Financial Reform and Wish for President’s Legacy: “Arianna Says Frustration With Obama Goes Beyond Left And Right On ‘Fareed Zakaria GPS’”

My Comment to Arianna: I am puzzled at why the financial reform cannot have a strong back born, claws, even when the public fully support it. The watering down of health care reform was understandable after seeing the public opinion changing like woman’s temper during period. But now, the strong financial reform, preventing further crisis are what the public want.

If the mild financial reform is passed without claws, like restoring the Glass-Steagall Act and breaking up Main Street banks from big Wall Street firms, the bill may make many people feel good to certain level “FOR NOW.” But the effect will “Last Short.”

It’s like “Three Little Pig story” who built house with “straws, sticks, and bricks.” Who wants to build a house with “straws”? If another financial meltdown strikes again, it will hurt the creators of the bill, especially President Obama most.

I respect President. This is difficult time for him when all crises are weighing down on His Shoulders. But this is also the greatest opportunity for him that doesn’t come to every president. These continuing crises offer him chance to “DISTINGUISH” Himself from the rest of others as a “Through RE-MAKER of US HISTORY.” Flipping seconds’ short-term thinking may diminish his possibly greater LONG-TERM LEGACY. When cannot have everything, it may be wise to give up minor things to achieve big things.

Once the banks are separated, they wouldn’t be as powerful as they are now. And their interest politics will also be weaken. All industries rise and fall in their power. Ms. Huffington criticizes President to be too respectful to already established entities such as military or banking industry. What President has to always remember is that he is the commanding officer, the man in charge. Not anybody else. He may listen to other people. But he should make his own decisions based on his core consciousness, not based on what other people tell him. Because nobody is in his position.

Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

How to Deal with “Political Bisexuals?”: “The Senate Should Debate “Too Big to Fail” On Live Television”

A Political analysist, Richard (RJ) Eskow, clearly stated what has been in everybody’s mind.

Transparency in Political Processes via Multimedia Broadcasts.

This is a simple concept, but hasn’t been followed through. In his blog post, “The Senate Should Debate “Too Big to Fail” On Live Television”, Mr. Eskow states:

“A table in a quiet room? We need the exact opposite. We need a live TV broadcast of the debates and the votes (C-SPAN will do) surrounding each key amendment, starting with the Kaufman/Brown SAFE Act that breaks up the “too big to fail” institutions. Why start there? Because, while there are a number of excellent and important amendments before the Senate, “too big to fail” is a key part of our systemic risk problem.”

Great Idea! In bright spot light, in front of public eyes, few politicians can play the tricky game of officially supporting the public’s interest, but unofficially helping big banks at public’s costs.

Orrrrr, can they still do?

Why don’t we name these politicians of dual faces as “Political Bisexuals” ! Sounds good?

Mr Eskow also says, “The bank lobby is clearly frightened of the democratic process.”

Really? Can they sometimes be scared?

Sometimes I thought they are confused themselves with GOD, who is omniscient, omnipotent, can solve anything with money. I wish them to shift their jobs from the lobbying industry to more productive industries in this country, or go offshore ! These are the jobs really worthy to be exported to foreign countries and nobody will be upset about the loss!”

Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Robert Kuttner: Fiscal Folly

Dear Mr. JXJASON,

I believe we wish for the same thing, something good for the country. It’s just different wording.

Based on the solid understanding on the current situation, finding out the best strategies to get back to the healthy economy, that’s what we wish for, right?

We wish to set up the right policies that don’t allow the financial sector to drain this country’s resources, which should be used for building healthy industrial/manufacturing structure, healthy middle/low-income classes, and productive infrastructure, into feeding the top financiers’ fancy lifestyles. Fattening one (or a few) sector’s welfare while the rest of other sectors going anelexic doesn’t seem to be the profile of a healthy country. I am not saying we should suppress the financial sector unconditionally. Balance, fairness for all seem to be the key here.

In Response To:

JXJASON‘s Comment to Mikyung Lim

Mikyung Lim, I disagree with you The past can be undone. You just repeal the law that deregulated the financial industry. You cannot restore prosperity when the wealthy have stolen ( legally mind you) from the less wealthy.

If you Google – Phil Davis Seekingalpha – and read some of Phil’s articles you will learn how the financial industry has conned the average, middle class citizen.

Forbes publishes a list of the 400 richest people in the world. None of them live in 1,200 square foot homes, in middle class towns like, say Scranton, PA or Detroit, Michigan or thousands of other, poor communities in the US.

