An economics, investment, trading and policy blog with a focus on Modern Monetary Theory (MMT). We seek the truth, avoid the mainstream and are virulently anti-neoliberalism.
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Thursday, January 14, 2010
Obama tells banks: `We want our money back'
How confused Obama is...how utterly confused. This Administration goes from one bad policy to the next.
First let me go on the record as saying I am not in support of these "too big to fail" banks and I am outraged at the bonuses being handed out while millions of Americans suffer. This has got to stop.
But Obama's statement--"We want our money back"--is so ignorant that it's embarrassing.
Who, exactly, is Obama referring to when he says, "WE" want our money back? It certainly won't be taxpayers. They'll lose, because many taxpayers are shareholders of these banks and imposing some windfall tax on these companies will end up lowering the value of their investments, which means their wealth is reduced.
And customers won't get their money back either, because they'll be paying higher fees. Jamie Dimon pretty much stated that outright. Once again, millions of small depositors who may already be struggling financially will have to pay more in fees, leaving them with less.
What do they teach at Harvard? Obama, Larry Summers, Robert Rubin and the supporting cast of Harvard grads in this Administration all have one thing in common: a long legacy of bankrupting everything they touch as they exert their power and influence over all other Americans as if we were their own private little serfdom.
In order for America to move on we must break the vice-grip of power that the Harvard/Goldman Sachs coterie exerts over the rest of us! Until that happens we are their slaves.
I'm so glad there's an actual economist who will say the Rubin group needs to go. I have no idea why anyone would want to bring these human natural disasters back into power. Worse than being incompetent, the conflicts of interest are often massive.
ReplyDeleteI sense though that there is a more important message emerging. That is, the deposit side of the retail banking system is increasingly obsolete.
Many, many people in this country have earned little or no money on deposits for years. Checkable money market funds are replacing savings accounts and reloadable non-bank debit cards are replacing checking accounts. Basing lending on borrowing short and lending long seems to make less sense everyday. Of course, maybe that's just because I'm ignorant.
Yes, Rubin in a disaster and so are his cronies.
ReplyDeleteAnd Mike, you get no interest on checking accounts because Monetary Policy is still thought to be the tonic for recessions, even though it has been proven here and elsewhere (Japan, for instance) that it doesn't help. What it does is cut incomes to savers. Fiscal policy is the only thing that can address weak economies and if it were used properly the economy would be humming along at its maximum output level, and everyone would be employed, so you wouldn't be worried about not getting much on your checking, because your business and/or other investments would be doing swell! The mainstream of policy and economics does not understand this.
ReplyDelete"retail banking system is increasingly obsolete."
ReplyDeleteWonderful! I'm all for that! Until recently I figured the re-load debit cards were a rip off because it costs $5 to add money.
What I learned the other day though is the 5 bucks can be avoided by setting up payroll wire transfer to the card instead of a checking account. ALSO, although it sounds a little too good to be true but I was told that with re-loadable debit cards there are no overdrafts so no overdraft fees. I read overdrafts were a $38 billion industry last year.
There's a new type of account that I expect will be gaining popularity. Apparently about 1/3 of all homeowners in Australia finance there homes this way.
"Jill, you're wandering off topic. What the heck does mortgage have to do with checking?"
I knew you'd ask! The mortgage IS the checking account.
http://homeownershipxler8r.blogspot.com/
The major flaw in “we want our money back” is: “who gave our money to the banks in the first place”? It was the Obummer administration wasn’t it? Or have I missed something?
ReplyDeleteRalph,
ReplyDeleteI think most of it (TARP) was conceived and invested by Treasury Sec. Paulson under the Bush admin.
Obama has embraced Bushs' prior policy though for sure.
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ReplyDelete