The Bible says that God spoke to Job from a whirlwind, asking him
rhetorically if he could catch the giant sea creature Leviathan with
only a fishing hook. "Can you make a pet of him like a bird," Job was
asked, "or put him on a leash for your children?"The United States faces
a task of roughly the same magnitude, that of taming this country's
mega-banks. They're the sea monsters of the economy, waiting to lure
entire nations into the depths, and regulators don't have much more to
work with than a fishing hook.
Dodd/Frank's moderate
prescriptions are being eviscerated by hack Republicans who've been
bought off lock, stock, and barrel by the bankers. Other urgently-needed
reforms are dismissed by leaders in both parties as "politically
impossible": A restoration of Glass/Steagall. A financial transaction
tax. Breaking up the too-big-to-fail banks.Politically impossible?
They're popular with voters across the political spectrum. Why aren't
they already the law of the land?
Here's why: Republicans are in
Wall Street's hip pocket. As for the White House, this is from Ezra
Klein's coverage of Lawrence Summers' candidacy for Federal Reserve
chair: "the White House ... (is) getting feedback from fans of Summers,
who are ... very present in the ranks of economic and Wall Street
heavyweights who've worked or fundraised at high levels in Democratic
administrations."The "banknado" metaphor may seem too flippant, too
informal, given the gravity of the problem. But banker fraud's been
described in dispassionate detail again and again. There have been
countless expressions of fully-justified outrage at the amorality and
immorality of Wall Street CEOs and their Washington enablers.
Nothing's
changed. The evidence is overwhelming, the case is clear, but business
goes on as usual.How many times can Wall Street's fraud be clinically
described, its effects on the economy laid out on the table like an
autopsy? How many times can practical solutions be proposed, only to be
dismissed by bought-off politicians? How many times can bankers like
Jamie Dimon be called out for crimes committed under their leadership,
only to see them lionized once again in Washington and the mainstream
media?
What is there to say that hasn't been said? Outrage
marginalizes the outraged, giving policymakers one more excuse to
dismiss their warnings and prescriptions.Online shopping for Business Work Card holder from
a great selection of Office Products. It can also trigger a level of
reader rage toward bankers that is sometimes disturbing.The goal is to
change a broken system, not to trigger vengeful emotions toward
individuals. Miscreant bank executives are simply responding to the
incentives society has given them. Yes, they're behaving venally -- but
as the fable of the scorpion and the frog says: It's their nature.
Perhaps they would be better citizens and better human beings if we
didn't reward them so handsomely for being so much less than that.with Wholesale Cheap Custom Keychain and promotional key tags.
And
so Wall Street moves on, a whirlwind of razor teeth and predatory
instinct. Bankers commit fraud, settle for billions paid with other
people's money, then commit the very same crimes again. Why not? Their
financial incentives encourage it.And who's stopping them? The writers
and activists who catalog their crimes are marginalized as radicals,
scolds, and bores. The ones who strike a "moderate" tone help perpetuate
a climate in which their behavior continues unchecked.
If Wall
Street's not reined in, it's only a matter of time before there's
another crisis. What the government describes as a "recovery" is fragile
at best, and includes ongoing depression for millions of people. There
could be another banker-driven financial crisis at any moment.Our
leaders stand motionless, one hand covering their eyes and the other
outstretched for cash. Too many financial journalists are hypnotized by
the charismatic glow of great wealth and power. Meanwhile the sky's
growing darker -- and the forecast calls for sharks.
The Council
on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), Americas largest and most
powerful Muslim advocacy group, called Saturday for the Obama
administration to condemn military attacks against the Freedom and
Justice Party, the controversial religious party removed from power in a
recent coup that the Obama administration is insisting was not a coup.
The
administration reportedly fears that declaring a coup detat in Egypt
would force the U.S. to suspend all of its assistance programs in the
country,Soft Winbo Key Cover decorates your key in fashionable ways. which also help block weapons smuggling to Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip.
Despite
the Obama administrations inaction, Egyptian military forces have
instituted a shoot-to-kill policy to suppress protesters urging the
return of Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohammed Morsi to power. Morsi, who
fled Cairo during the military non-coup earlier this month, has been
defiant in exile and Egypt hangs in the balance. 65 or 66 pro-Morsi
protesters were killed Saturday by military forces near a sit-in at a
Cairo mosque.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR),
the nations largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization,
today called on the Obama administration to forcefully condemn the
killing of dozens of pro-democracy demonstrators by Egyptian security
forces, according to a statement released by the group Saturday.
We
join with those in Egypt and in the international community who are
condemning the violence, including Sheikh of Al-Azhar Ahmed al-Tayyeb,
who said he deplores and condemns the deaths of a number of martyrs who
were victims of todays events, CAIR stated.
Condemnations came
from across the political spectrum, including from Mohamed ElBaradei,
who strongly condemned the excessive use of force. British Foreign
Secretary William Hague said: I call on the Egyptian authorities to
respect the right of peaceful protest, to cease the use of violence
against protesters, including live fire, and to hold to account those
responsible, CAIR stated.
Without a clear condemnation of the
killings, we send the message that even more repressive measures may be
taken against the demonstrators. The clearest indicator of our nations
revulsion at the killings would be to suspend all American military aid
until the violence stops and democratic freedoms are restored, CAIR
stated.
Read the full products at
http://www.winbogifts.com/products/ear-cap.html. Read the full products
at http://www.winbogifts.com/products/usb-flash-drive.html.
没有评论:
发表评论