Obama Nails it
Posted: Thursday, April 22, 2010
by e
Dhammabucha Rocksprings Meditation
"Nation" has reported that President Obama, in a policy speech to Wall Street today, "made a case that the current financial crisis was caused by an American capitalism that has drifted away from the legitimate aim of mutually helping investors and businesses toward a system that allows a Wall Street elite to grow excessively rich at the expense of most Americans."
To this I say bravo. Finally a president with guts, principles and intelligence (rare to find in the presidency these days) has begun to home in on the thieves. And there are many. The atmosphere on Wall Street is very reminiscent of the glory days of car sales in Florida five years ago when almost everyone in the business was a crack head making a killing, robbing customers blind, and laughing about it.
Wall Street has become a cesspool. And the sad facts are that many Americans still believe that when they invest their money, they're getting a fair shake. Not really. All that money is being gambled, no different from Las Vegas except in Las Vegas you need your own money. On wall street, they use yours.
401ks are a good example of unrestricted gambling money for Wall Street. And greed, because since no one really has control of their 401k other than choosing this plan or that plan, the managers of the funds do as they please with your money, and lately it's been gambled with. How does that make you feel?
There's one born every minute, they say, and two looking for him.
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Top-level comments on this article: (3 total)President Obama has nailed it. A year and a half ago everyone thought we needed finance reform. Now when we are getting close to doing something about it Republicans have tried to demonize the bill with, thankfully, far less effectiveness than they did with health care reform. I would love a bi-partisan bill but if not then all Americans should take note of who exactly is for big business, not main street.I'm not against Republicans, just their behavior! :) Thanks Dan.I think things are changing. I hope the hateful rhetoric calms down. Perhaps it was the result of a Bush mentality of cowboymanship.
I'm not sure I'm following how this is a white thing. In ref. to the Rich White Party comments. There are plenty of rich black people out there. The problem is a whole lot bigger than race and has been around for awhile. Everyone in Washington and on Wall street are in bed together. As far as Mr. O saying "...there's a family looking to buy a house,...." or the car sales in Florida taking people for a ride when selling them a car. You can walk out of a deal. You do not have to spend your money with any one person or company. Just take your money and walk away. I do not need congress looking out for me.C 'mon Matthew, every society needs governing to prevent the Wall Street excesses we just have been exposed to, plus a military, roads, schools, police, C'mon.
And check the minority participation in congress by party. The last time I checked, there is only one African-American currently serving in the Senate, and 42 members in the house, all Democrat. Please correct me if I'm wrong as I checked some time ago.
The senate today certainly didn't look like it was in bed with Goldman Sachs! Maybe the previous administration was, the one that condoned this Wall Street casino mentality.
Best.....e
I'm sorry Mr. Rock I liked the article and the debate that could go on, but I just disagree with the direction this country is going in and the goverment that is taking us there. I do not want the US Goverment telling a business like McD's how much salt to put in my food. Not when that same governement has a Committee like SEC that sits around and downloads 18 hours of porn while telling Goldman Sachs how to run their business. I will tell you nothing will reform a business like going out of business. People should stop spending their money with people they disagree with. I do not need the Government telling me where and how to spend my money. Also, on the other article you wrote on goverenment spending. How about the 14 million spent on training Somalia soilders, just to jump ship and start working for al-Qaida, do you think we could have cut that spending out. Thanks for the view from the other side.Okay Matthew, I understand and respect your take on all of this, but I will respond with counter arguments so that the whole picture might be seen by neutral observers.You said, “I liked the article and the debate that could go on, but I just disagree with the direction this country is going in and the government that is taking us there.”No substantial argument here, we just disagree. I think Obama will go down in history as one of the greatest, if the greatest, president in history. The Jackie Robinson of politics, within only one short year and a half (and he has 6 ½ years to go!) has passed Health care, something that no other president has been able to do. Believe me, all the history books will include this monumental shift in human decency, but not the miniscule arguments that are currently dying out. And he received the Nobel Peace prize. Again, whether you agree or not, the history books will reflect that as well. Also he was the first African American holding the office, which means that with everything else he does, he has to fight racism, which he has done admirably. Also there has been no great scandals involving himself or his staff. And finally, he has pulled the country out of what could have been the greatest depression of all times. If he would not have injected capital into the banks, they would have failed, people would have lost their savings after a run on the banks, unemployment would now be over 25%, and we would be in a deep depression.You said, “I do not want the US Goverment telling a business like McD's how much salt to put in my food. Not when that same governement has a Committee like SEC that sits around and downloads 18 hours of porn while telling Goldman Sachs how to run their business.”Sorry Matthew, a fallacious argument comparing a little porn (the human body after all harms no one, except religious fanatics whose sharp teeth have been honed on judgmentalism and Puritanism!) with actions that almost brought our country to its knees in