U.S. 'Pretty [SNIP]"' - Former TARP Inspector

** Warning - Video Contains Swearing **

Neil Barofsky, the former Inspector General of the Troubled Asset Relief Fund, can sum up the state of the nation in two words: "Pretty #ed." The concise assessment came Tuesday during a question and answer session on Gawker...Barofsky insisted that President Obama's administration, of which Geithner is a part, isn't doing enough to address issues inside the financial industry, saying that Dodd-Frank financial reform doesn't adequately address questions surrounding too-big-to-fail banks

"The incentives are all still in place for the TBTF banks to accumulate dangerous amounts of risk in the quest for short-term profits with the assurance that if their bets do not pay off, they (and most importantly from the perspective of market discipline) and their counterparties/creditors) [sic] will be bailed out by the gov't. Combine that with a lack of accountability for bad/fraudulent behavior, and you have a toxic cocktail that will bring about another crisis. Regulatory reform did nothing to change those incentives. "

"We need to convince those seeking or trying to retain power that they will not get our votes unless and until they commit to meaningful change of a financial system," he wrote in the Q&A.

www.democraticunderground.com...

Well, it's not really surprising. If you let a banking cartel have so much influence over policy then any country under its rule is going to be [SNIP]. Just look what happened to Greece or America in 2008.

The American populous does have power, it is what got the Paul-Grayson amendment passed that partially audited the fed in 2009. The Paul bill to audit the fed completely got passed through congress. Politicians want to stay in power, they will do what will get them re-elected. Of course if you have a mostly apathetic, ignorant voting base then you can do whatever the lobbyists, banks, and corporations tell you to do.

reply to post by RealSpoke


Big business and the banking industry bought and paid for Western politicians a long time ago.

Politicians don't represent the interests of the public. They represent the interests of themselves and their paymasters.

For instance,

• The Glass–Steagall Act 1933, brought in in response to the excesses of banks prior to the Great Depression, forced banks to separate retail (our savings) and investment (casino like speculation) banking so that no bank was 'too big to fail'.

In other words, banks were not allowed to gamble with ordinary peoples' savings, thereby guaranteeing a state bail out.

• Despite this being a sound idea, Reagan initially started to water down the separation of retail and investment banking in response to Marget Thatcher deregulating London as a banking sector.

Bill Clinton eventually repealed the Glass–Steagall Act altogether in 1999.

• Obama appears to be powerless to reimpose the separation of retail and investment banking despite attempting to do so. The banks, using their political muscle made hundreds of pages of amendments to the proposed legislation.

Investment banks are still allowed to gamble with peoples' life savings.

Hence banks are still 'too big to fail'

Ahhhh. The brutal honesty is refreshing. It's unfortunate we don't get more of it. Instead we get professional liars shoveling [SNIP] in our faces time and time again.Every once in a while we do get a gem like this, and the lack of honesty makes it so much better when we do.

Mod Edit: Profanity/Circumvention Of Censors – Please Review This Link.

reply to post by RealSpoke

Explanation: S&F!

And they are only just realizing this NOW!

Personal Disclosure: Next time ... they should apply 7 generations worth of FORETHOUGHT and have 7 generations worth of FORESIGHT!

We have had goverments of all kinds for over 2000yrs on this planet and isn't time that they got things completely right once and for all.

People. Politicains and Party's come and go ... BUT POLICY IS FOREVER!

Kick them all out i.e. invoke that 2nd amendment right I keep hearing you yanks arguing about so fiercely,... and start over and focus JUST ON POLICY ok!

STOP BEING 's ... BECAUSE You ALL KNOW it makes SENSE!

The American Dream is dead.

America has now become a country run by the wealthy corporation which own congress.

It's 2012 and we are just now saying this? Or finally believing it...?
It was only 4 years ago when this first mess was generated.
4 years. That's not much time. But it has allowed them to do it again!

So what is inevitable will take place once again.
This time, coming from the mouth of the horse.
We are coming up on impending doom once more.
But this one may be exponentially worse.

I can only wonder why this system seems designed to fail.
Almost as if someone, or a group of "someones", wants it to.
Like some type of evil conspiracy to get an agenda across.
Really? Is it still a conspiracy? I think not.
Glad I've had 4 years to prepare.


Be afraid people, be very afraid.
(or keep mindlessly unaware)