Thursday, February 12, 2009
by Marc Lichtenfeld, Senior Analyst & Healthcare Specialist, Smart Profits Report
Dear Smart Profits Report Reader,
Usually, when I’m watching television open-mouthed and incredulous, it’s because I’v
e “accidentally” flipped onto one of those trash-laden, so-called “reality” shows, or because I just witnessed a spectacular sports play.
Well, tack another genre onto the list.
As I watched the proceedings in Congress yesterday between the U.S. House Financial Services Committee and America’s top bank executives, the smell was pervasive, as it drifted south from Washington, DC to my home on Florida’s east coast.
Let me state for the record that I’m not related to any of “captains of the universe,” nor am I an apologist for the executives, some of whom share responsibility for the economic mess we are currently in.
But I had (naively) hoped that their appearance on Capitol Hill would lead towards some sort of progress in fixing our problems, rather than resulting in a high-profile trip to the principal’s office.
What a dumb idea…
So Much For Obama’s Wish To “Put Away Childish Things”
I knew it was going to be a waste of time when Rep. Michael Capuano of Massachusetts didn’t even bother to ask the executives a question. Rather than probing for information that might be useful, he ranted and raved for five minutes, treating the executives like 2nd graders who were talking in class.
Representative Maxine Waters of California took over a minute of her time to recite her resume and detail her fights with banks over the years. Congratulations. And when she demanded an answer from the CEOs as to why they took fees in order to collect TARP money from the government, Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) CEO Ken Lewis responded, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
The problem is… neither do many members of Congress. And given that these elected officials are charged with getting us out of this mess, that’s worrying - particularly if we’re set for tighter government regulation. If the past 10 or so years have shown us anything, it’s that we don’t have the right people overseeing our financial industry.
In which case I say, we need less regulation, not more. Yes, even today.
