They cant get money from the banks PAC's if the banks go down:
Yesterday was a disappointing day. The President announced that he and his reelection campaign are embracing the corrupt corporate politics of Citizens United through the use of super PACs -- organizations that raise unlimited amounts of money from big corporations and the richest individuals, often in total secrecy.
When wealthy individual and corporate interests buy the most access to our political system, our nation's policies inevitably are skewed in favor of those interests, at the expense of average American families.
I understand that, already, campaign officials are on Wall Street, promising to play nice with the banks and soon we'll see the spectacle of government officials at events where money is being raised in unlimited amounts.
I am writing to detail just why the Presidents decision is such a bad one, and why it will be so important that in the coming weeks and months we work even harder to demand that the President and Democrats continue to fight for our progressive ideals and not become corporate-lite as they raise unlimited sums of money. After you read this, I hope you will share your feedback with me on our website.
The Presidents decision is a huge step back. Democrats have tried this strategy before, when party leaders decided to raise enormous amounts of soft money in the 1990s. The result was the enactment, with active Democratic support, of a corporate-dominated policy agenda, including:
trade policies that shipped millions of family-supporting jobs overseas, fiscally reckless tax laws that greatly increased our long-term debt, and the disastrous banking and financial deregulation that paved the way for the worst recession since the Great Depression.
Just as importantly, President Obama's decision to embrace super PACs will gut a winning, progressive strategy. When Democrats play by Republican rules, people see our party as weak, and a false alternative to the power of rich individual and corporate interests that are increasingly dominating our government. And we will never be able to raise the kind of unlimited money Mitt Romney, Karl Rove, and the Koch brothers can.
I know a lot of Democrats in D.C. dont agree. That shouldnt be a surprise to anyone. The D.C. crowd is dominated by the political consultants who stand to gain significantly from the decision to use super PACs to fund the campaign. I understand the desire to do everything possible to win. But this is dancing with the devil, and progressives must unite against it.
In the coming days, we will likely see the administration push for a weak foreclosure deal with the nations biggest banks and that is just the beginning.Our government is for sale, and we are going to have to fight to get it back.
I founded Progressives United so that a grassroots movement of Americans could stand up to exploding corporate power. There is no silver bullet that can fix our broken system. The road to ridding our democracy of corrupt money is a long one, and it will not be easy. But united, we are strong.
Thank you for joining me and so many other real progressives in this fight,
-- Edited by Calvin on Thursday 9th of February 2012 03:21:44 PM
Uke said
10:11 PM, 02/09/12
...or do so now, if ya haven't already managed ta get more poop on Bank of America, which is one of the worst of the worst. Another bank giant of note is Wells Fargo, who've been ripping off their customers for at least a century. Fuckers...
U.S. bank regulators roll fines into mortgage pact
(Reuters) - The Federal Reserve announced on Thursday it has reached an agreement with five U.S. banks on penalties totaling $766.5 million over problems in their mortgage servicing businesses as part of a larger $25 billion foreclosure deal struck between the banks and state and federal agencies.
In April 2011 banking regulators reached a deal with 14 banks on the steps they have to take to clean up how they deal with struggling homeowners but no fines were levied at the time.
On Thursday the central bank said it was announcing penalties related to that deal as part of an effort to coordinate with the larger settlement between banks and state attorneys general and the Justice Department that also was announced on Thursday.
The banks involved are Bank of America Corp, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase & Co, Wells Fargo & Co and Ally Financial Inc, the Fed said.
The Fed said its penalties are included in the larger deal's $25 billion total.
Under the agreement the banks would not pay their fines to the Fed and would instead make them as part of the programs that comprise the broader state-federal deal.
Under the Fed agreement the breakdown of what each bank has agreed to pay is $175.5 million for Bank of America, $22 million for Citigroup, $275 million for JPMorgan Chase, $87 million for Wells Fargo and $207 million for Ally.
A Fed spokeswoman said JPMorgan's penalty is the largest ever levied by the agency.
The penalties being imposed are based on the amount allowed under law, the severity of the problems found and on the size of a bank's foreclosure operations, according to the Fed.
If after two years the banks do not pay the full amount of the penalty through the state deal or similar programs they would have to pay the difference to the Fed.
