TV/RADIO LINK at C-Span

fi-pol-cspan

This morning at 10am, the CEOs of the major money center banks in our country will be in Washington to face Congressional heat. Watch it LIVE on C-Span3.

These CEOs are easy targets for plenty of reasons. As a precursor to their testimony, I thought it may be helpful to view a 1-minute clip of Jamie Dimon, CEO of JP Morgan, commenting on the proposed stimulus plan, the state of the banking industry, and the concept of nationalizing the banking industry.

If I were questioning these CEOs, I would want to ask the following:

1. To all the CEOs, how do you justify paying $18+ billion in year end bonuses after having taken more than $150+ billion in government funding?

2. Why shouldn’t Citi be formally nationalized right now given the market’s belief that if positions were marked to market properly that the institution would be insolvent?

3. How do you justify the egregious process of raising rates on credit card lines for consumers who are not delinquent?

4. Mr Pandit (CEO of Citi), can you share with us the marks on the super-senior classes of CDOs that you held in your off balance sheet SIVs?

5. Mr. Lewis (CEO of Bank of America), did you feel any sense of obligation to your shareholders to reveal the expected losses from Merrill Lynch prior to asking those shareholders to approve the deal?

6. To all the CEOS, please share with us your opinions as to how much more capital needs to be injected into the banking system in order to recapitalize the system?

7. Mr. Dimon, (CEO of JPM), your bank is the largest player in the CDS (credit derivatives) market, please share with us how this market should be regulated going forward?

8. WHERE’S THE MONEY???????

We will now open this thread to “NQ World” . . . what do you want to ask or say to these bank CEOs!!! Don’t be bashful!!

  • http://rabblerouserruminations.blogspot.com Rabble Rouser Reverend Amy

    Larry, since the Congress didn’t put strings on this money (how the hell did THAT happen??), and provided no oversight for the gazillion dollars, how much authority are they going to have with these guys?

    And is this just going to be like the automakers all over again? Scold them, then give them everything they want sort of thing?

    • Winston

      Yes Rev Amy, they gave them money with no preconditions. Sound familiar?

  • Astra14

    1. To all the CEOs, how do you justify paying $18+ billion in year end bonuses after having taken more than $150+ billion in government funding?

    My question: And how would you feel about returning the $150+ billion in government funding given how you gave out 18+ billion in bonuses?

  • LD

    Amy….

    I would categorize this entire situation in the following fashion:

    “when you lend somebody a small amount of money (small being relative) then they are “your” partner….when you lend them a LOT of money then you are “their” partner…

  • touchet
    • wodiej

      I never liked Springsteen anyway but apparently he is just another dishonest punk supporting Obama except he’s a little too old to be doing that sort of thing. But then again, dishonesty has no age limit.

      • Idiocracy08

        Yeah me too about Springsteen. Overrated, and just yuck! The kind of yuck that starts to piss me off when I think about someone I feel with no talent making it big. Seems like he & Obama are 2 peas in a pod.

      • Winston

        Notice he didn’t sing his song “BORN IN THE USA”. Didn’t want to set off any alarm bells for Barry.

        • AlexisM

          I will never listen to Springsteen again. And I will have a hard time going to movies of those who promoted that traitor Obama. Hollywood is so out of touch with real human beings and middle America that I wonder how anyone took their endorsement of the Fraud seriously. Yes we got our American Idol “President” and I hope it backfires on the entertainers that shoved him down our throats.

          • Seattle Moss

            Yes we got our American Idol “President”

            That show is done
            Now we can all watch…

            Survivor….White House Edition!

            • Seattle Moss

              Folks,
              Did you notice at Obama’s teleprompter news cast that he is angry that he got handed this rotten economy.Sounded like a angry little boy

              Obama should have read the fine print on the American Idol questionnaire about how difficult the job was.

          • Idiocracy08

            Yes we got our American Idol “President”

            More like the Gong Show president. No, that show was too good for him!

