Banks vs. American People - Can Wall Street Reform Be Done?

[Guest Burt]

You might want to ask what happened to this.

 

The American Housing Rescue and Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008

 

Sponsor: Rep Pelosi, Nancy

2008 Senate Roll Call #186: Yea-72, Nay-13

Signed into law by President George Bush: 07.30.08

 

President Bush on Wednesday signed into law a sweeping housing bill that aims to boost the struggling housing market and bolster mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

 

http://money.cnn.com/2008/07/30/news/economy/housing_bill_Bush/index.htm

 

The American Housing Rescue and Foreclosure Prevention Act (H.R. 3221) responds directly to the current crisis facing middle class Americans while providing the tools to prevent a repeat of these problems. The legislation combines a number of bipartisan bills including measures to modernize the FHA and reform the GSEs, which will provide crucial liquidity to our mortgage markets now, and also strengthen regulation and oversight for the future. In addition, the housing package will help families facing foreclosure keep their homes, help other families avoid foreclosures in the future, and help the recovery of communities harmed by empty homes caught in the foreclosure process.

 

Permits FHA to provide [up to $300 billion] in new guarantees that would help to refinance at-risk borrowers into viable mortgages. In exchange for the agreeing to a substantial write-down of principal, the existing lender or mortgage holder would receive a short payment from the proceeds of a new FHA guaranteed loan if the restructured loan would result in terms that the borrower can reasonably be expected to pay. The existing lender or mortgage holder no further credit exposure to the borrower. This could potentially refinance between 1 and 2 million loans (and help these families stay in their homes), protect neighborhoods and help stabilize the housing market.

Permits the loan program to be used to refinance and guarantee mortgages through a facility that would provide for auction or other mechanism to refinance loans on a bulk basis.

Provides $10 billion in loans and grants for the purchase and rehabilitation of vacant, foreclosed homes with the goal of occupying them as soon as possible.

 

http://democrats.financialservices.house.gov/hearing110/press041008.shtml

[Guest Blue Dog]

I think this is more relevant...

 

H.R. 3221 will also shore up the housing market and ensure the availability of affordable home loans, strengthen neighborhoods hardest hit by the foreclosure crisis by providing resources to allow cities and states to buy up and rehabilitate foreclosed properties, expands homeownership opportunities for veterans and helps returning soldiers avoid foreclosure and stay in their home, provides tax breaks to spur home buying; and creates an Affordable Housing Trust Fund to boost the nation’s stock of affordable rental housing in both rural and urban areas for low and very low-income individuals and families.

 

http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/financialsvcs_dem/press0723082.shtml

 

The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act of 2003 (SCRA), formerly known as the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Civil Relief Act of 1940 (SSCRA), is a federal law that provides protections for military members as they enter active duty. It covers issues such as rental agreements, security deposits, prepaid rent, eviction, installment contracts, credit card interest rates, mortgage interest rates, mortgage foreclosure, civil judicial proceedings, automobile leases, life insurance, health insurance and income tax payments.

 

http://www.justice.gov/crt/military/scra_summary.htm

[Guest NeighborWorks America]

HUD and NeighborWorks America Announce

Emergency Homeowners’ Loan Program

 

Program is Designed to Help Homeowners At Risk of Foreclosure

 

Washington D.C. – The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in conjunction with NeighborWorks America announced the launch of the Emergency Homeowners’ Loan Program (EHLP) today, to help homeowners who are at risk of foreclosure in 27 states across the country and Puerto Rico.

 

Congress provided $1 billion dollars to HUD, as part of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, to implement EHLP. The program will assist homeowners who have experienced a reduction in income and are at risk of foreclosure due to involuntary unemployment or underemployment, due to economic conditions or a medical condition.

 

Under EHLP guidelines eligible homeowners can qualify for an interest free loan which pays a portion of their monthly mortgage for up to two years, or up to $50,000, whichever comes first.

 

“Through the Emergency Homeowners’ Loan Program the Obama Administration is continuing our strong commitment to help keep families in their homes during tough economic times,” said HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan. “Working with our community partners across the nation through NeighborWorks America, we are pleased to launch this program today in 27 states and Puerto Rico to help families keep their homes while looking for work or recovering from illness.”

