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Senator Brown Warns Summers And Geithner Not To Fill Fed Vacancies With Yet More Administration Puppets And/Or Idiots
In a letter to Larry Summers and Tim Geithner, Senator Sherrod Brown warns the administration to not simply place more Wall Street cronies in filling the three vacancies at the Federal Reserve, which will open up once Fed vice chairman Donald Kohn leaves this coming June. Instead of mere" maximum liquidity" automatons, Brown wants the new Fed members to be "committed to transparency, consumer protection and lowering the unemployment rate." Furthermore, Brown demands that "we need economic policy makers who possess
the foresight to identify harmful economic trends, the courage to speak
out about the necessity of addressing these practices before they
inflict lasting damage to our economy, and the wisdom to listen even if
their views are challenged." Alas, as transparency and rationa thought, coupled with proactive defensive actions means game over for the Fed, these conditions are an immediate deal killer, with the result being that the only affirmative criteria for new Fed membership is the endorsement of Lloyd Blankfein and current Fed Director Jamie Dimon. With the yield curve merely at record wides, there is certainly enough room for the current 2s10s spread of 282 to at least double as the American middle class still has a little money that can be stolen, in space or time, by Wall Street, with the Fed's endless blessings. Everything else is smoke and mirrors.
Full letter from Senator Brown, via Huffington Post:
March 10, 2010
The Honorable Timothy Geithner
Secretary
United States Department of the Treasury
1500 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20220The Honorable Lawrence Summers
Director
National Economic Council
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20500
Dear Secretary Geithner and Director Summers,
I write to you today to express my concern about the vacancies at
the Federal Reserve, both on the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC)
and soon in the Vice Chairman's office. This is the financial
equivalent of leaving open vacancies on the United States Supreme
Court, and it is essential that we fill these positions.
As Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee's Subcommittee on
Economic Policy, with jurisdiction over the Federal Reserve System's
monetary policy functions, I am acutely aware of the importance of
monetary policy at the Fed. Both the full Banking Committee and the
Economic Policy Subcommittee have examined the causes of the financial
crisis and the resulting effects on lending, access to credit, and
employment. The evidence presented to the Committee about the role that
Fed policy decisions played in the financial crisis and the economic
downturn has led me to conclude that the Fed's monetary policy has
focused almost entirely on controlling inflation rather than maximizing
employment and that the Fed has too often put banks' soundness ahead of
its other responsibilities. In light of this experience, there are
several other important qualifications that I would urge you to
consider in selecting the new Vice Chairman and new members of the FOMC:
1. Recognition of the causes of the financial crisis before it occurred.
Many economic experts, including some at the Federal Reserve, failed
to anticipate the impending economic crisis. However, there were
exceptional people who sounded alarms about the rapidly inflating
housing bubble, the proliferation of subprime lending, and the
packaging, selling, and investing in toxic financial products by Wall
Street. Unfortunately, regulators, including the Fed, ignored or
attempted to discredit many of these courageous individuals, rather
than heeding their warnings. We need economic policy makers who possess
the foresight to identify harmful economic trends, the courage to speak
out about the necessity of addressing these practices before they
inflict lasting damage to our economy, and the wisdom to listen even if
their views are challenged.
2. Demonstrated dedication to protecting consumers and maximizing employment.
For years, the Federal Reserve's monetary policy has maintained an
almost single-minded focus on inflation. This has been detrimental to
the Fed's other core missions, particularly maximizing employment and
protecting consumers. The results of this fixation speak for
themselves. The national unemployment rate is more than double the
Fed's statutorily mandated 4 percent unemployment target. The Fed also
failed to act on repeated warnings about predatory mortgage lending and
credit card abuses. Consumer protection experience is particularly
important if the new consumer protection entity were to be housed at
the Fed. Our economy will benefit from renewed attention to all of the
Fed's priorities.