    • Karma

      From your link…it’s the WalMart CD thing that is more shady.

      “Bruce has done his share of apologizing recently, saying his team goofed up by letting their record company give an exclusive hits CD to Wal Mart, a place that’s not traditionally a friend to the union guys Springsteen sings about.”

      ~~
      How does someone not understand an exclusive deal to Wal-Mart is a bad thing for labor? And just how many of his vinyl RECORDS throughout the decades were sold by little mom and pop stores? What a poser!

  • Boxer Mum 06

    Driving into work this morning, I passed one of my favorite houses. During the election, I remember they had a McCain sign outside.

    This morning they had an American flag hanging upside down. They normally don’t have a flag flying so it is definitely a symbol of their ‘support’ of the new socialist republic.

    Achtung!

    • chandler

      Boxer It is a distress signal when the flag is flown upside down. If ever there was a time of distress for this country, it is now. They got it exactly right.

      • Boxer Mum 06

        Exactly!

        I just can’t take anymore! I’m so damn sick and tired of all the bickering!

        The Obamabots running about shouting “We Won” – like it’s a fXXking game! This is reality people!

        When you think it can’t get any more obsurd – have you seen the new cover of Vogue?

        It features the new first lady with the caption:

        The First Lady The World’s Been
        Waiting For

        OMG! WTF! When will this end?

        We CAN NOT survive 4 + years of this!

        • Boxer Mum 06

          sorry – spelling error .. meant to say absurd

          Oh, and here is the response I received from our great Republican Senator from PA:

          Thank you for contacting my office regarding the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The concerns of my constituents are of great importance to me, and I rely on you and other Pennsylvanians to inform me of your views. I will keep your thoughts on this matter in mind. Thank you again for writing. Should you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact my office or visit my website at http://specter.senate.gov.

          Sincerely,

          Arlen Specter

          • Winston

            They are calling it the “American Recovery and Reinvestment Act”? But wasn’t most of this caused by another act: “The Community Reinvestment Act”?. How’d that work out for us?

            Specter was the magic bullet theory guy in the Kennedy assassination. That’s how long he’s been around. He has corruption written in his DNA.

          • Winston

            Boxer Mum, take some time each day to chill. We need you keep going, keep writing, say once a week and put some heat of these guys. We can survive this. We are the most resilient country on the face of the earth and part of the reason why is people like you. Vogue, Ms Rag and Vanity Fair are a joke. The covers are tabloid. Print is almost dead anyway. Our job is to make it happen faster.

            Hope this helps.

            • Boxer Mum 06

              This song seems to keep popping up in my head:

              Please could you stop the noise, I’m trying to get some rest
              From all the unborn chicken voices in my head
              What’s that…? (I may be paranoid, but not an android)
              What’s that…? (I may be paranoid, but not an android)

              When I am king, you will be first against the wall
              With your opinion which is of no consequence at all
              What’s that…? (I may be paranoid, but no android)
              What’s that…? (I may be paranoid, but no android)

              Ambition makes you look pretty ugly
              Kicking and squealing gucci little piggy
              You don’t remember
              You don’t remember
              Why don’t you remember my name?
              Off with his head, man
              Off with his head, man
              Why don’t you remember my name?
              I guess he does….

              Rain down, rain down
              Come on rain down on me
              From a great height
              From a great height… height…
              Rain down, rain down
              Come on rain down on me
              From a great height
              From a great height… height…
              Rain down, rain down
              Come on rain down on me

              That’s it, sir
              You’re leaving
              The crackle of pigskin
              The dust and the screaming
              The yuppies networking
              The panic, the vomit
              The panic, the vomit
              God loves his children, God loves his children, yeah!

          • http://firefox AnnieCollier

            Should you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact my office or visit my website at http://specter.senate.gov.

            Well, thanks Arlen. I took this opportunity to give you a piece of my mind all the way from CA. Thanks to the internet, I will be campaigning against the Gang of Three next time around.