 

The EHLP funds will pay a portion of an approved applicant’s monthly mortgage including missed mortgage payments or past due charges including principal, interest, taxes and insurance. EHLP is expected to aid up to 30,000 distressed borrowers, with an average loan of approximately $35,000.

 

“Through our work around the country, NeighborWorks America knows all too well that in these tough economic times, homeowners facing foreclosure are seeking help wherever they can find it. The deadline is July 22, 2011, so we encourage homeowners to submit their information now in order to find out if they qualify for this new mortgage assistance program and learn more about the many options available to assist those with housing needs,” stated Eileen M. Fitzgerald, CEO of NeighborWorks America.

 

The EHLP funding is a complement to the Hardest Hit Fund which makes available $7.6 billion to 18 states and the District of Columbia that were hardest hit by the housing crisis. The EHLP funds will be offered in the following states: Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Hawaii, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming and Puerto Rico. Five states operating substantially similar programs are administering EHLP funds through their existing programs: Connecticut, Delaware, Idaho, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. With today’s launch, mortgage assistance is now available for unemployed and underemployed homeowners in every state.

 

Contact information for participating agencies, the Pre-Applicant Screening Worksheet and more information on the EHLP assistance and its eligibility requirements can be found at www.FindEHLP.org or by calling toll free at 855-FIND-EHLP (346-3345).

 

About the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)

HUD's mission is to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes for all. HUD is working to strengthen the housing market to bolster the economy and protect consumers; meet the need for quality affordable rental homes: utilize housing as a platform for improving quality of life; build inclusive and sustainable communities free from discrimination; and transform the way HUD does business. More information about HUD and its programs is available on the Internet at www.hud.gov and espanol.hud.gov.

 

About NeighborWorks America

NeighborWorks America creates opportunities for people to improve their lives and strengthen their communities by providing access to homeownership and to safe and affordable rental housing. In the last five years, NeighborWorks organizations have generated $20 billion in reinvestment in these communities. NeighborWorks America is the nation’s leading trainer of community development and affordable housing professionals.

 

http://www.nw.org/network/foreclosure/default.asp

[Guest LAW]

Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman today announced that his office has secured a $3.5 million settlement with a financing company that will result in hundreds of soldiers being relieved of their financial debt.

 

Last year, the Attorney General's office began investigating a kiosk and small storefront at the Salmon Run Mall, near Fort Drum when it appeared to be marketing specifically to soldiers. Sales clerks would aggressively push the sales of electronic equipment such as laptops, gaming systems and flat screen televisions to soldiers. At the time of the sale, SmartBuy sales representatives would not take cash payments for the merchandise and instead pressured soldiers to enter into payment contracts with hidden fees and exorbitant interest rates.

 

The investigation revealed that the SmartBuy's Salmon Run Mall Kiosk was part of a larger scheme to defraud service members by deceptively reselling them computers and electronics at wildly inflated prices, and locking the soldiers into revolving credit agreements with undisclosed fees and very high interest rates--all paid directly from military paychecks to unlicensed lenders. SmartBuy purchased merchandise from stores like Sam's Club, Costco, and Walmart. The items were then marked up by 200-325 percent, then included an added interest of 10-25 percent. The interest rates averaged out at 244 percent.

 

The storefront, "SmartBuy," abruptly ceased local operations in 2010 upon learning of the Attorney General's demands that it cease its deceptive business practices and reimburse defrauded soldiers. The Attorney General's office commenced suit against all involved parties in April 2010. Litigation is currently underway in New York State Supreme Court in Jefferson County against the remaining solvent companies. The five affiliated entities include, Frisco Marketing of N.Y., LLC, doing business as SmartBuy and SmartBuy Computers and Electronics; Integrity Financial of North Carolina, Inc.; Britlee, Inc.; GJS Management, Inc.; and Rome Finance Co. LLC, all owned and/or operated by Fayetteville, N.C.-based John Paul Jordan, Stuart Jordan and Rebecca Wirt, and Concord, California-based William Collins and Ronald Wilson.

 

According to the terms of the Attorney General's settlement, Rome Finance Co., Inc., the first financing company to settle, will release approximately 995 soldiers who entered into contracts in the State of New York, or who sought protection in New York State. The value of this first resolution with the bankrupt defendant is $3,530,090.58 of relieved debt, and represents a significant step forward in this litigation.

