New 'Pecora Commission' being formed: Help Democratic Leaders 'Name the new panel'
By John Amato Tuesday Jun 30, 2009 5:45amI wrote a short piece last week in which I tried to remind Congress that we need to have hearings on the financial meltdown for obvious reasons:
Just a reminder.
I know we've asked for a Truth Commission on torture over and over again, but what about the financial catastrophe the world just experienced? When will hearings be held to uncover the facts that led us and the world to financial ruin? I know we have many basic facts of what happened, but when will an actual hearing take place? If nothing is officially uncovered then how can we stop another one from taking place?
Bill Scher of CFAF heard a little birdy and it sounds quite promising on that front now:
Word is circulating in Washington that members for the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission will be named this week.
The commission is supposed to resemble the 1930s Pecora commission that dug into the culprits behind the Great Depression and laid the groundwork for major bank reform. But that will only be true if the commission is run by aggressive seekers of truth, independent of the financial industry, willing to use their subpoena power, knowledgeable enough to have warned us of impeding crisis in the first place despite market cheerleading from the political and media establishments.
--
Speculation from Reuters last week on who might be named was not terribly encouraging, though most of the names floated clearly were coming from conservative circles, as Republican leaders will pick four of the 10 members.
Cut...OK, here's where we come in. Updated: No members of Congress can be on the commission, but
I think an Alan Grayson or Henry Waxman type would be good choices for the commission. . We do need a panel of brilliant minds that has real progressive representation, but what we also need are people that have an appreciation for the "dramatic." That is, they should know how to ask questions with their allotted time in such a way that it will be highly informative and entertaining at the same time. These are the moments that can really educate Americans, but the commission needs members that understand how to use their valuable time---not to pontificate---but to educate and uncover. And it needs to be riveting while getting to the truth of this mess.
Please ask Speaker Pelosi and Harry Reid to make sure they put together a great panel. Nancy was almost scheduled to do a live chat on C&L last week, but because of my family issues, we are rescheduling. However, I think if we let her know how strongly we feel about the new Pecora Commission and ensuring that progressives are solidly represented, she'll come through.
Harry Reid is another story. Here's Reid's office info, so please let him know too.
Please tell us who you would like to be on the Commission and I'll pass it on. Mike Lux likes economists Rob Johnson and Simon Johnson. A helping hand from Paul Krugman would be nice too.
Scher continues...
RoberKuttnerer explained in the Huffington Post:
Among the names leaked is just one person with the stature, expertise, and resolve to run a tough investigation (if she were chair)Brooksleyey Born ...
...On the Republican side, with one exception, the leaked names could be an alumni society of the people whose policies helped cause the collapse. The absolute howler in the list is former senator JakGarnrn of Utah, a tireless proponent of financial deregulation. Among other travestiesGarnrn sponsored thGarnrn-St. Germain Act of 1982, the law that allowed savings and loan associations to become speculators' playgrounds, and led directly to the S&L collapse.
Another proposed Republican is Bill Thomas, former chair of the House Ways and Means, a legislator who never met a financial special interest he didn't like; and former Republican Senator and presidential candidate Fred Thompson...
...The only other Democrat on Reuters' leaked list is former Florida senator and governor Bob Graham, a self-identified New Democrat who served on both the Senate Banking and Finance Committees. Missing, except for Born, are people with deep knowledge and informed criticism of the abuses that led to the crisis.
It does not have to be this way.
--
Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, House Minority Leader John Boehner and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell will be naming the commission members soon, most likely this week. Now is the time to let them know the type of person you want to have subpoena power on your behalf.
Please tell us who you'd like to see on the panel. We can't have the usual gasbag convention this time around. They can't mince words and they have to drop the bipartisan angle. It's a law and order question, period.
Login or Register to post comments.
... EVERYONE testifies under oath. Presidents, executives, whomever.
A commission to investigate the Wall Street Mafia!
hahahahaha
Too big to fail, too big to jail, too big to investigate.
Color me cynical.
The financial meltdown was the result of long term government failing in co-ordination with massive Wall Street greed and FRAUD.
Who are you going to call to investigate and fix that.
Not Obama, not Geithner, not Summers and certainly not the Congress.
..the PuT the War Criminals behind BARS panel, I don't give a pshht what they call it!
Picante Hearings
Scrooge McDuck Hearings?
Nancy Pelosi loves torture and hates accountability. I'm quite sure she will chose panel members who are quite friendly to the banking industry.
No consequences and our political system crippled by bipartisan polarization. Each side pushes their own agenda, regardless of the facts. The only 3 things that matter are fundraising, lobbying and demonizing your opponents. If any one in our govt were genuinely interested in getting to the truth with the hope of preventing problems in the future we wouldn't be in this mess. The bottom line of fault lays with out govt for refusal to do their jobs honestly.
...spend a few million on a commission to figure out what went wrong so we can go through the same fucking thing in another 60-70 years.
A commission isn't going to do shit. We don't learn from our mistakes and even if it were to find the culprits we already know them to be, nothing is going to happen to them anyway.
It's a fucking paper shuffle to make someone look good. Might as well make Limpballs the chairman for all the good it will do.
more like 5-15 years.
There is NOTHING about the USer or the world's financial structures that are even remotely sustainable under the new regimes of reaource scarcity, water/oil/agriculture wars.
So they gotta get all the money NOW!