            Not one of my votes will go to a CA incumbent next time.

            • Pennsylvania Red

              I wonder if Specter was included in the re-drafting of the final Porkulus. Pelousy excluded the House Republicans from today’s conference, even those on the relevant committee.

              (I have a feeling she doesn’t even realize what a HUGE favor she has done for the Republicans.)

              As for Specter:

              That biatch is in for a rude awakening next time he runs for Senator. PA voters feel betrayed by his collusion with the enemy.

            • AlexisM

              Who wants any of the CA reps in the first place? Boxer and Feinstein? What boobs. I also have the biggest bozo of all of them…Henry Waxman. Can you say brain dead? I can’t wait to campaign against all of them. We really need some new blood in CA. I would love it if Meg Whitman did run for Governor and won. She’s amazing.

        • Winston

          Meechelle Obama happens to be the most finely upholstered first lady “weave” ever had.

          Now don’t you go be hatin’ on Meechelle.

      • Winston

        You could be right. It might not be unamerican in the present circumstances. No one who voted for McCain would normally do that. But the world is anyhing but normal.

        I am so pissed I have had dyslexia for three days. My keyboard thinks I’m an idiot and my spell checker is saying “WTF?, at least get it close.”

        • Lizzy

          Winston, Things can’t be all bad if it drives your computer crazy.

      • http://noquarter foxyladi14

        we are indeed in distress.
        let us all weep and pray for our beloved country..

    • Winston

      Not in my country.

      Take a picture, send it to Drudge. And of course include the address. The media hell-hounds will be all over them. Worth a try.

    • wodiej

      I heard people were doing that but I doubt many even get what it means. Hell, they don’t even know the meaning of an American flag or reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. I thought about doing this myself but I am asking myself if that would be like telling myself I feel hopeless and have no faith in what this country and our flag stands for. I’ll have to think about it.

  • mountainaires

    Good questions LD. I’ll be interested to see what happens, though to be honest, Congress getting to give the bank CEOs heat is sort of ludicrous, since Congress is just as culpable…

    In the next 2 years, the national debt will exceed $15 trillion. GDP is headed in the opposite direction, and will drop below $14 trillion in 2009. At this rate, we’ll be approaching the debt to GDP ratio of 120% reached during WW II by 2012. This increase in debt, combined with the enormous printing of dollars by the Federal Reserve, will drive the value of the dollar down. The only question is whether it will go down slowly or violently. — James Quinn

    http://www.minyanville.com/articles/index/a/21071

    • LD

      Mountainaires…

      Thanks for that link.

      You are right. Ultimately this testimony will most probably amount to more pandering than perhaps anything else.

      The simple fact is the global economy is experiencing a “MASSIVE” margin call. Banks and corporations that can manage that process will survive and then thrive as they gain serious market share. The problem with some of the other banks is that instead of dying they will be kept alive like vegetables and serve as more of a drag than anything else.

      • Mary

        Yes. “Zombie banks.”

        It’s what happened in Japan in their “lost decade.”

        Japan pumped huge amounts of money into the economy (government spending), and it accomplished little or nothing.

        It wasn’t until they cleaned out the zombie banks, let some fail, and reorganized them, that the economy began to improve.

        But it took the government close to a decade to figure that out.

    • http://firefox AnnieCollier

      I wondered this morning how Frank, Dodd, Rangle, et al have the gall to question anyone about taking pay for play.

  • touchet

    This is all fake outrage and a show to make it seem as if congress is holding them accountable.

    If you know anything about marxist theory, the best way to help socialism along would be to keep the rich rich.

    Marxist theory states that the reason capatilism fails is because those that control the means of production always set profit above labor. In order to make more money, the labor must contantly be devalued. The labor can never make more or equal the amount of the profit.

    what we are witnessing is the feeding and artificial inflation of these men’s pocket books. Keeping them in business rather than encouraging movement from below is going to cause us to fall into socialism. I think this is the purpose of these stimulus bills. If not the purpose, it will be the end result.