 

The investigation revealed that hundredsof soldiers fell victim to SmartBuy's actions, including:

 

A US Army soldier who purchased an HP 6433 laptop in August 2007 - She was told the price would be $3,868.93. She later found the exact same computer for $1,000.00. Rome Financing would not allow her to pay off her balance early to avoid paying additional interest.

A US Army soldier who purchased a Sony FS520 laptop in May 2005 -His base price was $3,208.93 not including 19.2% interest. This laptop regularly retails for approximately $1,229.99. He currently owes over $6,000.00 due to Rome Financing. In June 2010, he started receiving messages on his MySpace account from a collection agent at Rome Finance.

A recently enlisted soldier purchased a computer to stay in touch with friends and family back home. He signed a contract to pay $126 a month plus fees. The loan turned out to be $3,446.92, plus additional undisclosed fees. The computer broke after 13 months. When he complained about the high price and no warranty, he was offered a new laptop but only if he'd sign a waiver promising he would not take legal action. He declined.

 

This matter is being handled by Attorney General In-Charge for the Watertown Regional Office, Deanna Nelson under the supervision of Deputy Attorney General for Regional Affairs Martin J. Mack.

[Guest Fedup]

Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller just removed Schneiderman frοm thе coalition. Where is the Republican Tea Party? Why are they not giving Obama crap about this. They are no different than the Chicago cartel. Say the opposite and collect the money.

 

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/blogs/taibblog/obama-goes-all-out-for-dirty-banker-deal-20110824

 

A power play is underway in the foreclosure arena, according to the New York Times.

 

On the one side is Eric Schneiderman, the New York Attorney General, who is conducting his own investigation into the era of securitizations – the practice of chopping up assets like mortgages and converting them into saleable securities – that led up to the financial crisis of 2007-2008.

 

On the other side is the Obama administration, the banks, and all the other state attorneys general.

 

This second camp has cooked up a deal that would allow the banks to walk away with just a seriously discounted fine from a generation of fraud that led to millions of people losing their homes.

 

The idea behind this federally-guided “settlement” is to concentrate and centralize all the legal exposure accrued by this generation of grotesque banker corruption in one place, put one single price tag on it that everyone can live with, and then stuff the details into a titanium canister before shooting it into deep space.

[Luke_Wilbur]

 

 

The New York Times Op Ed wrote that a $20 Billion Deal is a very bad joke to the homeowners involved. Attorney General Schneiderman protested and got canned by POTUS.

 

The administration also says that the proposed settlement would require the banks to write down the principal balance on underwater loans. According to news reports, the banks are likely to pay around $20 billion in the deal. With 14.6 million homeowners owing $753 billion more on their mortgages than their homes are worth, how far does the administration think $20 billion would go? The administration should pursue principal reductions for stressed borrowers, and it could do so immediately by calling on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to refinance the underwater loans of borrowers who are current in their payments. What it shouldn’t do is pretend that the proposed settlement is the only — or best — way to get quick relief to homeowners.

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/23/opinion/its-a-flawed-settlement.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest Remember 911]

Here is an obscure fact; Citigroup headquarters resides on 666 Fifth Avenue, between 52nd and 53rd Streets in New York City.

[Guest Enron Ex]

The U.S. Federal housing Finance Agency is expected to file lawsuits against commercial banks for allegedly misrepresenting the mortgage securities they sold at the height of the housing bubble in 2007, just before the global financial crisis.

 

The suits stem from subpoenas the finance agency issued to banks a year ago. If the case is not filed Friday, they said, it will come Tuesday, shortly before a deadline expires for the housing agency to file claims.

 

The suits will argue the banks, which assembled the mortgages and marketed them as securities to investors, failed to perform the due diligence required under securities law and missed evidence that borrowers’ incomes were inflated or falsified. When many borrowers were unable to pay their mortgages, the securities backed by the mortgages quickly lost value.

 

Fannie and Freddie lost more than $30 billion, in part as a result of the deals, losses that were borne mostly by taxpayers.

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/02/business/us-is-set-to-sue-dozen-big-banks-over-mortgages.html

[Guest Fedup]

FoxNews Discrediting female protestors being Pepper Sprayed

 

[Guest We Are The 99%]

Police warn Occupy Wall Street protesters

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwWInp75ua0

 

Occupy Wall Street is leaderless resistance movement with people of many colors, genders and political persuasions. The one thing we all have in common is that We Are The 99% that will no longer tolerate the greed and corruption of the 1%. We are using the revolutionary Arab Spring tactic to achieve our ends and encourage the use of nonviolence to maximize the safety of all participants.