order to enrich a few. And if Micky Dees doesn’t care about people’s health and adds whatever just to make things taste good and sell more junk, then they can pay for the heart related illness that they cause. Add your own salt! How do I take it out if I can’t eat salt! I mean, why don’t we eliminate stop lights? That’s certainly a control of government. I’m sure that everyone would be polite and well behaved at every intersection without “Government telling us what to do!" C’mon.You said, “nothing will reform a business like going out of business.”As previously stated, if the banks would have been allowed to fail, you would be selling pencils on the street corner now!You said, “People should stop spending their money with people they disagree with. I do not need the Government telling me where and how to spend my money.”You’ll have to clarify that one. Laws are passed and you can either fight to change the law, break the law and go to jail or get fined, or leave the county. This is a law and order country so far.You wrote, “Also, on the other article you wrote on government spending. How about the 14 million spent on training Somalia soldiers, just to jump ship and start working for al-Qaida, do you think we could have cut that spending out.”I don’t know the details so cannot comment on this. Generally however, our military is over-bloated and gets us into all kinds of sick situations such as the contra thing, Iraq, etc. We can‘t seem to keep our noses out of other peoples business, it’s like we have to proselytize. No other country does this. The military expense is killing us. No other country comes even close to what we spend - 20 times more than the closest country to us regarding military spending.You said, “Thanks for the view from the other side.”Thank you Matthew! Politics is always a compromise. That is for sure!I do not believe he PASSED health care. It was shoved through. Over half the American people did not want it. But they passed it. Would you please tell me what he did to deserve the Noble Peace Prize. I'm not sure why he won. Next what does being black have to do with anything. The whole BLACK thing is played out on every issue in everthing in America. I believe the whole racism is a dead horse that the media keeps kicking and getting people worked up. As far as scandals. Really? Lets start with Jeremiah Wright and his comments on race and America. Or Bill Ayers (enough said there). Tim Geither and his whole tax issues. Van Jones who said in 1992 he was a communist, was serving on the staff. Then there is the $994,000.00 that Mr. O got from Goldman, you know they same people he wants to reform, evil Wall Street. And let's not forget the whole Blagojevich thing that just will not go away. If these are not scandals then I do applogize. But they are still cause for alarm, about the things that go on around him. Where there is smoke there is fire kind of thing.I do not believe he will go down as a great president. But you are correct he will go down as the first black president. As far as the banks failing, I agree with your article on the economy, we are and have been living on credit (beyond own means) for a long time. I wonder what would have really happened had we not borrowed money from people that hate us or flood our market with sub standard products. I do not believe it would have crashed. But that is easy to say sitting here a year later. Hindsight being 20/20 and all.In the end I very much enjoy the discusion. I hope that together we can open each others eyes to the other side. You do not have to agree. You just have to understand the point of view. Thanks again.Thank you Matthew."In the end I very much enjoy the discussion. I hope that together we can open each others eyes to the other side. You do not have to agree. You just have to understand the point of view."That's what it's all about, seeing each others viewpoints. Then we vote for our reps in congress and they vote - majority wins. If the GOP wants to survive, it must become multi-ethnic, just like the liberals! There is no way around this. Key in "GOP Can't Win With Just White Votes." for some eye opening statistics re: the RWP (Rich White Party) :) "There are no Republicans among the present 41 members of the Congressional Black Caucus, or among the 24 members of the Hispanic Caucus -- an absence that reflects the party's woeful performance among minority voters in recent elections and may threaten its very existence."
If you want to help your party, Matthew become friends with some minority folks, invite them over to your house, and listen to their points of view. I have many such friends.
Best......e
It is a good start, e, I agree completely. It is about time someone holds those in the financial sector accountable. The problem is, he doesn't go far enough. There is no mention of the failed government oversight which is designed to stop this thing from ever happening in the first place, and there is absolutely no mention of the government's agencies (under Mr. Bush and Mr. Clinton) which sat on the sidelines and trusted these characters. Wall Street needs regulation, and the regulatory agencies (SEC, FTC) need to be held accountable as well.It is, as you say, a great start. I look forward to more.Great job, as always sir.Hi Michael. We had a good bill in effect called the Glass–Steagall Act, restricting banks from speculating with our money. But both democrats and republicans thought it wouldn't do any harm to allow banks to dabble and gamble in things like stocks and derivatives - kind of one stop shopping, so the act was modified. Boy was that misguided! Obama might be the first president that actually has the intelligence and guts to go head to head with Wall Street. He's a tough little guy. Wall Street will take everything they legally can, and illegally too, until someone stops them. No different from the mafia. I wouldn't trust them for a heart beat, nothing other than unbridled greed and egoism. I think that checking out the male and female ratio on Wall Street would be revealing. Lots of testosterone there. I personally wouldn't put a penny in the market. A small investor like me is called a "mark," someone to be taken advantage of. No thanks. I would trust a used car salesman more than a Wall Street broker.
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