Senate Considers Throwing Wall Street Executives in Jail for Reckless Investments
Would you like the top bunk, Secretary Geithner?
Without a doubt, the best headline I've seen in months. Even better, it's not a joke.
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Source: All Headline News
Washington, D.C., United States (AHN) - The Senate heard testimony Tuesday on the idea of throwing Wall Street bankers in jail when they make reckless decisions that jeopardize their customers’ investments.
The hearing started only hours before senators starting voting on amendments to a financial reform bill that would revamp the way Wall Street does business.
Until now, the worst corporate executives could expect for bad business moves was steep fines.
As the nation recovers from the worst economic collapse since the Great Depression of the 1930s, polls show most Americans want more severe penalties than a small slice of the corporate profits.
“You should go to jail when you do something like what Goldman Sachs did,” said Sen. Ted Kaufman (D-Del.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Kaufman said that although few people understood the financial jargon used by the executives, nearly everyone agreed they made terrible decisions.
“Every person I’ve run into since that hearing has said, ‘That was wrong,’” Kaufman said.
They also complained that the Wall Street wizards can get away scandalous behavior for which anyone else would be punished.
“I think there’s a crisis in terms of people thinking there are two different rules,” Kaufman said.
Witnesses at the Senate hearing said fines are a small price to pay for corporate executives who get bonuses worth millions of dollars a year.
“They’re a drop in the bucket compared to the profits these firms are making,” said Barbara Roper, director of investor protection for the Consumer Federation of America, a nonprofit group.
The Senate Judiciary Committee called the hearing to hear expert opinions as it considers new legislation that would crack down on Wall Street corporate executives.
In addition to imposing jail time on reckless executives, the Wall Street Accountability Act would regulate investments that are bets on the performance of other financial products.
It also would require financial institutions to maintain cash reserves to pay off their customers when their investments fail. Corporate executives would be limited in the bonuses they could receive.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) referred to the actions of Wall Street bankers who gamble with investors money as “aiding and abetting” a crime.
Aiding and abetting refers to laws that impose criminal penalties on anyone who assists in a crime.
Tougher civil restrictions are included in proposed Senate legislation that would drastically reduce the discretion of investment firms on how they handle other people’s money.
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May 4, 2010 at 11:13 PM
Reader Comments (22)
http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7018590734
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Very unfortunate...
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/7675214/Zettabytes-overtake-petabytes-as-largest-unit-of-digital-measurement.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/04/AR2010050404118_pf.html
The town of Concord has banned the sale of bottled drinking water in town beginning in 2011.
http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/23320994/detail.html
Under the measure passed Tuesday, the nation's capital would join 14 states that allow medical marijuana.
http://www.wtopnews.com/?sid=1918613&nid=25
http://preview.bloomberg.com/news/2010-05-03/china-s-economy-to-slow-may-crash-in-next-nine-months-marc-faber-says.html
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http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2010/0504101atm1.html
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=CNG.510d7c6bd7e97b04819110b7f894e64f.1f1&show_article=1
Former Neighbors Of Accused Times Square Bomber The Married Father Of Two Kept To Himself, Claimed To Work On Wall Street
http://wcbstv.com/topstories/times.square.car.2.1673653.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/04/mike-bennett-porn-florida_n_562365.html
http://preview.bloomberg.com/news/2010-05-04/wall-street-ethics-codes-make-me-want-to-inhale-susan-antilla.html
Householder pleads for help from bank
http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100504/NEWS16/5040408
Example: "We were hedging long exposure we had elsewhere in the firm."
Now imagine it was discovered that GM executives reaped millions buying puts on there own company's stock begore the company filed bankrutcy. How do you think this would fly? "We were hedging our exposure to making shitty cars."
Um....it wouldn't.
Goldman did the same thing, yet people are confused as to whether this was right or wrong? The truth is Goldman was the only firm with the gall to think they could get away with shorting their own garbage.
If we can't figure this one out, we're doomed.
Householder pleads for help from bank
Every person that has been denied a home loan mod should do this.The banks got help
but refuse to do anything with the money they got to help normal people who they stole from.
I think if any wall street people went to jail they wouldnt last long about like a child molester.
Yeah, like an alcoholic hobo living homeless on the street considers running for a senatorial seat.