 

We want to share insights into the formation of a new social movement as it is still taking shape in real time. The video was shot during the 5th and 6th day of the occupation. This idea to occupy the financial district in New York City was inspired by recent uprisings in Spain, Greece, Egypt, and Tunisia which most of us were following online. Despite of the corporate media's effort to silence the protests, and Yahoo's attempt to to censor it in e-mail communication, the occupation is growing in numbers and spreading to other cities in the US and abroad.

[Guest Zeitgeist]

On Sept 17th 2011, a grassroots expression of contempt was launched in the heart of the world's financial center in lower Manhattan of New York City, also commonly known to the world as the institution of "Wall Street". As of Sept 26th, there have been over 80 arrests and many

recorded instances of what appears to be violence and abuse coming from the police and security forces there. However, the protesters remain vigilant in what could very well be a landmark event that will resonate for some time to come.

 

The Zeitgeist Movement would like to extend its public support to this basic expression.

 

As the world awakens to a failing financial system with growing civil unrest emerging without the bias of sovereignty, religion or political loyalty, a new, unifying perspective is slowly taking hold which transcends the framework many of us falsely assume as empirical to our way of life.

 

With the slow grind down of the global workforce as machine automation continues to replace human labor for the benefit of corporate cost efficiency, simultaneously reducing purchasing power and hence inevitably stifling so called “Economic Growth”; with the ever expanding Debt Crisis born out of the Fractional Reserve Lending System and the simple reality that money is created out of debt and sold as a commodity in exchange for Interest - Interest that can only again come onto existence through more loan sales; with the looming military programs growing in virtually all major powers as the financial crisis, coupled with a pending hydrocarbon energy crisis, begins to suggest a stage of global conflict possibly never before seen; along with the market psychology of Infinite Growth Consumption that continues to pervade and distort our values and what it means to live in harmony with nature on a finite planet...

 

...it might be time we begin to see that the social problems at hand are not specific to any general policy, administration, or even so called "corporate greed". The real problem at hand is actually systematic via the very core foundation of what defines our Economic System and the

psychology that is supported and rewarded.

 

The historical illusion that continues to this day is that someone or some group is explicitly to "blame". Rather than focus on the 400 people who have more wealth than 150 million in America or the fact that globally 1% of the world's population has more wealth than 40%, let's instead ask ourselves how such a manifestation is even possible and, more critically, why we would expect anything less? Think about it.

 

After all, it's the "Free-Market", isn't it? Contrary to the statistically void efficiency assumptions made by most Market Economists, the Free-Market simply means anyone can do whatever they want and maximize however they want within the confines of legal legislation; legal legislation which, make no mistake, is also for sale in the Free-Market as well; as are political officials, regulatory institutions and whatever social entity you wish to consider.

 

Nothing but maximizing monetary gain is sacred and anytime a person or group brings some detrimental social or environmental consequence of this system to the forefront, pejorative distinctions are usually branded upon their forehead to stifle such concern and frighten other

detractors – such as being called a “Socialist” or “Communist”.

 

Furthermore, while people in protest today across the world continue to condemn monetary influence in social dealings such as the legal reality of Corporate Lobbying, even using such colorful terms as "Corporatism", “Crony-Capitalism” and even “Fascism”, they seem to misunderstand what this system is and always has been.

 

The Free-Market model of Economics is a haphazard, unscientific anarchy of organization which assumes that any person or group with enough money and hence power will be “responsible” in their actions both socially and environmentally. The problem is that the very definition of being "financially responsible” actually means to be socially and environmentally exploitative, manipulative and negligent, for the main driver of this system is Inefficiency. The more problems in society in general, the more jobs are created and the more rich the upper 1% become. There is an empirical decoupling from what actually supports life and no alteration of the core configuration of the monetary-market Incentive will likely change that.

