Finally, President Obama seems to get the need to deal forcefully with financial reform. If it proves to be more than rhetoric, his announcement today that "Never again will the American taxpayer be held hostage by a bank that is too big to fail," may well mark a turning point in his Administration.
Unfortunately, he still has the problem of the bankster Fifth Columnists in his Administration. Stepping on the day's message, sources close to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner told ABC News that the Treasury Secretary is not fully on board with his boss' call for re-regulation.
The New York Times reported:
Declaring that huge banks had nearly brought down the economy by taking "huge, reckless risks in pursuit of quick profits and massive bonuses," President Obama on Thursday proposed legislation to limit the scope and size of large financial institutions.
The changes would prohibit bank holding companies from owning, investing, or sponsoring hedge fund or private equity funds and from engaging in proprietary trading — what Mr. Obama called the Volcker Rule, in recognition of the former Federal Reserve chairman, Paul A. Volcker, who has championed the restriction.
Republicans and banksters have signaled expected opposition to sensible reforms.
According to the Times:
Mr. Obama, speaking in the Diplomatic Reception Room at the White House, said he anticipated such opposition, saying an "army of industry lobbyists" had already descended on the capital to oppose regulatory reform.
"If these folks want a fight, it’s a fight I’m ready to have," he said.
It is, apparently, a fight some in his Administration don't want to help him with.
On both tonight's World News Tonight and on the ABC News Web site, Jake Tapper reports that:
Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner has reservations about President Obama's new proposal to limit the size and scope of the nation's banks, sources tell ABC News.
Specifically, the sources say, Geithner is worried that the proposed limits could damage the competitiveness of US firms with their global competitors.
"It needs to be done right," one source close to Geithner told ABC News. "How it gets implemented and how it gets defined is absolutely critical. We don’t want to disrupt the ability of banks to lend."
Another source in the financial industry says that the Treasury boss fears that political fears may now be overriding economic considerations.
Perhaps the best way for President Obama to demonstrate that his announcement today was more than mere words would be to ax Geithner, the banksters' friend. And Larry Summers should be shown the door at the same time. How can he effectively shepherd reform if his Treasury Secretary is undermining him in the press (and probably with Congress, too)?