Rachel Maddow: Elizabeth Warren - 'This is Really a STUNNING Response from Banking Industry'

Run time: 06:19 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvAbkokPGGs   Posted on YouTube: April 14, 2010 By YouTube Member: firedoglake Views on YouTube: 7   Posted on DU: April 14, 2010 By DU Member: Hissyspit Views on DU: 5866

 
MSNBC The Rachel Maddow Show - April 13, 2010: Interview w/ Harvard Professor and head of TARP oversight panel, Elizabeth Warren.

MADDOW: "You can tell just by looking around that the foreclosure crisis is NOT over. The main street side of the bail-out? Hmmmph.

- snip -

"Did I get that roughly right? TARP was supposed to be trying to stop foreclosures at the same time that it bailed out the banks - bailing out the banks basically worked, but the foreclosures part really didn't?"

WARREN: "Actually, if you read the statute, what the statue talks about is not bailing out Wall Street banks. What the statue talks about is 'here is $700 Billion to help repair the economy - remember, it was supposed to be about troubled assets, mortgages, that were in trouble - and it says, Congress says, the way we are going to measure the effectiveness of this program is what it does for unemployment, what it does for American savings, and really focus on what it does on home mortgage foreclosures, how it works to stop this crisis. That's what Congress said it wanted for it's $700 billion."

MADDOW: "So that's been your job, as chair of the Congressional oversight panels, is to monitor, essentially, what it's doing for unemployment, and American savings and foreclosures. And the result is not positive."

WARREN: "Well, we are now fifteen months, after Treasury has announced its program, and tried to get it up and running, and basically 167,000 families have gotten into some kind of modification that we hope will turn out to be permanent, although there are gonna be some problems with that down the line.

But just to put that in some context, every single month, 200,000 families are posted for foreclosure. That's where we stand right now - 167,000 over 15 months have received assistance under this program, and every month, 200,000 are posted for foreclosure."

- snip -

WARREN: "Well, we raised this issue when the program was first announced. We said we had problems about the scope of the program, problems about the scalability of the program, and problems with whether or not it was going to create permanent solutions. But let me say it in a slightly different way: In a sense, what this program was is incentives put on the table to invite the financial institutions and the mortgage servicers to come to the table, please, to negotiate with the families who are facing foreclosure, and it is a program of limited scope and it is a gentle program.

And today, we heard from those large Wall Street banks. They went in to Congress to testify about where they stood on mortgage foreclosures, and they basically said: "Don't push us too hard, because we don't to cooperate.'

I mean, this is really a STUNNING response from large financial institutions. So, we just have a real disconnect here about what it is that TARP is supposed to be, or at least originally, was supposed to be about."

- snip -

WARREN: "This is about the group of people, who could actually pay, and pay a reasonable amount on these mortgages, and everyone would ultimately be better off. But it's also about the rest of us in the economy. You know, even if you are not one of the 1 in 4 homeowners with a mortgage who's underwater, the value of your home is dropping when mortgage foreclosures keep occurring. It presses everybody's values down. And that has echoes throughout the economy. A huge part of our economy is the construction industry, which has ground to a halt and has huge unemployment in it right now. It has devastating effects on communities. Ultimately, we are going to have a very difficult time restarting our economy if we continue a downward spiral on home values because of the downward pressure with mortgage foreclosures.

A year and half ago, we bailed out large financial institutions on the argument that, you know, like it or not, we are all in the same boat economically, and we need to save those guys, and we did it, and they are now back to profitability, spending bonuses.

But now we turn to the homeowners, the people who are also in real trouble and it's having a real effect on the rest of our economy, and the response seems to be 'well, we're not all in the same boat here...'

- snip -

WARREN: This is a problem we MUST fix."

MORE

However, after 15 months only 167,000 families assisted. 200,000 thousand families every month are posted for foreclosure. Use the tools to get the job done. Mortgage foreclosures ruin everybody's value.... This is hurting the whole economy. Now the big guys who were bailed out continue to ignore the reason they were given help. Time for the banks to listen to Elizabeth Warren.

I say that in all honesty without knowledge of her case background, but she seems to have American people's interest at heart - imagine that!

–Administration sources say Elizabeth Warren - the financial industry watchdog - has been quietly taken off the short list, but is still among a larger group of candidates being considered by the White House. She is now getting much less scrutiny than some of the favorites.
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2010/04/14/sources-obama-expected-to-make-high-court-pick-by-early-may/?fbid=0CG8YjNcju2

they should keep her in mind

This week, I've visited several links that point to Warren's ability to dig into data.... I listened to her speak to the income of the 4 person family from 1971 until 2003, and seeing her explain in no uncertain terms what is happening to the middle class.

