Comments on: Spotlight on President Obama: Financial Reform Put to the Test http://thefatherlife.com/mag/2009/06/18/spotlight-on-president-obama-financial-reform-put-to-the-test/ The Men's Magazine for Dads Thu, 11 Mar 2010 20:33:28 -0400 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Dave Baldwin http://thefatherlife.com/mag/2009/06/18/spotlight-on-president-obama-financial-reform-put-to-the-test/comment-page-1/#comment-711 Dave Baldwin Thu, 18 Jun 2009 20:47:58 +0000 http://thefatherlife.com/mag/?p=2477#comment-711 It is abundantly clear in my mind that the Obama administration has it's hands full and a lot to prove as well. The rhetoric surrounding the "reform and recovery" that the president has been pushing for months now has sounded good, but the evidence on the ground doesn't prove anything yet. The results of the major bank stress tests are being called into question and will likely have to be redone. Why? They only accounted for a 8.9% "worst case scenario" for unemployment. Unemployment hit 9.4% in May and will likely go well into double digits before it gets better. The $787 billion dollar stimulus package hasn't done anything yet to stem the tide of mounting job losses. According to the administration, 150,000 jobs were created or saved during Obama's first 100 days and Obama has promised 600,000 more in the second 100 days. That seems unlikely given the track record so far and will only be a drop in the bucket to the 6 million jobs that have been lost since December of 2007. My hope however, is that some of this high powered rhetoric will start moving in the direction of concrete results. Time will only tell. It is abundantly clear in my mind that the Obama administration has it’s hands full and a lot to prove as well. The rhetoric surrounding the “reform and recovery” that the president has been pushing for months now has sounded good, but the evidence on the ground doesn’t prove anything yet. The results of the major bank stress tests are being called into question and will likely have to be redone. Why? They only accounted for a 8.9% “worst case scenario” for unemployment. Unemployment hit 9.4% in May and will likely go well into double digits before it gets better. The $787 billion dollar stimulus package hasn’t done anything yet to stem the tide of mounting job losses. According to the administration, 150,000 jobs were created or saved during Obama’s first 100 days and Obama has promised 600,000 more in the second 100 days. That seems unlikely given the track record so far and will only be a drop in the bucket to the 6 million jobs that have been lost since December of 2007. My hope however, is that some of this high powered rhetoric will start moving in the direction of concrete results. Time will only tell.

]]> By: rugbymom http://thefatherlife.com/mag/2009/06/18/spotlight-on-president-obama-financial-reform-put-to-the-test/comment-page-1/#comment-707 rugbymom Thu, 18 Jun 2009 13:43:40 +0000 http://thefatherlife.com/mag/?p=2477#comment-707 Thanks for the article. I agree with the economists that say "that increased regulation will only add undue burden to an already stressed financial system." Observances, not on your article, but on the statements or claims made by the president; it is simply an obvious contradiction for someone to say he "supports the free market and contends that jobs are best created by businesses and not the government" and in the same paragraph assert that the administration should be "granted new authority and accountability to regulate not only banks, but other holding companies, insurance and reinsurance companies as well." Which is it?! You cannot fire a CEO of a company, lend trillions of dollars to financial institutions and then make decisions that impact the entire structure of that business and then say you promote a free market. Let's not forget who encouraged and promoted the "banks and financial institutions [to] perpetually lower[ed] their borrowing standards and sold mortgages and other loans with the knowledge in advance that people wouldn’t be able to repay down the road." The Clinton administration. See the trend? The government keeps sticking their dirty finger in the free market and then has to make more regulations to 'fix' it, continuing to dirty the pot! And people keep listening! IMHO, the American public needs a lesson in Economics. And now he wants to protect consumer interests! No thanks. I'll take care of myself. The government has done enough damage and continues to take so much of my earnings, that although my income has increased by $10K in the past couple years, I hardly net any of it and I have a family of four I am barely feeding! Sorry, I don't have time to comment on the rest of it...I need to work so that Obama can figure out what else to do with my earnings. BTW, I will agree with one thing, it is "no longer acceptable for millions of people to pay for the greed of a select few." So why am I still doing it?!??! Thanks for the article. I agree with the economists that say “that increased regulation will only add undue burden to an already stressed financial system.” Observances, not on your article, but on the statements or claims made by the president; it is simply an obvious contradiction for someone to say he “supports the free market and contends that jobs are best created by businesses and not the government” and in the same paragraph assert that the administration should be “granted new authority and accountability to regulate not only banks, but other holding companies, insurance and reinsurance companies as well.” Which is it?! You cannot fire a CEO of a company, lend trillions of dollars to financial institutions and then make decisions that impact the entire structure of that business and then say you promote a free market. Let’s not forget who encouraged and promoted the “banks and financial institutions [to] perpetually lower[ed] their borrowing standards and sold mortgages and other loans with the knowledge in advance that people wouldn’t be able to repay down the road.” The Clinton administration. See the trend? The government keeps sticking their dirty finger in the free market and then has to make more regulations to ‘fix’ it, continuing to dirty the pot! And people keep listening! IMHO, the American public needs a lesson in Economics.
And now he wants to protect consumer interests! No thanks. I’ll take care of myself. The government has done enough damage and continues to take so much of my earnings, that although my income has increased by $10K in the past couple years, I hardly net any of it and I have a family of four I am barely feeding! Sorry, I don’t have time to comment on the rest of it…I need to work so that Obama can figure out what else to do with my earnings.

BTW, I will agree with one thing, it is “no longer acceptable for millions of people to pay for the greed of a select few.” So why am I still doing it?!??!

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