  • sunup

    LD To all, If you were the customer coming to your bank for a loan, how much would you be willing to fork over, and what would you need in return.?

    There is story after story of loans being denied small business operators who have not defaulted. Yet you squander billions and come back hand out for more. It is truly shameful.

  • kgirl

    while i do not begrudge any tax payers, asking questions of these lending institutions, there is something about GluttonsRUs aka congress asking anyone anything, if there is group of people who have thrown large sums of cash away, it’s them. And those pigs are rarely ever questioned about what they do with our cash.

    • touchet

      No shit. I wonder if they will celebrate by going to an expensive spa to give a speech, or maybe just hold a 100 dollar a steak dinner, all on our expense.

      Then they can bring the Media along to fatten them up, all the while you and I struggle to be able to buy processed chicken to put on the table.

  • wodiej

    I agree w you all, they aren’t going to do SQUAT to these theives. They are pickpockets themselves. It’s just for show.

    • Winston

      Yep wodiej, you are right. Its staged to make it look like the govbots are really doing their jobs.

  • LD

    To think that Barney Frank is leading this effort inspires NO confidence!!!

    • Winston

      I despise the man. How does he still have a job after all his work to silence opposition to warnings of the collapse of Freddie and Fannie more than four years ago? He is still in the power seat and he doesn’t have our best interest at heart.

      • http://jbjd.wordpress.com/ jbjd

        Always remember, BF was on the House Banking Committee funnelling taxpayer money to Fannie Mae while the man he introduced to Congressional colleagues as his “spouse,” Herb Moses, worked as a paid executive for Fannie (1991-1998).

      • http://firefox AnnieCollier

        Frank, Kennedy, Kerry, Dodd, Randle…How brain dead do you have to be to keep electing these frauds time after time? We have ours in CA too..Pelosi, Boxer, Feinstein, but they did not get my vote last time around. I hope the voters on both coasts get a clue and vote these clowns out of office.

    • Karma

      How he can look himself in the mirror is beyond me.

      A few months ago I thought he was a straight shooter…for a politician. Now all I see is Frannie and Freddie with Frank’s chubby fingers in the pie.

      • Karma

        Fannie

        • Winston

          Barney Frank a “straight shooter.” I’m tongue tied, I’ll leave this one alone.

          • Karma

            LOL…nevermind…it wasn’t meant to be blue.

            CA has pretty good Senators. I have my complaints…but they could be worse. My poorly made point upbove was placing Frank in that same column with them.

      • http://firefox AnnieCollier

        He had his chubby fingers in many places…like an affair with one of the head honchos there…while he was being given campaign money. Now, that’s the pay for play you can believe in.

  • kgirl

    Infact I have few question for them to ask congress. Hell if you are going down might as well kick a few butts on your way out.

    Nancy Pelosi you ran a congress with a 9% approval ratings and yet you have a private jet, why is this?
    And didn’t you guys give yourselves raises at the end of last year when in all honesty you have done crap for this country.

    Mr Dodd and Mr Fank isn’t it true that you recieve large sums of money Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae and then helped to squash presiden bushes plee for over sight.

    Isn’t it truethat Congress controls the national purse, so doesn’t that mean that the large deficits president bush racked up had to be approved by you?

    Since this eleciton, it’s not bank owners are wall street types i dispise, it the people on the hill. I have afew senators and representaive, my hand is just itching to slap. These people do not respect us. and we elect them over and over again they wast our hard earn tax dollars, and then have audacity to act smug with people who’s wastful behavior is severly elcipes by congresses glaring malpractice. may they enjoy the garbage filled ice cold slug in dante’s second layer of hell.