 

On a different level, this system, as an historical evolution, is actually based on a culturally hegemonic pretense. Once economic advantage is obtained, it will likely be kept. This is why everything in the system favors the wealthy by its general structure and inherent

logic. While the public might complain about the fact that top Hedge Fund Managers bring in over 300 million dollars per year, they often do not find objection with an Interest system that rewards those with high deposits and essentially taxes those using credit. While you may buy your home with a loan, paying thousands in interest a year, a person of wealth can make a CD Investment and gain free interest income simply because they have the money to spare.

 

Class separation and perpetuation and the growing wealth divide is not a byproduct. It is inevitable. In the Free-Market, one is actually "free” to take away the liberty of others through the mere economic pressures generated from the game. You are only as free as the size of

your wallet. The term “Institution Racism” was coined by civil rights activist Stokely Carmichael in the 1960s referring to how often unnoticed underlying policies and structures within the social system undermined African-American prosperity and equality. What we have today

is a mere variation: “Institutional Classism”.

 

Wall Street itself, which is the ultimate manifestation of the pursuit of money as a commodity rather than any form of true creation or social contribution, is naturally a ripe entity for symbolic objection for, at a minimum, it shouldn't exist at all and most certainly not have the

grand effect it does on the stability of the global economy today, regardless of the inherent shortcomings denoted.

 

However, that stated, it must again be made clear that Wall Street and the Banking System are not the source of our problems. They are only symptoms of an Economic System which will continue to fail by the very gravity of its outdated and false assumptions of human conduct and

environmental relationships.

 

The question then becomes, what do we put in its place? ~Z

 

About:

 

The Zeitgeist Movement is a global sustainability activist group working to bring the world together for the common goal of species sustainability before it is too late. It is a social movement, not a political one, with over 1100 chapters across nearly all countries.

 

Divisive notions such as nations, governments, races, political parties, religions, creeds or class are non-operational distinctions in the view of The Movement. Rather, we recognize the world as one system and the human species as a singular unit, sharing a common habitat. Our

overarching intent could be summarized as “the application of the scientific method for social concern.”

[Guest Johnny]

This may be off topic just a bit, but did you hear the factual story about the Wall Streeter who bought a $43,000,000 house in the Hamptons which he promptly tore down.

I don't blame him though - who could stand living in a 43,000,000 Million Dollar Mansion when you could just build a nicer one for, say, 100,000,000 million dollars?

Ain't exactly Skid Row my friends...

 

PS Greed is a psychiatric illness just like any other and should be treated that way

[Guest Johnny]

Faux News also defended the pepper spraying of a SEVEN YEAR OLD, and make no mistake: pepper spray isn't your fathers' old style "mace" anymore than a firecracker is an M-80.

A charming lot those Faux "news" people are.

 

 

FoxNews Discrediting female protestors being Pepper Sprayed

 

[Guest Thanks for Nothing]

Thank You to the government for being in the back pocket of corporations and or giving Bank of America a $1.9 billion tax refund, although it made $4.4 billion profit & took a trillion in bailouts.

 

[Luke_Wilbur]

This is starting to get really big.

 

http://www.usatoday.com/money/markets/story/2011-10-04/wall-street-protests/50654534/1

 

Protests against Wall Street entered their 18th day Tuesday as demonstrators across the country show their anger over the wobbly economy and what they see as corporate greed by marching on Federal Reserve banks and camping out in parks from Los Angeles to Portland, Maine.

[Guest Banker to the World?]

This cannot continue forever. The banks have been pick-pocketing the American consumer (the 99%) for a long time now. Now the GOP wants to take away BENEFITS AND PENSIONS from school teachers, firefighters, EMS, and POLICE!

 

This means YOU: NYPD, DCPD, SFPD so while you're out there arresting protestors keep this in the front of your mind: The protestors are fighting for YOUR rights. You're on their side - are YOU on the side of the banks??

 

Again: NYPD, DCPD, SFPD et. al: you are not allowed to rob banks, but banks are allowed to rob you.

 

Still think that's fair?

 

Thought not.

[Guest LAW]

U.S. Rep. Brad Miller (D-NC) introduced The Freedom and Mobility in Banking Act aimed at giving consumers a choice by modernizing and streamlining the opening and closing of personal checking and savings accounts. The bill is in response to major banks announcing that they will increase fees for consumers because of recent reforms that will affect their enormous profits.