Finally, your analogy is nonsense. If one is sick, and broke, you cannot borrow more money. If someone doesn’t pay for your medical bills you will get sicker and, eventually die.

I am well educated with two degrees from two, Canadian Universities. Recently, the CEO from TD bank, explained why Canada did not have the same economic crisis as the US.

Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Dealing with Current Fiscal and Economic Troubles

Regarding Robert Kuttner‘s “Fiscal Folly”, April 4, 2010.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-kuttner/fiscal-folly_b_524760.html

My comment: Regarding the current fiscal and economic troubles that this country is facing, it is more productive to get into an action to correct them, instead of keeping contemplating on the past that cannot be undone.

Mr. Kuttner pointed out the focal point here: “we will have a national debt problem if we don’t get a return to high growth soon. But the more immediate problem is restoration of prosperity–and in the near term that will require more public outlay, not less. Once a real recovery is on track, we need to increase progressive taxation, both to moderate deficits and to pay for sustained public spending on things the economy and society need, such as 21st century infrastructure, a green economy, good jobs, as well as a national health and pension system.”

If we are sick patients with tight money problems, the wise strategy to recover from this sickness, get medical treatment first. Even by borrowing money and incurring more medical costs. And then when we get healthy, try best to earn more money to pay off medical bills. Not to spend money, to save money, being continuously sick seems to be a lose-lose strategy.”

Who’s Killing Financial Reform?

According to Dr. Robert Reigh, “during the 2008 elections, Wall Street showered Democratic candidates with well over $88 million and Republicans with over $67 million, putting the Street right up there with the insurance industry as among the nation’s largest equal-opportunity donors.”

As far as congressmen are receiving campaign donations from corporations, it doesn’t seem to be possible for them to vote against, regulate corporations. The current experience of recession and blind recklessness and near bankruptcies of big banks reminds that politics should be independent from corporations and only individuals, not corporations, should be allowed for political campaign contributions if this country intends to see justice, right politics for people. Individual citizen in this country, including those in corporations, can contribute to political campaigns and vote as individuals. They don’t have to be double-counted as an individual and as corporations.

There should be “Separation between Politics and Corporations as well as between the State and Religion.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

“What should Chris Dodd Do?” – Response to Huffpost’s “Volcker Rule Dead? Lawmakers Say Key Reform To Shrink Banks Is Unlikely To Pass Senate”"

Regarding the remark, “”Chris is retiring so he wants to end his career with an important regulatory reform bill and he wants to make the bill bipartisan,” the staffer said. “He is not going to risk bipartisan support to make the White House happy.”

I believe, Mr Dodd should worry about how not to further anger “The Public” with a toothless financial reform bill, not “the White House.” The White House has been flexible and willing to compromise to certain level to pass bills. Actually, this very attitude of White House being willing to compromise, giving up some important features of health care bill and being too soft to financial sector/big banks, along with others, have been one of major causes of public anger and making them perceive the White House not being tough enough to do the job.

I am not sure the major issue here is supposed to be “bipartisanship,” which nobody believes that it will work, after seeing both parties’ political attitude and “opposition for the sake of opposition for whatever” political strategy. Rather Mr. Dodd should be careful not too much compromise to come up with a toothless financial reform bill, which may end up furthering public anger toward financial reform and disgrace his retirement. Though the effect of Scott Brown’s winning of senate seat will be further devastating on Senate’s functioning.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

“Krugman’s View of President Obama’s First Year Sounds Reasonable.”

Professor Krugman stated that “The Obama administration’s troubles are the result not of excessive ambition, but of policy and political misjudgments. The stimulus was too small; policy toward the banks wasn’t tough enough; and Mr. Obama didn’t do what Ronald Reagan, who also faced a poor economy early in his administration, did — namely, shelter himself from criticism with a narrative that placed the blame on previous administrations.” -”What Didn’t Happen”, NY Op-Ed Column.

Prof. Krugman’s above statement sounds reasonable. Maybe it’s wise for the White House to incorporate his suggestions in modifying its policies & strategies. Pushing hard for health care reform and straigtening out the mistakes done in financial reform. Especially, although I don’t quite like blaming games, it seems to be “VERY” important to stress out “Who’s the Actual Cause of Current Economic and Job Crisis” and take that blame away from President. Regarding job situation, Prof. Krugman doesn’t seem to see any magic bullet at this point, as I haven’t seen any either (“US Job Situation: No Magic Bullet to Solve It; http://mikyunglim.wordpress.com/2009/12/16/us-job-situation-no-magic-bullet-to-solve-it/)

“What Didn’t Happen,” http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/18/opinion/18krugman.html

Fixing the Financial Sector and Economist Joseph Stiglitz

Nobel Prize-winning economist, Joseph Stiglitz has been critical of the US government’s bailout of the banking sector and says that the government should not have bailed out the banking sector but should have used that money to help individuals in troubles. There should be further detailed discussion on this matter.