    Sorry but i just heard audio clip of obama chucking that wall street is reacting poorly to his “stimulous package” Saying “walstreet wants an easy out. This is your retirement money going down the drain he’s chuckling at.

    • Mary

      Obama’s two-faced.

      To the public, he snarks that Wall Street is “reacting poorly and wants an easy out.”

      To his Treasury Secretary behind the scenes, he APPROVES of bailing them out again and not restricting their salaries or bonuses.

      Watch what he DOES, not what he SAYS.

    • wodiej

      well said.

    • Winston

      kgirl, that sounds like a plan. Well thought out, nice work. If the CEOs fight back we could get a double exposure of corruption.

      But they got the goods on each other, so its just pretend. That’s the leverage that drives more of the criminal behavior.

  • LD

    Who gets to truly question the questioners?? How do we get them to be accountable??

    We need a third party!!

    • Idiocracy08

      Actually, I’d prefer to just abolish the 2 we have now.

  • Idiocracy08

    I got this in an email:

    How many zeros in a billion? This is too true to be funny.
    The next time you hear a politician use the word ‘billion’ in a casual manner, think about whether you want the ‘politicians’ spending YOUR tax money.

    A billion is a difficult number to comprehend, but one advertising agency did a good job of putting that figure into some perspective in one of its releases.

    A. A billion seconds ago it was 1959.

    B. A billion minutes ago Jesus was alive.

    C. A billion hours ago our ancestors were living in the Stone Age.

    D. A billion days ago no one walked on the earth on two feet.

    E. A billion dollars ago was only 8 hours and 20 minutes, at the rate our government is spending it.

    While this thought is still fresh in our brain…
    let’s take a look at New Orleans .
    It’s amazing what you can learn with some simple division.
    Louisiana Senator, Mary Landrieu (D) is presently asking Congress for 250 BILLION DOLLARS to rebuild New Orleans. Interesting number…what does it mean?

    A. Well…. if you are one of the 484,674 residents of New Orleans (every man, woman, and child) you each get $516,528.

    B. Or… if you have one of the 188,251 homes in New Orleans , your home gets $1,329,787.

    C. Or… if you are a family of four…your family gets $2,066,012.

    Washington , D. C
    HELLO!
    Are all your calculators broken??

    Building Permit Tax
    CDL License Tax
    Cigarette Tax
    Corporate Income Tax
    Dog License Tax
    Federal Income Tax (Fed)
    Federal Unemployment Tax (FU TA)
    Fishing License Tax
    Food License Tax
    Fuel Permit Tax
    Gasoline Tax
    Hunting License Tax
    Inheritance Tax
    Inventory Tax
    IRS Interest Charges (tax on top of tax)
    IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax)
    Liquor Tax
    Luxury Tax
    Marriage License Tax
    Medicare Tax
    Property Tax
    Real Estate Tax
    Service charge taxes
    Social Security Tax
    Road Usage Tax (Truckers)
    Sales Taxes
    Recreational Vehicle Tax
    School Tax
    State Income Tax
    State Unemployment Tax (SUTA)
    Telephone Federal Excise Tax
    Telephone Federal Universal Service Fee Tax
    Telephone Federal, State and Local Surcharge Tax
    Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge Tax
    Telephone Recurring and Non-recurring Charges Tax
    Telephone State and Local Tax
    Telephone Usage Charge Tax
    Utility Tax
    Vehicle License Registration Tax
    Vehicle Sales Tax
    Watercraft Registration Tax
    Well Permit Tax
    Workers Compensation Tax

    (And to think, we left British Rule to avoid so many taxes)

    Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago…
    and our nation was the most prosperous in the world.

    We had absolutely no national debt…
    We had the largest middle class in the world…
    and Mom stayed home to raise the kids.

    What happened?
    Can you spell ‘politicians!’

    And I still have to press ’1′ > for English.

    What the heck happened?????