...likely to point out how her husband has benefitted financially by her time in office. And don't forget, because California is a community-property state, that's her money too.
Is Cindy Sheehan still running against her in the primary early next year?
How about the "Panel-that-gets-a-generic-name-so-our-fucking-'leaders'-can-do-what-we-hired-them-to-do-rather-than-waste-time-and-money-with-distracting-bullshit"?
...waaaay to realistic. Try again.
and legislate laws for public financing and boot the lobbyists out.
... Arlen Spector will find another Magic Bullet ...?
The only thing that will fix War'shington is: TERM LIMITS.
You can name the Pecora commission 60+ years after it happened, but can you tell us, even after all this time, WHO WAS RESPONSIBLE? For the crash, and subsequent depression I mean.
And no one better say "The Jews"...
Any Commission today is not going to point the finger at the people responsible for this crisis either. So I ask you, what the heck is the point?
the SSDD Commission?
Hearings would be a waste of time and even MORE money because they, including the CONGRESS would ALL invoke their 5th amendment rights of protection against self incrimination. They ALL got their piece of the ACTION, whether they participated in the scam OR profited by it. They're ALL guilty. Why else do you think they patted the perps on the back and let them hand out billions in bonuses (bribes) to keep their mouths SHUT? How are you going to enforce laws that depend on the law makers being separate from the law breakers? How are you going to enforce any kind of law when the law MAKERS change the LAW to cover for the criminals? Tomorrow, when one of their OWN takes up arms and murders a couple thousand people in some mall or something, they will make THAT legal TOO. Just so long as the MONEY is good enough.
Everyone talks about LAW and ORDER and JUSTICE. But those are concepts that went out of VOGUE around 30 years ago when the "Bible thumping phonies", thieving, lying, money grubbing tel-evangelists, took over our government, thanks to the "believers" who were too ignorant to notice when the "fire breathing, shouting, trembling, sobbing, babbling, "PREACHER" was putting his hand in their pockets and stealing their wallets. They were preoccupied by the SHOW.
That's what's going on right NOW. Congress comes out and SAYS the exact OPPOSITE of what we SEE with our own EYES and HEAR with our own EARS and HALF OF US BELIEVE THEM ANYWAY. And then we vote them BACK IN, for 20,30,40,50 YEARS. Right now, I think about 80 percent of congress are feeling like they live in the GLORY DAYS OF THE roaring 20s and that's where they all want to stay. Al Capone couldn't have done a better job than they do. They can all play with their TOMMY GUNS, rake in the bucks and play COWBOY all at the same time.
and Rep. Ron Paul and cut them lose with subpoena power on the culprits (including The Federal Reserve, Paulson, Bernanke, Geithner etc.), then I'd be for it.
Otherwise we might as well call it what it will certainly be: The Whitewash Committee.
Especially considering all the power Obama just handed to the filthy, rotten Federal Reserve.
The Federal Reserve is "untouchable" as echoed here by Bernanke himself:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgMXmod3TBE&eu...
no inflation...no interest rates...people uncertain.
People will be putting money in mattresses very soon.
then that abysmally criminal, monstrously venal, utterly corrupt fucker Larry Summers takes over.
but I have NO FAITH in the Democratic leadership. Nancy Pelosi is the Maid of the House.
Harry Reid? Where the FUCK is he on Sunday mornings? or even during the week? Who do we see? Boehner, McConnell. Senate Majority Leader! LOL. Don't make me laugh. Harry Reid is commpletely USELESS. That old fucker should have retired a decade ago. I have lawn furniture that can gather votes and drive policy better than that old coot can.
Short Answer: CYA
Nobody's going to create a commission where the economic/corporate and political leaders du jour can be held responsible for their incompetence and malfeasance. No teeth, no results.
I'm rather surprised that this bit of ineffective theater enjoys so much support.
organize a Pecker Commission...to study ways to improve the depth that the GOP can shove their boners up the ass of the Democratic Party.
They are phenomenally profitable for those who benefit from them: the aristos, elites, oligarchs and plutocrats. Some of 'em lost some money in the last bubble (their bought-paid-for financial guys let 'em down), and the only way to get it back is to have another "boom."
...help anyway, but John did ask for names so...
Senator Feingold and Representative Baldwin from Wisconsin would both be good. They are both true progessives.
Not that it will really matter of course.
DC Crankheads would be very interested in a Percocet Commission ...
Now this guy has the right idea of how to handle these crooks and liars!!!:
http://market-ticker.denninger.net/authors/2-...
What do all you guys/gals think about THIS???!
Are you all ready to be good "citizens" instead of simply "consumers"??
In addition to Paul Krugman and Simon Johnson, I would add Robert Reich.
I want fucking economists.
I want economists who don't have TV shows.
I want Krugman and Roubini on this commission.
And NO ONE with any ties, no matter how tenuous, to the Fed or to Goldman Sachs
Since Senator Durbin predicted the collapse ten years ago when Phil Grahm rammed deregulation through, Durbin should be on the panel. He knows this stuff inside out and has been very articulate in explaining what happened and why. I also agree that Krugman would be excellent, as would Elizabeth Warren.
She had the foresight to vote against the Gramm Bliley act.
Bill Clinton, Glass-Steagall and the Current Financial and Mortgage Crisis, Part Two of an InDepth Investigative Report
http://thestrangedeathofliberalamerica.com/bi...
Login or Register to post comments.