She's the one I believe can bring argument to the SCOTUS on behalf of the middle class.

Elizabeth Warren, after this feat, should do us a tremendous favor and join the Supreme Court.

You can only be stunned if you are naive about the level of bankers' greed. When you know how greedy they are, you expect them to act this way.

WTF. Stunning? That a fox eats the chickens when given unlimited liberty to do so? Really? Wow...

our financial crisis since I first heard her on Bill Moyers last year. She has the ability of communicating complex issues to all of us. Not only that she cares about what is happening to working class Americans. I hope she gets a real position of influence in the future.

Out with Summers, Geithner, Bernanke; in with Warren, William K. Black, Max Keiser.

I know he's too iconoclastic in a way, but they could give him an advisory position.

...yeah, he could be Secretary of Stopped Clocks! :think:

He actually makes sense, but not to the capitalists, I have to agree.

That if she's not nominated for the S.Court that Gietner(sp?) get fired and that Ms. Warren be placed at Treasury.
You beat me to it

Obama is one smart cookie. Geitner will not last 4 year not to mention 8, so to have someone in the wings that people have on his SCOTUS short list.... Good move Mr. President!!!!!

For such a "smart cookie" Obama manages to surround himself of some really utterly incompetent assholes, out of sheer coincidence I am sure.

. . .the HUGE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM NO ONE ADDRESSES.

Elizabeth as SCJ would de-activate her. . .ya know, like making some one VPresident while the President takes control of the real reins of power.

So, what's up with that, Mr. President? Why are you so LOYAL to Geithner? Here's an old January, 2009, editorial response ya'll might keep in mind:

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". . .Who is behind Geithner and why? And why does Obama want him? This is where the media fear to tread. As we have pointed out, major media companies such as GE (parent of NBC News) and the Washington Post Company have their own connections to Geithner through their own officials and board members. They have a conflict of interest that will never be reported by the news organizations themselves.

The real story, which can only emerge through talk radio and alternative media, is that Geithner has very powerful political and financial connections, not only to the media but the banking interests and lobbies that try to orchestrate U.S. policy behind the scenes.

The President of the New York Federal Reserve Bank, the Chinese-speaking Geithner is an associate of Henry Kissinger who can be counted on to convince the Chinese Communists to continue to buy U.S. debt and finance Obama’s massive expansion of federal government power. That is why Obama and his fellow Democrats are putting so much faith in him.

As Henry Kissinger recently put it, when he was celebrating U.S.-China relations on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Obama’s mission is to usher in a “New World Order.” He forgot to mention, of course, that it is a China-dominated New World Order in which the U.S. has become a subsidiary of China Inc.

Kissinger did comment that Obama had “appointed an extraordinarily able group of people in both the international and financial fields.” He didn’t name names, but that obviously includes Geithner, who used to work for Kissinger Associates.

It also turns out that Geithner’s father, Peter F. Geithner, serves on the board with Kissinger of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations. This is the group that rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange, celebrating Chinese investments in the U.S. economy. In another interesting connection, it turns out that Peter F. Geithner was with the Ford Foundation and oversaw the work of Obama’s mother, Ann Dunham, developing what are called microfinance programs in Indonesia.

http://www.aim.org/aim-column/the-big-money-behind-geithner/

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SICKENING how the truth throws us back as we think we're moving forward. . .one step forward, two steps back.

Wonder how Elizabeth copes with all this smoke-and-mirrors. . .someone with her rational expertise must really be bummed out. . .

she might end up resigning with severe burnout. . .can't say I blame her. . .

that is, if Mr. President doesn't tuck her away onto the Supreme Court.

:smoke: :smoke: :smoke: :smoke: :smoke:

Obama's way to afraid of doing anything radical to nominate Warren for SCOTUS or for Treas. Secty. That would not be "bi-partisan" and people might say bad things about him. Like Bill before him, his main goal seems to be liked, and policy takes 2nd place if that. Notice how he removed single payer before it ever went anywhere and undercut any and all attempts to put it back in play.