    • Winston

      A. A billion seconds ago it was 1959.
      B. A billion minutes ago Jesus was alive.
      C. A billion hours ago our ancestors were living in the Stone Age.
      D. A billion days ago no one walked on the earth on two feet.
      E. A billion dollars ago was only 8 hours and 20 minutes, at the rate our government is spending it.

      OMG, let me build you a shrine for that one. Good post Idiocracy08.

      • Idiocracy08

        Your wish is granted! LOL!
        I heard, I think it was Mitch McConnell, saying that you could spend $1 million dollars a day for 2000 years and it wouldn’t total the bailout. True…it totals about $730 billion.

        Where is my million dollars? Oh, I know. If they were to just give me a million dollars, I would be able to buy a house and car and have money to live on. I wouldn’t need to go borrow loans from banks. Can’t have that!

    • Ellen D

      and Mom stayed home to raise the kids.

      You had me until that one. That belongs in the male fantasy, seventy virgins, area. That was no great era for women, fella!

      • Idiocracy08

        I’m not a fella. Born female, and still am.

        I didn’t write this; I put up at the top that I got it in an email.

        And being a woman, I don’t think there is anything wrong with staying home and raising kids if that is what you choose to do. I think that if you can stay at home with your children when they are young, you should.

        I know it wasn’t the best era for women, but when has it been?

  • sunup

    I wrote lovely letters to both senators here in California, Feinstein and Boxer, have not heard from either

  • LD

    After Blankfein from Goldman and Dimon from JPM, I think we will see a less inspiring performance from the other CEOS.

  • mountainaires

    Ha, you got that right, LD.

    Charles Lewis says BofA stopped it’s subprime lending in 2001 but we “inherited” a huge amount with Countrywide.

    “Inherited?” Let’s get something straight, Charles:

    You freakin’ bought Countrywide, you didn’t “inherit” it.

    Pathetic.

    • Mary

      Fair enough, mountain.

      But keep in mind, in the first TARP, Paulson asked banks who were NOT in trouble or heavy into the subprime crap to take the federal money so there wouldn’t be a run on the really crappy banks.

      Wells Fargo and B of A didn’t want or need the same money Citi, JP Morgan, Lehmans, or Fannie/Freddie did.

      Paulson asked them to take it, to provide cover for his buddies at Goldman Sachs.

      That’s not an excuse…..you know me better than that.

      But it does put Wells Fargo and BofA in a slightly less slimy category than Golman, Citi, and all the others.

      Just sayin. :)

      • LD

        Mary,

        With all due respect. I feel strongly that the only banks that did not want nor need the initial money were JPM and Wells.

        • Mary

          Bank of America was in good shape before the Paulson push.

          But my point being, to Mountain, that it was Paulson who insisted on all those banks, even those not in trouble, taking some of the TARP, to avoid the TARP telling taxpayers which ones were really in trouble.

          For the ones who agreed to that, but weren’t in trouble , including Wells and BofA, to be subject to the same salary limits and the same condemnation as the crappy ones, seems a tad unfair.

          Simple point, really.

          • LD

            got it…and I agree with your premise

      • Ellen D

        They’re in a different category all right – try a different planet. Wells was on the news here in L.A. last night when a guy barricaded himself in his house. He was unemployed and lost his job and it was foreclosed. He found a job and has been getting $1500. a week and was waving his pay stubs. Wells won’t even talk to him about getting his house back. He jut wants to save it. And its just a small nothing bungalow in a mostly industrial area.

        Are there no honest decent people anywhere in positions of authority?

        • wodiej

          I don’t know about this individual’s unique situation. But I work at Wells Fargo and they have helped 7 out of 10 people stay in their homes who were behind on payments w varying types of financing and loan terms. 2 out of 10 didn’t want help. And the 1 out of 10 couldn’t be reached to help them. Perhaps he was one of the 3 out of 10. Alot of times people will avoid the creditor because they can’t pay. We all know how the media skewers the news.