 

"As megabanks flirt with menus of new fees, an increasing number of Americans will want to switch banks," Rep. Miller said. "That is the way things work in a competitive, free market as unrepentant banks are still trying to rake in vulgar profits from their customers."

 

Recently, HSBC North America has told customers that it is eliminating their free checking accounts which will now carry a monthly maintenance fee of up to $15. Wells Fargo, one of the four largest consumer banks in the U.S., has also eliminated free checking. Most recently, Bank of America, one of the largest recipients of U.S. taxpayer bailouts, announced it would charge customers a new $5 monthly fee for using their debit cards – even if it's for a single $2 purchase. B of A was already testing new "tiered" checking accounts that will encourage customers to increase their activity with the bank.

 

"Because of financial reforms, banks are unable to rely on the cash flow of practices like double-cycle credit card billing, compulsory overdraft programs, or unregulated debit swipe fees," Rep. Miller said. "Bank executives are coming up with some innovative ways to protect their offensively large salaries."

 

Unfortunately, consumers who might benefit from opening a new bank account or closing an old one are currently often dissuaded from doing so because of the considerable inconvenience it can entail.

 

The Freedom and Mobility in Consumer Banking Act increases competition among banks by guaranteeing consumers the right to close a personal checking or savings account with as little inconvenience as possible:

Provides consumers the right to close an account at no charge

 

Provides consumers the right to close an account at any time, regardless of whether the balance is positive, zero, or negative

 

Provides consumers the right to close an account in person, by phone, or by other remote means as may be prescribed by regulation

Prohibits abusive fees and charges:

 

Prohibits fees or charges from being assessed to an account after receiving a request to close an account

 

Requires banks to take reasonable steps to facilitate account closures:

 

Requires institutions to notify consumers of preauthorized and recurring debits that hit their account for 30 days after a qualified account is closed

 

Requires institutions to remit the balance in a closed account to the customer's new account electronically if the consumer chooses

 

Prohibits banks from blacklisting consumers for failing to satisfy bank-generated fees assessed to an account at time of closure:

 

Provides that consumers must be given at least 30 days to remit payment for an account that is closed with a negative balance before the institution can initiate any collection activity, or reporting to a third party

 

Provides that where an account is closed with a negative balance that is exclusively the result of overdraft or other fees assessed to the account by the depository institution, the institution may not report the account as delinquent to ChexSystems or any similar specialty consumer reporting service.

[Guest Injustice Facts]

In 2008 Goldman Sachs handed out $13 billion in bonuses to its employees after receiving a $12 billion taxpayer bail-out in the same year.

[Guest LAW]

Thank You to the government for being in the back pocket of corporations and or giving Bank of America a $1.9 billion tax refund, although it made $4.4 billion profit & took a trillion in bailouts.

 

 

Excerpt from CNN Western Republican Presidential Debate (08:00pm - 10:00pm)

 

Aired October 18, 2011 - 20:00 ET

 

COOPER: Senator Santorum, Nevada has the highest rate of foreclosure.

 

SANTORUM: Yeah, I mean, it's -- it's a situation right now where obviously the market's in -- has been decimated. And so now you're looking at, how do you repair it? The problem is -- in the first place, is that several people up here, the, quote, "businesspeople," supported the TARP, supported the bailout. Governors Perry, Romney...

 

PERRY: Wrong.

 

SANTORUM: No, you wrote a letter on the day of the vote -- you wrote a letter on the day of the vote, Governor, saying to vote for the plan. That's what you -- I mean, that -- the letter's been...

 

PERRY: No, I didn't.

 

SANTORUM: Yes, you did, Governor. You sent...

 

COOPER: You'll have a chance to respond. Let him finish.

 

SANTORUM: Joe Manchin signed it with you. So you -- you supported it. Governor Romney and Herman Cain all supported the -- the TARP program, which started this ball...

 

CAIN: Not all of it.

 

(LAUGHTER)

 

SANTORUM: I mean, I -- I mean, you guys complain about Governor Romney flip-flopping. I mean, look at what's going on here. I mean, the -- the bottom line is, you all supported it, you all started this ball rolling, where the government injected itself in trying to make -- trying to fix the market with the government top-down trying to do it, and managed decline. And what happened was, people who did things that were wrong invested in things, took risks, were bailed out, and the folks who acted responsibly are now getting hurt because their houses have gone down in value. We need to let the market work, and that's what hasn't been happening so far.

