Interesting A small network of hedge fund executives pumped at least $10 million into Republican campaign committees and allied groups before Novemberâs elections, helping bankroll GOP victories that this week will change the balance of power in Washington, according to a review of campaign records and interviews with industry insiders by the Center for Public Integrity and NBC News. Bitterly opposed to President Barack Obamaâs economic and regulatory policies â including proposals to increase taxes on some of their profits â top Wall Street hedge fund moguls were unusually energized during last yearâs election. They held multiple fundraisers and coordinated strategy to direct what appear to be unprecedented sums into the coffers of GOP and allied political committees, according to industry and GOP fundraising sources. http://newspoodle.posterous.com/small-group-of-unusually-energized-hedge-fund
money well spent. special interests have a field day now: http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2011/01/corporate-self-regulation-how-did-that-work-out/ Representative Darrell Issa of California recently sent letters to more than 150 companies, trade groups and research organizations asking them to identify federal regulations that they wanted to see repealed or rewritten. This is a splendid idea, as we have learned this past decade. No one is in a better position to know what rules are restraining economic recovery than the companies that have to live under their restrictions. Indeed, what could be more intelligent than allowing entities whose fiduciary obligations are to maximize profits by any legal means available to rewrite their own rules? Letâs see how that has worked out recently: 1. Leverage: Large iBanks wanted to determine their own leverage regulations. They petitioned the SEC to have those old 1970s era Net Capitalization rules tossed out,]. The government agreed, and the 5 largest banks were allowed to determine their own leverage rules . . . How did that work out? 2. Deepwater Oil Drilling: The Oil Industry has been allowed not only to write their own regulations as to the safety requirements for offshore deep water drilling, but they were also the ones in charge of enforcing these rules! . . . How did that work out? 3. Derivatives: Underwriters didnât want to be bothered with pesky rules that had reserve requirements that limited underwriting, counter-party disclosures, exchange trading rules, capital requirements, indeed, any oversight whatsoever . . . How did that work out? 4. Lend-to-securitize non bank mortgage underwriters: Rules were proposed both at the Federal Reserve level and in California (where most were located), but the decision was made to allow these âFinancial innovatorsâ top self regulate . . . How did that work out? 5. Glass Steagall: The repeal of legislation that kept Wall Street risk taking separate from Main Street banking was a decade prior to a Derivatives collapse, frozen credit market and the worst recession since the great depression . . . How did that work out? 6. Federal Pre-emption: Various states had regulations in effect to prevent predatory lending. Responding to Bank requests, the regulations were removed by Federal mandate (so much for states rights) to allow âunfettered banking.â . . . How did that work out? 7. Abdication of traditional lending standards: Federal Reserve enforcement of lending rules requiring lenders to verify the borrowers ability to repay loans were ignored. This allowed banks to sell products such as 2/28 ARMs, Interest-Only Loans, and Negative Amortization mortgages without any oversight . . . How did that work out? The list goes on and on. We could talk about Food safety, products that strangle infants, unsafe effluent discharges into drinking water, etc. Suffice it to say that self-regulation by corporate entities has been a complete and unmitigated disaster. However, if you are interested in dropping to your knees to raisie money from corporations, wrapping your lips around that purple phallus spurting campaign contributions, whoring out the electorate so you can reap the benefits of your elected positions, then OF COURSE you ask corporate entities how they want to be regulated. The Romans had a punishment for corrupt politicians: Cut off their noses, tie them in a burlap sack nude with a feral wildcat, throw the entire kit & kaboodle into the river. The Romans were onto something . . .
I was one who sided with the conservative approach: that deregulation was the path to prosperity. But it's hard to argue now with the results we've seen. Deregulation has lead to epic disaster. I'll no longer buy into the idea that government regulations only hamper American business and finance. It's one of the things in life that I would call a necessary evil. It kinda sucks, but we've seen what happens when regulations are lax.
The problem is we have had fake deregulation, it is called Lemon socialism. "Lemon socialism" is a pejorative term for government support of private-sector companies whose imminent collapse is perceived to threaten broader economic stability.[1][2][3] It is not a current within socialism per se; rather, it points to a corruption of free-market capitalist systems, which would normally allow defective companies ("lemons") to fail. The most common government interventions that earn the term involve infusions of government capital, as in bailouts, and may include some government control over company decision-making, as in nationalization. The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 in the United States has been cited as an example of lemon socialism.[4][5] Where gains are privatized but losses are socialized. That is what we have right now.
These fools spent bucks on Scott Garrett? What a buncha tools. I live in his district: we've probably got more tea partiers per square foot than any place outside Texas. You could run the snake on the "Don't Tread on Me" flag, and he'd win, long as he was on the Republican line and promised not to raise any taxes. Garrett doesn't need that money and I'm sure barely spent a nickel of it; it'll probably go into his special fund for taking care of old folks who's last names start with "G" and once represented north Joisey in Congress.
I figure that just about cancels out the money handed out to left wing politicians and organizations by George Soros, and the mioney handed to the Democratic Party by Goldman Sachs. One group that will never be represented by congress: The American middle class.
Reminds me of a Krugman post on his blog, Invincible Ignorance: So Republican members of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission are going to issue their own report, placing primary blame on the government â because itâs always the governmentâs fault. And according to reporting at the Huffington Post, all four Republicans voted in favor of banning the phrases âWall Streetâ and âshadow bankingâ and the words âinterconnectionâ and âderegulationâ from the panelâs final report, according to a person familiar with the matter and confirmed by Brooksley E. Born, one of the six commissioners who voted against the proposal. Yep. It was all Fannie and Freddie, which somehow managed to cause housing bubbles in Ireland, Iceland, Latvia, and Spain as well as the United States; and the repo market had nothing to do with it. And bear in mind that this wasnât one Republican; it was all of them. I really do wonder how this country can remain governable, when one party insists on creating its own reality. Next thing you know theyâre going to reject the theory of evolution. Oh, wait ⦠------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------- The Corporate Socialist Party is back! It's going to be interesting how they cut Medicare/Medicaid and SS up. Of course the Citizens of Rock Ridge are told to blame the usual conpiracy leaders/groups: George Soros, Kenyans for a Socialist America, SPECTRE, the Illuminati, the Majestic 12, etc..... If the Citizens of Rock Ridge really get mad with the Corporate Socialist Party, then expect a Limbaugh/Palin ticket which is really the equivalent of nominating Archie and Edith Bunker. A presidential debate between Boss Limbaugh and Obama will probably be similar to the episodes of All in the Family when George Jefferson made an appearance. I doubt "nigger" and "honky" will make such appearance during said debate, but don't bet against it. Something interesting, made in 2006: <object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/oqZaQKskP-A?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/oqZaQKskP-A?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object> Crazy has always been the norm with these people.