For now, for simplicity, let’s talk about how to fix the mistakes of the last one year’s efforts of fixing financial system. It’s been just one year, we still have time to fix it. What we need to do are:

(A) Regulate the financial sector; (B) Separate investment banks from commercial banks to prevent Wall Street’s continuous reckless gambling with other people’s money; install the Glass-Steagall Act; (C) Apply anti-trust law to the financial sector as well as health care sector; (D) As Ms. Huffington suggested, individuals move their money from Big Banks to smaller, community banks or credit union to break Big Banks’ monopoly power.

Here is one significant problem in fixing the mistakes/financial system.

(E) Who is going to take care of “special interest politics, lobbyists, and corrupted/bribed Senators” ? Aren’t these the major road-blockers in the process of reforms? Also, we need (F) to install the law to prevent them from working for corporations of conflicting interests after retiring from their public posts, too. We need to make sure that these people don’t get on the way of fixing the mistakes / malfunctioning financial system. Isn’t this the biggest challenge of all?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/19/freefall-excerpt-its-not_n_427509.html

Update:

Oh, some hours before I posted this blog, there was an announcement that the White House is going to propose some  measures to restrict “Big Banks.” According to the report, “President Barack Obama on Thursday is expected to propose new limits on the size and risk taken by the country’s biggest banks, marking the administration’s latest assault on Wall Street in what could mark a return, at least in spirit, to some of the curbs on finance put in place during the Great Depression, according to congressional sources and administration officials.” For this news, refer to:

“Proposal Set to Curb Bank Giants”,

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704320104575015910344117800.html

A Nation of “Two Heads”: The Government vs. The Multi-Headed Medusa of Powerful Industries

As we have witnessed the endless twists of health care and financial reforms this year, my impression on this country’s politics is, this country is not “One-Headed.”

The United States of America is more like a nation of “Two Heads”: the “Government” and the “Industrial Medusa” that consists of many small heads of powerful industries and their bands of lobbyists, including financial, pharmaceutical, health care, oil industries. The Government has the role of policing the nation; the Industrial Medusa manipulates the Government, media, and the public to set the social structure in their favor, in ways to minimize the nation’s regulations on them and maximize their money earning, profits at any costs, even at the destruction of their country and economy which nurture, feed them with money.

Over the last decades, it has been this “Industrial Medusa” that has won the game with the Government by manipulating, bribing, dominating it to structure this country’s social, economic structure best for their benefits. Taking undeserved money from the public through malicious business practices means that the public is losing money and becoming poorer. Loose or few government regulations on this Industrial Medusa has caused the misallocation of money resources in this society that has been drained from middle and poor classes’ pocket money for living necessities and poured into industrial riches’ pockets to support their unprecedented luxurious lifestyle. The outcomes of Industrial Medusa’s social misconducts have been not only the current short/mid-term recession but also disappearing middle class, deepening poverty of low-income class, and the weakening US industrial structure and competitiveness in world markets. This is exactly what has happened in this country and will continue so if the Obama administration’s reform efforts fail in vain.

Now, there is this fierce battle (and sometimes compromising) game of obtaining the dominance between President Obama/Government (which have been scarred by the endless dissonance and betrayal among their own folks, Democrats) and the Industrial Medusa. It has never been this close for the Government to take this dominance from the Medusa. Despite many current problems and flaws, the nation should remember that it has been only the current President who came this close to the reversal of chronically ill-designed US power game. Productive, healthy criticism will help the Government win the battle. But, just criticizing for the sake of criticizing will unnerve, deprive the energy and passion out of the President /Government and empower, help the Industrial Medusa win the game and maintain their dominance in US politics again. We should understand that the current troubles with financial and health care reforms are rather the indication of how tough, powerful the industries’ influence on US politics than the weakness, flaws of the President’s political skills and unfolding policy agendas. Politics, as usual, is a complicate game.

Below are the blogs of how these industrial interests are twisting the current reforms.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/peter-dreier/waffling-democrats-health_b_376578.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-reich/how-a-few-private-health_b_388788.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/12/11/house-passes-financial-re_n_389267.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/12/11/pharma-deal-shuts-down-se_n_388895.html