WASHINGTONâPresident Barack Obama and his economic team lashed out at Wall Street, with the president calling bankers "fat cats" who "don't get it," in a move that could escalate tensions with the nation's biggest bankers ahead of a meeting with industry representatives. Mr. Obama, speaking on the eve of Monday's meeting with the heads of top banks at the White House, said he would try to persuade bankers to free up more credit to businesses, with the aim of helping boost job growth. But the president also expressed frustration with banks that the government has assisted. "I did not run for office to be helping out a bunch of fat cat bankers on Wall Street," Mr. Obama said in an interview to be broadcast on CBS's "60 Minutes" program Sunday evening, according to excerpts made available ahead of the program. Relations between the banking industry and the White House began frosty and have deteriorated in recent weeks, with large banks lobbying against legislation that would toughen financial-market regulations and administration officials frustrated by some banks' continued payment of high bonuses and their reluctance to lend. Mr. Obama reiterated that frustration in the interview, noting that some banks have continued to award bonuses and restrict lending while many Americans struggle with unemployment. "Some people on Wall Street still don't get it," he said. The national unemployment rate was 10% in November http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126073152465089651.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_LEFTWhatsNewsCollection
Obama calls Wall Street bankers "fat cats" who "don' t get it"... He should declare war. We have war on poverty, war on drugs, we need something fresh. He should declare war on banks and business and people who "live easy" off the work of other people.
Obama is a fat cat. Just who does he think he's fooling? Apparently, hardly anyone given the latest spate of polls.
Any way this can be interpreted as, since he is against bankers getting any bigger, he would be AGAINST a transaction tax that takes trading out of the hands of the every man and gives it to the banks and brokerages to manipulate as they see fit? Or am I reaching?
Why would the banks lend any more than they already are? There's hardly any business in America actually worth lending to. And actually worthy businesses have no problems whatsoever obtaining all the credit they need at ultra-low interest rates. We already have an epic glut of 'businesses' that produce little of anything, and many 'businesses' that are nothing other than glorified real estate ponzis (ie: the nail salons -- most nail salons don't actually make any money, but only exist because the owners think that they'd profit on real estate appreciation). Only way the economy is going to be repaired is to increase demand, which could be accomplished by decreasing foreign supply, ie: by stopping oil imports. By stopping tech imports. By stopping H1-B tech worker imports and offshoring. By investing in basic science and technology, which can be used by American-only firms to create exports (no offshoring allowed...strict export regulations).
By providing a bottom less safety net for these narcissistic no talent hacks, the taxpayer is setting up the destruction of America. The next big scam wallstreet undertakes will be larger and will spell the doom of America. These people should have been allowed to go bankrupt. They should have been forced to sell their homes in the hamptons and learned to be appreciate the reality. Thanks to Bush and his TARP, we're still paying for the monkeys collosal cluster fuck up of America.
A transaction tax would limit rebate trading and HFT by the black boxes. For a true trader, eliminating black boxes would bring back some volatility and hence more profits. Except if you're a tick fucker or a rebate monkey, any transaction tax is irrelevant.
Again...playing to the sheeple. What BHO says is completely irrelevent. He is a master at bait and switch, telling you one thing and then doing the exact opposite.