"It also turns out that Geithner’s father, Peter F. Geithner, serves on the board with Kissinger of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations. This is the group that rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange, celebrating Chinese investments in the U.S. economy. In another interesting connection, it turns out that Peter F. Geithner was with the Ford Foundation and oversaw the work of Obama’s mother, Ann Dunham, developing what are called microfinance programs in Indonesia."

http://www.aim.org/aim-column/the-big-money-behind-geit... /


""

But don't hold your breath. Because Obama is a property of the banks and finance industry -- which is where the money he spent to get elected came from. It is amazing to me that such a conspicuous issue is not more closely examined, along with the issue of why Obama refuses to prosecute the Bush Crime Family.


"The man in the street does not recognize the devil even when the devil is holding him by the throat." (Johann von Goethe)

"The quality and nature of a man is seen not only in the things he does but just as clearly in the things he doesn't do." (Bertrand Russell)

"It often takes a great deal of intelligence to see that which is right before our eyes." (Edmond Duranty)

These are Obama's guys, his choices to run the economy. He obviously is OK with what's happening because nothing is being done to stop it. He's been co-opted or threatened so lets the big banks/Wall St. run things while he sticks his head in the sand, pretending they are decent people not pirating thieves.

Those three are Obama's backers. Cut them out and he's on his own to sink or swim.

I have repeated this a million times that all this stuff about Geithner and Warren, etc. is smoke and mirrors. All roads of corruption and tyranny lead to the Fed. Until we take back our money supply and democratize the finance/banking/monetary system, every last bit of this is window dressing...all of it. More to the point of my subject, Bernanke is not at Treasury. He's Chair of the Fed. A position that does not exist under any of the three branches of government. Lest you think it does, ponder who can fire a Fed Chairman. How would you remove a Fed Chairman? Noone has ever removed a Fed Chairman. Nobody can impeach the Fed Chairman...he's not an officer of the United States. He "oversees" a group of 11 banks that are all PRIVATELY-HELD banks.

The entire bail-out should have been "bottom-up", instead of the other way around!

The banks would still get the money in the end but those in dire straits now would be out of debt and still in their homes. Bad loans would be off the books. It's a win-win all the way around, which is precisely why it would never happen. To bestow that kind of direct benefit on so many would be unthinkable in a world hellbent on rewarding the chosen few at the top of the food chain.

Shore up those at the bottom and EVERYONE does better, local businesses and merchants, local school districts, local governments, EVERYONE!

You have chosen...wisely.

true heroines.

than all the CEO banksters put together. And her integrity is impeccable.

Banksters = Greed & Evil. I want them dressed in orange for Robbery.

I mean really. Is anyone really fucking surprised at all?

When Congress said it wanted to help with the "bad assets" what they really meant is they wanted to help the people who owned those bad assets - the BANKS. They don't give A SHIT about the homeowners. Not one shit.

This is about, and has always been about, helping the banks. Just like health reform was all about helping insurance companies.

This Congress is owned by corporate interests.

She would be awesome on the Supreme Court but I wouldn't sentence her to spend that kind of time with neo nazis like Scalia, Alito and Thomas.

Plus I want her to be out and about and visible, speaking for common folks and calling out Wall Street and Banks. Keep on keeping on Liz.

Taxpayers bailed out the financial industry and banks, and then the banks turn around and lay off more than a 100,000 workers in the financial industry, jack up rates on credit card holders, increase fees on customers, cut off lines of credit, lower interest rates on savings accounts to .5 percent and then say they have no intention of helping homeowners to refinance or renegotiate their mortgage in order to avoid foreclosure? Effectively screwing those underwater and those who are not....yet.

The financial industries actions have caused many to directly (through layoffs) or indirectly (with other businesses going under due to credit lines being cut and loss of customers) lose their job. They are actively squeezing everyone else. Yet have no mercy or understanding why people are unable to pay and are defaulting on credit cards and mortgages?

Is it me? Aren't they to blame? Aren't they the ones who sold crummy MBS to pension plans and then actively bet against them? Aren't they the ones who couldn't see that the loans they were making were toxic? Aren't they the ones who gave loans to people with risky credit? Aren't they the ones touting the philosophy that real estate was the best investment ever "get in now or be priced out forever?' Aren't they the ones that encouraged people saving for retirement and their children's schooling to invest in risky MBS in order to get a better return? Aren't they the ones that pushed for all these new innovative loans? Who developed dark pools where investors trade in an opaque market unregulated by anyone? Aren't they to blame for the entire global economic crisis? The ones who freaked out and said save us or we all go down? But now that they've got theirs they have the nerve to say 'Ive got mine, sorry the rest of you lose out?'

Why are they still employed? Where are the trials? Isn't this criminal? If not, why?

