Have you ever heard of Brooksley Born? Neither had I until I watched the latest edition of Frontline on PBS called The Warning, which lays out the history of the collapse of the financial markets. Brooksley Born was the head of the Commodities Futures Trading Commission in the late '90's who tried to warn the financial wizards of the day, specifically Alan Greenspan, Robert Rubin, and Larry Summers about the impending disaster in the derivatives market. Here are a couple of excerpts:
In my opinion, the entire program (which can be seen at the PBS web site) is a must see for anyone interested in learning about how we got here and what must be done to prevent another collapse from happening at some point in the future. It's about 55 minutes long, but 55 minutes well spent.
In my opinion, the entire program (which can be seen at the PBS web site) is a must see for anyone interested in learning about how we got here and what must be done to prevent another collapse from happening at some point in the future. It's about 55 minutes long, but 55 minutes well spent.
Thats why we need to get the Sheriff back in the saddle. Spitzer knows that industry, and their tricks like no other- Hell, Vitter didnt step down...i say Eliot has done enough penance for a crime which would be a no-crime in much of the Western world (i dont know about the Orient).
I remember when Enron hit, it was like the town was collectively hit in the stomach...had to take the sign down from the dang ballfield, for Petes sake.
Des, had he (Pres C)vetoed would he have faced an override? No President wants that...I know Repugs controlled both houses but i dont know by what margins...everything was going pretty good so i didnt pay close attention.
Hmm, is it poor spelling or simply what Republicans call the hippie-overrun Renaissance festival?
I've loved Frontline since I was a teen. Except for the one about Helen Prejean, "Angel on Death Row." The program included some crime scene photos of one of Robert Lee Willie's victims, and I can still literally close my eyes and remember one picture in particular. Actually, that program influenced my decision to work with crime victims.
Thanks for posting the link. I had no idea past episodes were available online. I can't wait to watch The Warning.
two blocks north of where i work, there is a marquee that states(and i quote) "Lazzies Faire Save Our Freedoms"
People are THAT stupid, I shit you not......
Sounds good to me. Hey, it's 5 o'clock somewhere.
Damn, I will buy you a full beer!!! Or two.
Sorry about that. It's been a glass half empty kind of day. Make that week.
Good grief, Des! Are you trying to send us all over the edge??
Talk about "Fudging the books"...
I guess it’s my day to be a ray of sunshine, but if you think the battle against the insurance lobby is tough, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet. Wait ‘til the president comes up against the Wall Street lobbyists. They have more politicians in their pockets than the insurance companies do.
What we need to do is PROHIBIT these "financial wizards" (and I use the work wizard intentionally) from inventing any more crap like "derivatives" and "hedges" and "SPE's" that allow them to "pull the wool over everybody's eyes" and steal money while we are trying to figure out exactly what this damn thing is.
I am trusting that Obama will see to this.
Actually, I was out of work during the Enron debacle. Was able to spend a lot of time researching that. Wendy Gramm was only one of about 12 directors who did NOT perform "due diligence" in executing their duties.
OTOH, when you get the CPA's involved as Skilling, Fastow, and Lay did, it does make it hard for the BOD to "catch any fraud." And make no mistake about it, the accountants and their overseeers were ABSOLUTELY RESPONSIBLE for the success of the Enron fraud.
Sorry to be the ants at the picnic, but Clinton has just as much responsibility in the financial collapse as anybody. Gramm-Leach-Bliley, deregulating the markets, couldn’t have become law unless Clinton signed it. Clinton was the one who kept Greenspan and appointed Rubin and Summers.
Frankly, all he cared about was that the stock market was going up and his approval ratings were high.
Yeah, St. Reagan, whom the Repubs consider THEIR savior.
Actually I do put a great deal of blame on him AND on the Gramms for this financial implosion. That jackass had the temerity to declare us a nation of whiners last year. I'm sure he is not hurting financially and his wife came off scot-free in the Enron mess.
you could just feel it coming starting with Reagan...thanks for some good stuff.
It seems to me that the conservative law and order crowd, and even the populist teabaggers like Sparkie ought to agree that corporate and governmental corruption should result in jail sentences. One particularly egregious case, in my view, is Wendy Gramm (wife of Senator and financial deregulator Phil Gramm) who served as chair of the CFTC prior to Born and who ought to be sitting on her ass in a federal prison cell. After leaving the CFTC early in Clinton's presidency, she went to the Enron board, where she was paid thousands a year to blindly ignore massive corporate fraud.
There are some people we can directly blame for the financial mess that caused our economy to lose as much as $14 trillion, by some reports. I nominate the Gramms for special recognition.