There is a complete disconnect in Washington from the quiet desperation of American lives. While politicians chatter talking points and claim lobbyists' agendas are somehow sane economic and labor policy, a full 23% of Americans have been fired in the last four years.
Credit reports control way too much of an individual's life. A bad credit score can deny someone a job, never mind a credit card and a mortgage. The four billion dollar a year consumer credit rating industry has way too much power and almost no accountability.
Congress is focused on all the wrong things to get people back to work. We hear day after day the drone of budget deficits, yet not a word is mentioned on the trade deficit. This is the problem Congress should be obsessed with. Our massive trade deficit is stunting economic growth and costing America millions of jobs.
The Department of Justice filed a civil lawsuit against Standard and Poor's for fraud. Will the DOJ finally nail credit rating agency Standards and Poor's for slapping AAA ratings on rigged CDOs backed by mortgage toxic waste? Or will justice be just another slap on the wrist?
While the Dow hit 14,000 and Wall Street cheered, economic indicators cast a broadening dark shadow. Wall street is partying like it is March 2000. Yet Q4 GDP showed economic contraction.
The Fed is throwing every dollar it can at the economy, but instead of getting economic growth, it is creating asset bubbles. There is a mini-housing bubble, a student loan bubble, a government debt bubble, a sub-prime auto loan bubble, a farmland bubble, and a massive stock market bubble. What happens when the Fed takes its foot off the monetary pedal, as it must at some point?
This week's featured documentary is Frontline's The Untouchables. Frontline asks the fundamental question, why hasn't anyone responsible for the financial crisis gone to jail?
Will America finally get justice for crimes on Wall Street? We think not. Today, President Barack Obama named Mary Jo White to head the Securities and Exchange Commission. The White House and most of the press are touting her credentials as a former New York Southern District prosecutor. From the White House press briefing:
It is 2013, five years after the start of a recession and two and a half years after so called financial reform legislation was passed. Yet, Too Big To Fail Banks have just gotten bigger, the financial system is still at risk and most of the disaster was buried in a mountain of bail out money.
There is nothing more frightening than when those in charge of the economy miss something that was as plain as the nose on your face. Such was the situation with the Federal Reserve and the subprime mortgage crisis in 2007. The FOMC met on August 7th and claimed there was not enough evidence of a subprime problem.
There is nothing more frightening than when those in charge of the economy miss something that was as plain as the nose on your face. Such was the situation with the Federal Reserve and the subprime mortgage crisis in 2007. The FOMC met on August 7th and claimed there was not enough evidence of a subprime problem.
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