          Wells has given out 3 times more loans than the money the Fed loaned them. The US treasury will also be getting a tidy sum of dividends from our profits. We have helped 22% of risky mortgages stay afloat. That’s alot.

          I know many banks are not managing this money well and I am not saying Wells Fargo is perfect. But they are definitely holding up their end of the bargain in loaning money.

          • Boxer Mum 06

            Have you listened to Lou Dobbs lately? He has been trying endlessly to get someone from Wells Fargo to respond to him about a woman in a foreclosure situation. No one there will return his calls.

            • wodiej

              No I haven’t, but again, all the facts are likely not out there about this particular woman and her situation.

  • HARP

    Term limits would go along way in reducing the lucrative deals that both party members engage in.

    • Winston

      Yes, finally, someone who favors Term Limits. It could be three terms for Sentors. That sound fair? Anything is better than these career politicians who have been there since the pleistocene.

      • Astra14

        I think we need term limits, also. There is too much corruption in Washington now. Time to kick the career politicians out.

  • LD

    Vikram Pandit, “We now understand the old model no longer works….”

    ….he should have read our piece here at NQ on November 12th and he would have understood a little sooner.

  • http://noquarterusa.net/ SusanUnPC

    Is anyone else having trouble listening? The audio works for a while, then dies out — the video is still running, but there’s no sound. If I refresh the page, it comes back, but then it happens all over again.

    It’s not a huge deal — I’m listening instead to the coverage on CNN, Fox and MSNBC to see what they’re saying. Just hope that no one else had this issue.

    • Karma

      I am having probelms too. It took a bit to get it going again.

      Went to google and tried it through another C-Span link and it is working.

      http://www.cspan.org

      Instead of the http://www.c-span.org link at the top.

      Hope it works for you.

  • Patience

    I’d demand as a condition of government aid to solve their problems, that financial institutions and their employess be barred from making any political contributions whatsoever to any politicians (or PACs) in a position to determine their fate. Zero. Zip. It could be argued that their freedom of speech is thereby impinged upon, but obvious and egregious conflict of interest trumps freedom of speech, IMO.

    This is a dangerous and critical environment and the time will never be riper for political shakedown artists to hit up the weakened financial sector. We need more than transparency after the fact, we need to avoid conflicts of interest from the get-go.

  • HARP
  • LD

    Why did Barney Frank not allow the most important questin asked by Rep Kanjorski to be answered.

    Question being have we not properly described the depth of the problem to the public?

    • Karma

      I noticed that too….and it was a great question.

  • LD

    Maxine Waters asking Question #3?

    • Termo

      I had no idea what she was talking about even after going through her rant.

      It was good to see Ken Lewis (who hasn’t handled himself that well here) actually look at her and say “I don’t know what you are talking about?”

      Many of these Congress people really have no idea what they are talking about and what is frightening is that they are demanding control of these banks in exchange for TARP.

  • jangles

    Let us remind the chuckling POTUS that since Nov. 4 this economy has dropped more than 2 million jobs.

  • jangles

    We ought to do a mass mail drop to the POTUS and the congress critters on some specific date when we all send them an email and simply say:

    You approve the budgets. You too are guilty. Do not make things worse.

  • Sassy

    That’s only a “drop in the bucket”!
    Many of the dims’ supporters don’t work anyway…especially those in Congress!

  • kgirl

    Does anyone think Chris Dodd could duck like bush did, if one of the bank execs threw their shoes at him? Hmmmmmmmmmm

    • Boxer Mum 06

      I wonder if he has Wii fit? There is a game where you try to hit the soccer balls with your head but bob and weave to miss the flying shoes and panda heads.

    • steel magnolia

      A high heel, maybe?

    • Winston

      Does anyone think Chris Dodd could duck like bush did, if one of the bank execs threw their shoes at him?

      Nope. Dodd is lame ducker, like Barry.

  • LD

    Rep Maloney just asked Question 5 and incorporated some hammering on bonuses paid at Merrill.

