Robert Oak's blog

Regulation Power - Where are the Checks and Balances?

Before us we have the proposal to expand the powers of the Federal Reserve as the systemic risk regulator.

Consider this:

Thus within 18 months of taking office, Obama will likely have appointed five of the seven Fed governors . The central bank is designed to be independent from politics, so a president's best chance of influencing how the Fed will regulate banks or respond to economic changes is through these appointments.

The Federal Reserve acts independently of government, with pretty much only these appointments, each a 14 year term, and confirmation of each governor by the Senate.

fed reserve org. chart

Considering we cannot find out which institutions received Federal money or where the $12.82 trillion dollars of Federal Reserve financial commitments are, isn't this making the Democratic aspects of financial regulation even worse?

During the Bush administration we had then Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson, acting as CEO in Chief, strong arming banks and even Congress into passage and use of the TARP. No other ideas were seriously considered and Congress simply handed over the cash with a lot of scare tactic rhetoric.

Friday Movie Night - Breaking The Bank

 It's Friday Night! Party Time!   Time to relax, put your feet up on the couch, lay back, and watch some detailed videos on economic policy!

 

Before we get to the documentary, if you missed this one, it's a must watch! Before Congress, health insurance executives refuse to stop rescinding health insurance coverage, retroactively, when a person actually gets sick! Reminds me of the big Tobacco CEOs Seven Dwarfs famous clip, all under oath swearing they did not believe nicotine is additive.

The Ostriches in the Sand - Regulation Hearings & Frameworks

The Obama administration is pre-announcing the regulatory reforms announcements (see their outline below), so much so one might miss what is coming out of Congressional hearings on the topic.

From the Systemic Risk and Insurance hearing, subcommittee chair Kanjorski said:

I believe that only ostriches can now deny the need for establishing a federal insurance resource center and a basic federal insurance regulatory structure.

Geither's response? Let's ignore the entire insurance industry. What's in a name? (AIG)

Why are the same people still in charge of banks they destroyed?

The House Financial Services Committee held a hearing yesterday, Compensation Structure and Systemic Risk.

Contained within the Q&A is this fantastic question by Representative Alan Grayson (D-FL-8th): How do we hold these executives accountable when they have destroyed their own banks?

Pages