3. Commitment to releasing e-mails related to the Fed's involvement in the AIG bailout.
A growing number of experts - including economists, academics, and
former regulators - have called upon the Federal Reserve to release all
e-mails, internal accounting documents, and financial models related to
AIG's collapse. The American taxpayers now hold the majority of AIG
shares, and they have a right to know how their money is being spent.
Providing greater detail about the AIG bailout is particularly
important because that episode continues to taint the Fed's reputation.
Focusing on candidates committed to full transparency related to this
particular economic event would help to restore the Fed's stature and
credibility in the eyes of many Americans.
The American public has lost a great deal of confidence in the Federal
Reserve. Selecting a Vice Chair and FOMC members with the above
qualifications will send the message that the Federal Reserve has
learned from the financial crisis, and that the Fed's weaknesses are
being addressed with more than just cosmetic changes.
I would be happy to discuss specific candidates with you at your
convenience. Thank you for considering my views, and I look forward to
working with you to address these vacancies at the Fed.Sincerely,
Sherrod Brown
United States Senator
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The Brown letter will be viewed as just so much blah-blah. The two foxes at UST and NEC have chicken feathers hanging from their fangs.
Candidates will only be considered from inside the circle of deceit. Outsiders not welcome.
Dear President Obama,
Please appoint a better class of fox to watch the chickens....
The sad thing is that Sen. Brown probably thinks he's doing us a service by demanding the appointment of a better class of central banker.
The only good central banker is a ______ central banker.
Can you say political posturing?
A campaign against the TARP bailout, along with the other thefts, was launched by the Campaign for Liberty and at that time I was very active as the Lake County, OH Coordinator. Our efforts were part of the Sherrod Brown quoted, “2,000 calls/emails/visits/letters a day, with over 95% of them against the program.”
This cock-gobbler purchasing power stealing horse’s ass voted for the son-of-a-bitch anyway. His reason? Us beer embalmed, sativa smoked jerky, American Idol, public-school educated, over indebted, house flippin’ monkeys didn’t understand the economy and he knew better than us. Part of me agrees with this Goldman Sach cock-goblin fool, but at the same time he did understand what was going on and decided it was best to perpetuate the paper wealth game known as the American Dream.
I believe what Sen. Sherrod Brown didn’t realize is that some of us above-mentioned might have indeed seen what has happened and have awaken from the nightmare we once knew as the dream.
Many of us here in Ohio will never forget.
It will be a wonderful day to see him stand for collusion charges under RICO.
huh? it was amazing to see TARP shot down on the first vote...until you realize that those southern 12 votes just wanted to extort 130 billion for themselves to let it through....
Sherrod Brown's biggest campaign contributor is Goldman Sachs. I think that's all you need to know.
Brown is not up for re-election until 2012, but any opponent can easily defeat him by showing pictures of him with his boss, Lloyd Blankfein.
Agreed, it is all talk and the action is that at least one Vampire Squid Goldman Sachs guy will fill the gap. Brown can say.....whatever... it matters not.
"Give me control of a nation's money and I care not who makes her laws."
Mayer Amschel Rothschild
Transparency? Bernanke did a townhall on his reappointment campaign.
Change®
Reaction from the Fed: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH
Really Sherrod, that was some funny stuff.
Really. Work on the employment problem? How quaint.
"committed to.... consumer protection and lowering the unemployment rate."
End result of this goal will be
a) more rules which will ultimately reduce availability of credit to the bottom half of the income spectrum (it is happening now with the legislated credit card "reforms") - which is probably a good thing
and b)printing money until the cows come home (the form of taxation Congressman does not need to cast a vote for in order to pay off all this existing debt).
Brown voted for the TARP. Enough said.
http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm...
The Fed is a clear and present danger to the United States of America.
+1 and so in Connedgress and Obama.
this guy is a comple shitbag.
i've wrote him numerous times about TARP and audit the Fed, also called his staffers and they tell you anything to shut you up (not that i would expect differently).
of course when it comes down to the vote he's just another barney fwank.