    • Termo

      The problem with bonuses is that there are many people in these banks who are in divisions that did wella nd did earn their bonuses but were denied because of appearance. These are middle income people who will now spend much less because they were denied bonuses that were earned.

  • Sassy

    Make that a “horse shoe”!

  • LD

    Pandit being asked Question 4!!

  • Patience

    I’ll confide a personal scenario:

    Our small business has an excellent credit history. Yet in order for our business to maintain or grow, we’re considering obtaining a private loan in order to finance improvements for a new tenant who wants to rent a large chunk of commercial space from us. Tenant improvements involve the employment of many and varied contractors. It involves the purchase of lots of materials — carpet, paint, wallcovering, electrical supplies, plumbing supplies, drywall, lumber, etc. And it then affords the new tenant extra space to hire more employees — the reason they’re interested in the space to begin with. Those employees eat lunch at nearby restaurants, stop at nearby businesses on their way to and from work. It’s good for our neighborhood in every respect.

    I can foresee more of this type of bank circumvention — many wealthy people with lots of capital are having a difficult time these days figuring out how to safely invest their money. It would be helpful if there were some kind of safe and reliable brokerage-type business that could hook up small businesses with wealthy investors.

    BTW, it’s galling to listen to Barney Frank talk about “mumbo jumbo” and “narrow self-interest” What an ignorant, incompetant hypocrite. Idiocracy indeed.

  • steel magnolia

    I heard Barney Frank say there’s a lot of anger out in the country toward the banks. I immediately fired off an email to his office, telling him that the anger isn’t only toward the banks, but toward HIM and his oversight committee. He kept saying everything was okay, not to worry, nothing here, move along. They HAD no oversight! They didn’t do their job. And now for him to sit there and lecture these people without turning that mirror around is a freaking disgrace. I told him he was either ignorant or irresponsible – which was it? He should step down NOW!

    • LD

      Both!!!

  • LD
    • Patience

      Interesting links Larry. Services such as those seem designed to help tide over small borrowers in order to avoid repos, maybe even foreclosures and ultimately avoid bankruptcies. I feel sorry for anyone in a bind and who could, for example, lose his/her car and thus a means to earn a living because of a temporary problem.

      It’s no wonder peer-to-peer lending is a growing business!

  • steel magnolia

    A little off-topic, but an interesting article. Hope it works. If not, it’s at capitalhillblue.com website, subject: Who the Hell Picked This Guy?

    http://tiny.cc/PHwIU

  • cynic

    “What happened to all the money? About a third has gone into dividends the banks are paying their shareholders. Some of the rest into executive salaries and bonuses. Another portion toward acquisitions designed to raise share values. Another chunk for bailing out giant insurer AIG.”

    Robert Reich, on NPR’s Marketplace, 11/19/2008. Transcript:
    http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2008/11/19/reich/

    I guess that answers one question that isn’t asked often: Why don’t we hear shareholders complainig about the diversion of bail-out money into extravagant CEO compensation?

    Give public money to private interests without strings attached, and they’ll always place their private interests ahead of the public’s interest. Capitalism is a very good thing–one of the driving engines of the economy–but we should never forget the primary goals of any capitalist: personal enrichment, enrichment of the company, and enrichment of the shareholders.

  • MBC

    You know who I really want to scream at right now? I want to scream at my people like my mother who told me HRC lost, get over it and she was voting for BO because anyone was better than Bush. I want to wail at my co-worker who suggested I should watch the inauguration because it would give me hope. I want to whack my neighbor upside the head for coming to my door (while I displayed “Another Democratic for McCain” sign in my window) and hand me Obama literature! Sorry, I had to get that out.

    These are the kind of people who are ultimately responsible for this mess we are in, stupid people with power! Their power was their vote and they wasted it.

    • MBC

      Sorry, rabid keyboard, I didn’t mean “my” people.

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