The Banking Oligarchy Attacks Elizabeth Warren And STSS

The attacks on TARP Oversight Chairwoman Elizabeth Warren have begun. We have been waiting for the backlash since she started making noise in January.  Executives at Citigroup and Bank of America dispatched their agent of misinformation Wayne Abernathy.  First he went to Politico and, today, it was Thomas Cooley at Forbes who picked up the knife. The rapid appearance of three negative articles (Megan McArdle chimed in uselessly as well) regarding Warren is a sign that she has begun to frighten the powerful banking oligarchy and their K Street machine.

Most surprising about the attacks is their weakness.  The criticisms amount to claims she has swayed beyond her charter (wrong), that she's a liberal (meaning what exactly?), and that her solution to the banking crisis is ideologically biased.

Those are fighting words so let's do this thing.

From Thomas Cooley at Forbes:

"We have much to be angry about regarding banks and bankers, and the temptation to articulate--and thereby fuel--that anger is hard to resist. But crusading of the Warren sort is discredited, ideological in the worst way, and therefore not particularly responsive to the inconvenient facts on the ground. "

This is patently false.  Her crusade is not ideological. It's about fairness and accountability. It's not liberals versus conservatives; it's the banking oligarchy vs. taxpayers.  And her solution to the banking crisis, which you may call seize, terminate, slice, sell, (STSS), is independently supported by Fed Governor Thomas Hoenig, Paul Krugman, Joseph Stiglitz, Nouriel Roubini, Nassim Taleb, Simon Johnson and Bill Seidman to name a few.  Seidman is a Republican who ran the RTC and says the solution is to seize and chop.  Simon Johnson, a Democrat, couldn't get away from banking failures as chief economist for the IMF and his opinions also echo those of Ms. Warren.  So on and so on.

Back to Cooley:

"But the Congressional Oversight Panel Report seems to have come to a more controversial conclusion. The COP argued that historical lessons show that the most effective response to banking crises has involved a combination of ousting "failed management" and liquidating banks."

Wrong again!  The solution (STSS) is actually not the least bit controversial.  It goes by many names from pre-privatization to receivership ('nationalization' is the favorite of the banking oligarchy in an attempt to to stifle debate).  Read the list of those who agree with Ms. Warren again. They represent the majority, with only the administration's lapdog, Brad Delong, supporting the Obama-Summers-Geithner plan. Apparently, we can now count Cooley among the latter who believe in supporting zombie banks. It's not flattering company.

Cooley:

"Clearly, this is Elizabeth Warren's particular crusade against the banks, since a majority of panel members dissented from the direction the report took and two refused to sign off on it at all."

This is not her particular crusade.  It is a crusade of many for what is right, fair and intelligent. Taxpayers finally have an ally in our battle against the banking oligarchy and we'll be damned if we allow specious attacks to distract her from her purpose.  If these articles are the best her critics have, then we have no worries whatsoever.  Ms. Warren is a rather stubborn, goal-oriented type. I would expect her attacks to continue until they are no longer needed.

See also:

Warren Slams Geithner again

The Angel & The Anti-Christ (Warren vs. Geithner Video)

Elizabeth Warren Suggests The Bailout Road Less Traveled

TARP's Powerless Overesight Czar, Elizabeth Warren

In Defense Of Elizabeth Warren (clusterstock)

Comments

[DailyBail]

Wells Fargo Made Billions On Mark-To-Market Change

http://www.businessinsider.com/wells-fargo-made-billions-on-mark-to-market-change-2009-4

[DailyBail]

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and then-Treasury Department chief Henry Paulson pressured Bank of America Corp. to not discuss its increasingly troubled plan to buy Merrill Lynch & Co. -- a deal that later triggered a government bailout of BofA -- according to testimony by Kenneth Lewis, the bank's chief executive.

Mr. Lewis, testifying under oath before New York's attorney general in February, told prosecutors that he believed Messrs. Paulson and Bernanke were instructing him to keep silent about deepening financial difficulties at Merrill, the struggling brokerage giant. As part of his testimony, a transcript of which was reviewed by ...


http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124045610029046349.html#mod=testMod

[Puzo]

Eliz. Warren is the only one doing anything about the criminal behavior. Bravo!!

We need more like her willing to stand up for our rights. The thieves on wall street wouldn't hesitate for a second about robbing the taxpayers in Geithner's rescue program. They need to give her some substantial power.

[Ain't Bullshittin']

I wouldn't follow Helicopter Ben or Turbo Timmmaayyy to the Waffle House but I WOULD FOLLOW ELIZABETH STRAIGHT THROUGH THE GATES OF HELL to BATTLE EVIL!

[Tenerife]

Now that is an endorsement. She tends to inspire that kind of fervor in people. I wonder if she understands that so many ordinary Americans appreciate what she is doing. Bring the heat, Ms. Warren. Bring the fire.

[Steve E]

Go see another view of Warren at http://falkenblog.blogspot.com/

[Norman Pollack]

The concept of a stimulus had from the start a non- or anti-Keynesian application, particularly as elaborated by Summers and Geithner, for its purpose was to RESTORE a flawed system to profit-making, rather than transform banking to ensure both moral integrity and the promotion of liquidity. Deregulation has proven a black hole of super-remuneration, exoticism, and the derangement of credit. In Prof. Warren I see the old-fashioned rectitude that I knew at Harvard a half-century ago. I am confident that she will not allow the distractions thrown up by the self-indulgent malefactors of wealth and their disinformation campaigns deter her from her mission of ridding banking of its financial abuses, including that of failing to fulfill the public trust.

[Something Polish]

"Megan McArdle chimed in uselessly as well"

Has Ms. McArdle ever chimed in in any other manner?

[James H]

This Bernanke/Paulson/Lewis story is getting thicker than a day-old mess of grits. Wow. Does this mean I can sue Ken Lewis for screwing the shareholders? More importantly, this totally fucks up the great Screw the Taxpayer Plan of '09. It might even give some impetus to HR 1207 (Ron Paul's bill to open up the Fed).

Add this to Treasury's ruling that PPIP was subject to salary caps AND Mr. Hoenig's testimony the other day about the myth of "systemic risk."

Now them's what I call some "little green shoots," Mr. Bernanke.

[James H]

Bernanke denies he did it.

From Clusterstock:
"Following this morning's revelations, The Fed, through its unofficial spokesperson Steve Liesman denies having threatened the Bank of America (BAC) CEO in any manner."

http://www.businessinsider.com/bernanke-denies-threatening-ken-lewis-2009-4

[DailyBail]

I am following the Ken Lewis story closely like the rest of you. I will post something soon.

Read this outstanding defense of Elizabeth Warren from John Carney at Clusterstock.

http://www.businessinsider.com/in-defense-of-elizabeth-warren-2009-4

[DailyBail]

@Steve

I didn't include your post in my article because frankly I thought you said very little. Criticism because she's liberal. Who the hell cares? She's fighting for taxpayers. That's what matters.

[DailyBail]

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/23/morning-skim-torture-foiled-nothing/

This NYT column highlighted our story on EW...check it out...