 

COOPER: I'm going to allow each of the three of you to respond.

 

Governor Perry, you have 30 seconds.

 

PERRY: The fact is, Rick just has that wrong. We wrote a letter to Congress asking them to act. What we meant by acting was, cut the regulations, cut the taxation burden, not passing TARP.

There is clearly a letter out of our office that says that, Rick. I'll get you a copy of it so you'll understand it.

 

SANTORUM: Hold on. I need to respond to that.

 

He sent a letter the day of the vote on the floor of the House saying, pass the economic plan. There was only one plan, and that was the plan that was voted on the floor. It was TARP.

 

You sent a letter on that day saying, vote for that plan. Now, you can send a letter later saying I didn't mean it, but when you said it, it was the only plan that was in play, and that was the TARP plan.

 

COOPER: Governor Perry -- do you want to respond, Governor Perry?

 

PERRY: I'm just telling you I know what we sent, I know what the intention was. You can read it any way you want, but the fact of the matter, I wasn't for TARP, and have talked about it for years since then.

 

COOPER: Governor Romney, 30 seconds.

 

ROMNEY: There's an effort on the part of people in Washington to think somehow they know better than markets, how to rebalance America's economy. And the idea of the federal government running around and saying, hey, we're going to give you some money for trading in your old car, or we're going to give you a few thousand bucks for buying a new house, or we're going to keep banks from foreclosing if you can't make your payments, these kind of actions on the part of government haven't worked.

 

The right course is to let markets work. And in order to get markets to work and to help people, the best we can do is to get the economy going. And that's why the fundamental restructuring I've described is so essential to help homeowners and people across this country.

 

(APPLAUSE)

 

COOPER: Mr. Cain, I want you to be able to respond. Thirty seconds.

 

CAIN: I have said before that we were in a crisis at the end of 2008 with this potential financial meltdown. I supported the concept of TARP, but then, when this administration used discretion and did a whole lot of things that the American people didn't like, I was then against it. So yes, and I'm owning up to that.

Now, getting back to the gentleman's question in terms of what we need to do, we need to get government out of the way. It starts with making sure that we can boost this economy and then reform Dodd-Frank and reform a lot of these other regulations that have gotten in the way --

 

COOPER: Time.

 

CAIN: -- and let the market do it just like Mitt has talked about.

[Guest We Are The 99%]

Democratic Massachusetts Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren supports the Occupy Wall Street public dissent on current United States Fiscal Policy.

 

[Guest American4Progress]

The biggest banks are making billions in taxpayer money by administering public programs like food stamps and unemployment insurance that are intended to support the 99 Percent.

 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/01/bank-fees-unemployment-benefits_n_1033700.html

 

In 41 states major banks and financial firms have secured contracts to provide access to public benefits via prepaid debit cards. And banks are increasingly extracting hefty cuts of these funds through an assortment of small fees. U.S. Bank, JP Morgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Bank of America and other institutions hold contracts to distribute these benefits on prepaid debit cards.

 

When Bank of America announced plans to charge regular banking customers a $5 monthly fee to use their debit card it created a wave of public criticism. But the lesser-known fees attached to prepaid debit cards are already extracting money from the most vulnerable Americans -- those unable to pay their bills and feed their families without public help -- in the midst of stubbornly high unemployment and soaring rates of poverty.

 

"The big banks have actually figured out a way to make unemployed workers a profit center, one that only grows as things get worse," said Angela Martin, executive director of Economic Fairness Oregon, a nonprofit advocacy group for low income and poor families.

[Guest Fedup]

I wonder if the Rothchilds are punishing us now for fighting back?

 

http://www.minotdail...-the-money.html

 

1790: Mayer Amschel Rothschild; "Let me issue and control a nations money and I care not who writes the laws." 1791: The First Bank of New York, controlling interest owned by the House of Rothschild, is chartered to be our nation's bank. 1811: The charter expires and Congress votes not to renew it. Nathan Mayer Rothschild; "Either the application for renewal of the charter is granted, or the United States will find itself involved in a most disastrous war." Congress holds firm and does not renew the charter. Nathan Mayer Rothschild to the rulers of England; "Teach those impudent Americans a lesson. Bring them back to colonial status." 1812: The aptly named War of 1812 explodes.