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Posts Tagged ‘bailout’

Financial Reform passes. Investment Firms are still Dicks.

Via HuffPo.  Facing Fraud allegations from the SEC, Goldman Sachs increased lobbying by 40% in the second quarter.

Rundown of important points in the Wall Street Reform Bill now law:

  • The Emergency Mortgage Relief program makes more than $1 billion in federal funds available to families about to lose their homes.
  • Retailers may not exceed $10 as the credit card minimum.
  • If a lender turns down your application for credit because of your credit score, the lender is required to tell you what your credit score is for free.
  • A new independent watchdog, Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, will be created to regulate loan products ranging from credit cards to mortgages.  Pawn brokers and auto dealers are exempt.
  • A new national toll free number for consumer complaints on products and services will be created.

loan-shark-570x476

  • NO MORE TAXPAYER BAILOUTS.  Limits excessive company growth and complexity, limits Fed lending, sets guidelines for an orderly liquidation process, and requires companies to go through normal bankruptcy procedures.

“I’ve been an advocate since the start of regulatory reform and am quite pleased we’re moving forward,” Citibank CEO Vikram Pandit said. “The ultimate impact won’t be clear until we know all of the details, but we have been managing the business and selling assets in line with the principles of reform.”

He added that the bill, which calls for most derivatives to be bought and sold on clearinghouses and exchanges, won’t have a major impact on much of its derivatives business.

More points from a Senate Committee here.

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McCain, please. This is my maverick.

I wish I had come across this article earlier. It still makes me proud to remember whom I supported in the primaries and whom I would have voted for had he not withdrawn by the time the primaries hit my state.

Some people will ask of this Congress, what were we thinking? Why did we give $700 billion bailout to Wall Street without fixing what caused the problem in the first place? Why did we rig the free markets for security fraudsters? Why didn’t we explore alternatives to let Wall Street solve its own problems? Why didn’t we have money save millions of homeowners, create millions of jobs, and a green economy? Why didn’t we stop the speculators? Why wasn’t there accountability? Why didn’t we take time to make an intelligent decision?

Graphical representation of $700 billion

September 29, 2008 Leave a comment

Ouch.  Is it worth it?  The experts seem just as divided as the bloggers.