thunder wrote:
On Sat, 21 Mar 2009 11:35:03 -0400, HK wrote:


If you look backwards to some legislation good old Phil Gramm
promulgated, you'll find some answers. Look up the Gramm-Leach-Bliley
Act. It allowed all sorts of financial mergers, such as the ones between
banks and insurance companies, and, bascially, deregulated the financial
services company.

In other words, it was a license for greed.

The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act was a mistake, but it allowed this to happen.
It didn't cause this to happen. In the markets, greed has been, and will
be around forever. Nothing wrong with that, but it has to be balanced
with risk. IMO, it's the government's job to protect the economy from
the inevitable greed-risk imbalances. Some smart, hopefully minimal,
regulations have to be put in place to keep this disaster from happening
again. I would start by repealing Gramm-Leach-Bliley.


That's a start. And I would also suggest that *all* financial
institutions be oversighted and regulated by effective state insurance
commissions who have the power to come in at anytime, unannounced, pull
the books and padlock the doors, if deemed necessary. I would also
stipulate more examinations by organizations like A.M. Best, which
investigates and rates insurance companies.

I'm also not a fan of the big national banks, and never have been. The
remaining solid ones out to be broken up into state or at best regional
entities.

On Sat, 21 Mar 2009 11:51:57 -0400, HK wrote:



That's a start. And I would also suggest that *all* financial
institutions be oversighted and regulated by effective state insurance
commissions who have the power to come in at anytime, unannounced, pull
the books and padlock the doors, if deemed necessary. I would also
stipulate more examinations by organizations like A.M. Best, which
investigates and rates insurance companies.

I watched a Congressional hearing yesterday where state's AG's
testified how their investigations in the financial area are seriously
hampered by federal rules which end up protecting fraudsters from
investigation and prosecution.
Barney Frank - who chaired - wasn't happy listening to them, and did
his best to brush their criticisms aside.
I don't trust this asshole at all, and he's running that show.
He's so busy covering his ass for his past malfeasance that he's
rendered himself ineffective.
The very people who allowed this mess to happen are now trying to fix
it. Best argument for term limits I've ever seen.

--Vic

Vic Smith wrote:
On Sat, 21 Mar 2009 11:51:57 -0400, HK wrote:


That's a start. And I would also suggest that *all* financial
institutions be oversighted and regulated by effective state insurance
commissions who have the power to come in at anytime, unannounced, pull
the books and padlock the doors, if deemed necessary. I would also
stipulate more examinations by organizations like A.M. Best, which
investigates and rates insurance companies.

I watched a Congressional hearing yesterday where state's AG's
testified how their investigations in the financial area are seriously
hampered by federal rules which end up protecting fraudsters from
investigation and prosecution.
Barney Frank - who chaired - wasn't happy listening to them, and did
his best to brush their criticisms aside.
I don't trust this asshole at all, and he's running that show.
He's so busy covering his ass for his past malfeasance that he's
rendered himself ineffective.
The very people who allowed this mess to happen are now trying to fix
it. Best argument for term limits I've ever seen.

--Vic


Just more evidence that the "free market system" is only free at the top
for those who want to abuse it.

We need to bust up these huge financial services companies. Your typical
small business owner wouldn't dream of committing the sort of fraud the
big guys engage in every day.