Based on that, it sounds to me like he's trying to placate the natives.
All sizzle, no steak?
Ha. There was a point I was having fun with it. I called daily and always tried to spice it up.
My favorite was -
Secretary: "Sen. Sherrod Brown's Office"
Me: Hi, I was wondering who I could talk to regarding Sen. Brown's economic policy.
Secretary: "One moment please"
Mr. Brown Cock in the Anus Received: "This is Mr. Brown's Cock in the Anus Recevier."
Me: "Yes, which one of the banks on Wall Street is Mr. Brown most indebted too?"
Mr. Brown Cock in the Anus Receiver: "Click"
The US government is a bunch of morons.
Everybody outside the US can see that.
Are you guys not ashamed how pathetic of a country you all have become?
we are all too busy watching web cam porn
its our opium... besides the opium in the pill basket
So which one is Summers and Geithner ,no offense Shari ...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpORjs6icfg
Versus the status quo I could support this
Then you legitimize the man and give him a "victory" to shove down the throats of the gullible.
I don't support it. I support legislation that calls for the US Air Force to carpet bomb the FED. Or the Navy. I'm sure they can get it done too.
Publicly impugning the (private) *Fed* is evidence of a groundswell shift in the paradigm.
two words...
shell game
Anyone can see that the Fed doesn't put enough effort into combating inflation -- the dollar is only worth cents from when the Fed was created.
Actually, the Fed ("We control inflation and print money") are the good cop in the good cop/bad cop scheme run by Congress.
Congress threatens to spend/print too much and the Fed is the restraining influence (and does the direct printing).
Congress created the Fed and if enough of Congress agreed they could uncreate them. However, for now, Congress is too interested in spending money they don't have and will do anything to avoid having to end their spending.
We've seen in the huge bailouts a sample of what Congress can be moved to do when it's source of funds is threatened. I'd guess we will see more...
and eventually they'll run out of trees..
sooo thats where the rainforest went..
but for real, that's why most of the currency is nothing more than electronic entries floating around in a mainframe somewhere...
the price of cotton is about to hockey stick..
"Senator Brown Warns Summers And Geithner Not To Fill Fed Vacancies With Yet More Administration Puppets And/Or Idiots"
So Let Me Get This Straight
Senator Brown wants Puppets and/or Idiots... Obama and/or Summers/Geithner to keep the adjectives straight...
To be un-puppet enough (Obama)... un-corrupt, un-self serving, un-narcissistic enough (Summers) and un-idiot enough (Geithner)...
Not to appoint puppets and/or idiots to the Fed?
The ultimate in populist posturing ... make yourself look tough to the folks back home ... where is he on all the 'important issues' ... wrong side.
I like his first point. He actually thinks Washington didn't see the housing bubble!
Sherrod, I've got some news for you... Washington not only saw the bubble, they created it! On purpose.
First, it was a financial sector bubble. The housing bubble was just a side effect that went along for the ride.
Second, DC needs the bubble. Due to decades of financial mismanagement, the best our economy can do is about 2% growth under normal circumstances, and that's not enough to pay the bills. Creating bubbles has been the new normal since the mid 90's... or hadn't you noticed?
Third, the only problem, from Washington's perspective, is they couldn't conjure up the Green Tech bubble fast enough to replace the dying financial sector bubble, though they tried mightily... and are still trying to sell that pig to the public.
But all of those bubbles from DC have had one good effect... they've accidentally created a private sector bubble of their own. I like to call it the Guns 'n' Ammo bubble.
I propose a candidate who is so far beyond left field he's in the upper deck. Ralph Nader.
Before you laugh me off: he's a consumer advocate; personally incorruptible (inasmuch as he's been fighting against basically anyone and everyone for decades); he's despised to a greater or lesser degree by people from all sides of the political spectrum.
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