The only thing to do was to not carry credit if you could help it.. like me I have no credit.
We now have a house and car loan.
We saw this shit rolling downhill, since 2002 when we suffered our own personal Depression to Destruction.
Repeated downsizing and outsourcing, that last 2x in six months broke us.
Prior to that I became disabled and he had been outsourced or downsized at least once a year for 10 years prior to that.
We talked about it and how it would affect families with kids for several years before that too.a

This bank fraud was only a later assault on the middle class that started in the RunnyRaygun years. I was one of the qualified ATC trainees that did not get a job with FAA.

My partner has managed to pull us out through almost sheer will power and belt tightening, not like we were extravagant to begin with.
We have lost 75% of our income since 1995, down 45% since 2002, losing life savings too.
The only reason we are not where everyone else is is because we did not carry credit. We barely managed to keep the new pickup we bought in 98 to replace the 18 yr old car that finally died at over 1/4 million miles.

We barely bought the house and that was because we could use his VA benefit to buy the house and we bought with very low down/low interest and it was place that no one else wanted. It was abandoned for about 3-4 yrs before we bought it.

Bailing out that banks was a Bushco idea, I seem to recall some threat to congress about martial law if they did not pass the first bail.
Frankly the you are correct the banksters and congress, Phill Gramm bill killing Glass Steagall act and all the R deregulation with D cooperaton(spineless). Lead us into disastrous wars(costs off the books, 'Drunken Sailor' spending on deficit have left the middle and lower income classes with little protection or help.

Yes they belong in jail, I'm thinkin not the federal country club prisons, but those nice places like Angola, Folsum, Draper and in the genpop where when found out that these guys are the ones to blame for the Depression and that has the families of those other prisoners going hungry......

They knew from the get go that what they were doing was wrong, but making greedily grabbing money hand over fist was their 'right' as they see it, after all what are we but peons?

Rachel has been about the only person who is explaining the status of this foreclosure crisis. The rest of the media keep us distracted by keeping us updated on Tiger Woods, Ben Roethlisberger, whether Obama is a socialist Muslim...you know, the important stuff. If the teapartiers really believe their rhetoric, they would be raising hell on Wall Street every day because ulitimately, that's where most of our economic problems originate.

And the Wall Street banking lobby keeps pressuring Congress to not impose regulations on them, even though they've demonstrated time and time again they have not learned their lessons from this recession/depression we're in. As far as I'm concerned, they should regulate Wall Street to the point where each employee would need permission from the president just to go to the restroom. I don't trust any of those con artists any farther than I can throw them.

Not even enough to fill my gas tank. Big fucking deal.
Meanwhile how much did Citi get - per 'homeowner' to participate in the program ... like $5k per loan they 'modified'?


:mad:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3096434

(As well well as Keith & Ed)!

What a woman!

If Obama is smart, he will nominate her post haste.

–Administration sources say Elizabeth Warren - the financial industry watchdog - has been quietly taken off the short list, but is still among a larger group of candidates being considered by the White House. She is now getting much less scrutiny than some of the favorites.
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2010/04/14/sources-obama-expected-to-make-high-court-pick-by-early-may/?fbid=0CG8YjNcju2

The ages of the current SCOTUS justices when nominated:

Roberts - 50
Stevens - 55
Scalia - 50
Kennedy - 51
Thomas - 43
Ginsburg - 60
Breyer - 56
Alito - 56
Sotomayor - 55

Strategy should be to put the best person that can stay the LONGEST on the Court.
Just my opinion, and I'm sticking to it ;)

indeed stunning.

Let me demonstrate. Citibank, the same Citibank that received BILLIONS in welfare, now hires these sewer debt-collection firms to go after people. You don't believe me? Check out www.nycourts.gov Look at "etrack." See that law firms listed who represent citibank, bank of america, etc. Then look at this press release from the Attorney General of New York and how these law firms are under investigation for procuring 100,000 FRAUDULENT JUDGMENTS in Long Island (New York) alone.

http://www.howtostopdebtcollectors.com/cuomo-arrests-collector/
http://longislandbankruptcyblog.com/bill-collectors-slapped-class-action-suit/
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=ahDUyseelWdo
http://www.ag.ny.gov/media_center/2010/jan/jan15a_10.html
http://www.ag.ny.gov/media_center/2009/july/july22a_09.html

It is time we bug and bug and bug our elected officials about what Citibank and their ilk are doing.

Your TARP tax dollars at work.

:grr:

For President.