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January 29th, 2010
09:00 AM ET
Spitzer talks stimulus
It's been a bruising week for the president's financial team. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner was grilled by Congress over the bailout of AIG. And Chairman of the Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke, was confirmed for a second term, but only after a grueling confirmation hearing.
All this comes as the president pushes for regulation to rein-in Wall Street. For his take, we were joined Friday on American Morning by the man they used to call the "sheriff of Wall Street," former New York Gov. Elliot Spitzer.
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To say "don't force the banks to loan to everyone" is ignorant of one simple fact. The banks and the government do not, and should not, have the same objectives. If you want to "force" spending on riskier loans, only loan money to share in the risk of these loans. Make it worth the banks' while. Or create a national bank. Those are the government's options there.
This is not the same as adding regulation, which also needs to happen – letting the Wall Street types and their "my bonus now, burn down tomorrow" mentality take over the stodgier banking sectors without any oversight is why we're in our current economic mess today (along with bankrolling costly wars and giving huge tax breaks to the wealthy without any balancing cost reductions – the "spend but don't tax and pass a mess to the liberals" face of the modern Neocon movement).
Spitzer has a good head for this and is clearly not beholden to Wall Street – a problem that plagues both Geithner and Bernanke. The Obama administration should take a hard look at whether it's time to replace Geithner with Spitzer.
Spitzer is a has-been and is of no significance in this debate. His words are meaningless and I hope that he remains in The Penalty Box and that he cannot restablish himself as a public servant. If his own family cannot trust him, who can?
No matter how deep it is buried, the filth and muck always rises back to the surface - to be lapped up by mindless scavengers, i.e., populist liberal morons as displayed in large part by these comments.
Mr Spitzer should get back into the action. We need more capable guys like him – especially in these trying times for the nation. However, it is easy for all of us to be armchair quarterbacks after the fact. If AIG did collapse and so did Goldman's, would the financial market have had a seizure? Would it then cause a massive run on the banks? I will be honest I was just about ready to run to the bank myself to withdraw everything I had had it not been the Government's calming actions. In short, it would have been catastrophic and we wouldn't just be here talking about an economy that truly hasn't recovered yet. It would have been far worst and the backlash would have destabilized the stronger companies and would have driven many more job losses to catastrophic proportions. So the Bank Bailout was not perfect and did line some fat cats in the Banking Industry. We should tax them and find other methods to correct as much as possible. Now that its relatively stable, let's move on to create jobs !
it's amazing that people really don't believe there were people who were supposed to be watching over wall street during the start of the meltdown and those people are now even higher ranking members of congress – and they are on the left. enforce the laws on the books. don't force banks to lend to everyone regardless of income. that is not discrimination as they try to spin it, it is simple reality.
Geithner and Bernake are part of the good old boys club and they took care of their buddies. There is a pipeline coming from these investment banks going straight into the government. What do you expect to happen?
It's great to see you Governor! Whatever you may decide to run for, you have my vote.
Its simple really- Obama's Administration made too many promises it couldn't keep.
Also, Other than Olympia Snowe or Gov. Jindal, Republicans have not been invited to any public or private function at the Whitehouse since Obama took office. Bipartisanship takes time and it doesn't happen overnight: So start with a "Power Breakfast meeting" with both parties invited and build from there.
Lou is correct. Add Greenspan to the analysis.
Also, "He that controls the past (facts) controls the future." Corporate-loving Republicans are using that playbook to perfection. Add in the Supremes (as in Court) and we are going to have fun. Feel like a rat on a piece of wood floating in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, with no escape???
I agree with the call to return Eliot Spitzer to help combat crime and corruption, especially on Wall Street. This man is a true public servant. His mistakes in life were personal in nature and with our dire needs in this corrupt environment, there is a need to look past his mistake and realize the benefits this man could bring to law enforcement efforts in this country.
Mr. Spitzer makes a very good point without using the over-used term (moving forward) by simply saying; lets move on and create jobs in the electric car field and high speed rail field to help move the masses more efficiently. He says other countries are already doing that. My reason for re-iterating his statement is that while other countries have moved in that direction we are still following the Bush Doctrine of outer Planet habitation. We have put a car on Mars. It is electric and has a solar panel. The cost to get that one car there is phenomenal, both in energy and economic excesses. It is now stuck and has a remote controlled dummy in the drivers seat...much like the past years that got us stuck in the current mud. Men have made mistakes but if we don't help this driver, President Obama, get our overly large Hummer unstuck...we might as well move to Mars, and perhaps some to Venus!
The bailout of AIG & GM etal is okay. We would say do not bail them out but if we ended up in a depression then these same people will blame the government. We should let the government run the country. They are wise, competent for most part but they are elected and responsible to God for their actions. We need to ignore what they do and concentrate on getting ourselves motivated and be good consumers. Actually, the government has done it part with the stimulus and bailout, it is up to businesses and citizens to demonstrate a commensurate bullish attitude and things will improve.
A reformed Eliot Spitzer is a very good thing. Now he get down to what he's brilliant at. Listen to him!
we just got out of the most horrible economic crisis ever in less than 3 years periot this is just amazing it requiere a genius to do what is been done in this economic. there is not more blind that the one that not want it to see. hey wake up what is need is to press on the right to make this people more agreebable, they just blocking the process.
BRING SPITZER BACK.
WE NEED HIS CLEAR THINKING ON MONEY MATTERS.
ON PERSONAL MATTERS NOT SO MUCH.
now, if anyone who has listened to Mr. Spitzer intently,must ask, who was the jerk who outed this guy. This man has more common sense in his little finger, than Geithner, and Bernanke put together. Sure seems like the boys in the financial world saw a guy to be feared, and exposed his personal side; but what did they get, at the tax payers expense,$$$$$. hope he gets back into the mix more, this guy in no dummy..
Ben Benanke's job was very simple, use smoke and mirrors to bailout his mates (aka shareholders of the private banks that own the Fed) Profit is to be privatised, loses are to be socailised. 1790: Mayer Amschel Rothschild states, "Let me issue and control a nation's money and I care not who writes the laws." That held good then as it does now. In reality Benanke makes Bernie Madoff's ponzi scheme look like a kindergarten play. He should be in the cell next to Bernie.
With all the millions given to AIG, GM and others and promising more again I don't know where he is getting tall this money. He promised the seniors a check for $250 because they were not getting a raise this year on their Social Security checks. Have not seen that check yet. I don't believe there was any funding for Illinois because the State cut the Circuit Breaker checks in half and the hours of bus service has been cut. Obama should not do anymore bailing out for these big corporations. Let them sink.
Bring Spitzer back, even if it is only to scare the bankers into compliance with regulations. Spitzer acted stupidly some time ago, but bankers get their bonuses NOW and need to be stopped.
I think every one was expecting they would get some money or offered a job when to tide them over until the economy or they thought the economy would automatically improve after the eight years it took Bush to run it into the canyon, not just a ditch.