The penalties are the result of mortgage servicing problems that burst into public view in 2010 when government agencies began investigating bank foreclosure practices, including the use of "robo-signers" to sign hundreds of unread foreclosure documents a day.
Mortgage servicers collect payments and handle foreclosures.
In April of 2011, 14 mortgage servicers entered into a settlement with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Fed and the now defunct Office of Thrift Supervision on steps that have to be taken to correct and improve their servicing practices, such as providing borrowers with a single point of contact for questions.
The OCC on Thursday also announced penalties on Bank of America, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo related to the April agreement.
The Fed and the OCC oversee different parts of banking institutions, with the Fed focused on the overall holding company, and the OCC focused on the banking unit within that umbrella.
Because of this difference, the penalties were announced separately but the agencies said they coordinated their efforts.
The OCC said the banks have agreed to pay $394 million in penalties. The regulator said, however, that the banks could satisfy this requirement by showing that they have made an equal amount of payments through the state-federal deal.
If after three years the regulator determines they have not satisfied this agreement the banks would be required to pay the fine to the OCC.
Under the OCC agreement the breakdown of what each bank could owe is $164 million for Bank of America, $34 million for Citigroup, $113 million for JPMorgan Chase, $83 million for Wells Fargo.
Cy Valley said
10:14 PM, 02/09/12
Uke? Doesn't Uncle Warren own a large share of BofA?
Uke said
10:17 PM, 02/09/12
And ta think that we, American taxpayers, hadda bail these slimy bastards out of the mess they got themselves, and the country inta in the first damn place!
Do your business at your nearest credit union, or if ya must use a bank, there are lots of good, solid regional banks. One that comes ta mind immediately is Columbia Bank. They're based in Tacoma, and have branches in Seattle, Portland, and Vancouver (WA).
Perhaps Hog Bob uses CB...or a local credit union.
Freddie Krueger said
10:51 PM, 02/09/12
Uncle Warren is cashing in on the knowledge that Bof A will get bailed out.
Uke said
11:06 PM, 02/09/12
Yes Cy, Uncle Warren owns a sizeable chunk of BofA in the form of 'preferred' Class-A shares. Simply put, preferred shares of a stock pays the owner FIRST if the compant tanks, or defaults.
Uncle warren didn't amass his billions by playing roulette, craps, poker, or gambling. Nope. He's a very smart, astute investor. He knows a good thing when it falls into his lap.
His buyout of 2LARRCO is only one such example. And it's also the largest generator of wealth in BRK's universe.
Uke said
11:11 PM, 02/09/12
Not only that, but Phreddie's correct when he mentions that Uncle Warren will cash in on our dime. The current administration will no doubt bail out the bigs again. Remember they're too big ta fail. And if they do fail, the world will end. That little white lie saved 'em last time, so why not again?
They cant get money from the banks PAC's if the banks go down:
Yesterday was a disappointing day. The President announced that he and his reelection campaign are embracing the corrupt corporate politics of Citizens United through the use of super PACs -- organizations that raise unlimited amounts of money from big corporations and the richest individuals, often in total secrecy.
When wealthy individual and corporate interests buy the most access to our political system, our nation's policies inevitably are skewed in favor of those interests, at the expense of average American families.
I understand that, already, campaign officials are on Wall Street, promising to play nice with the banks and soon we'll see the spectacle of government officials at events where money is being raised in unlimited amounts.
I am writing to detail just why the Presidents decision is such a bad one, and why it will be so important that in the coming weeks and months we work even harder to demand that the President and Democrats continue to fight for our progressive ideals and not become corporate-lite as they raise unlimited sums of money. After you read this, I hope you will share your feedback with me on our website.
The Presidents decision is a huge step back. Democrats have tried this strategy before, when party leaders decided to raise enormous amounts of soft money in the 1990s. The result was the enactment, with active Democratic support, of a corporate-dominated policy agenda, including:
trade policies that shipped millions of family-supporting jobs overseas,
fiscally reckless tax laws that greatly increased our long-term debt, and
the disastrous banking and financial deregulation that paved the way for the worst recession since the Great Depression.
Just as importantly, President Obama's decision to embrace super PACs will gut a winning, progressive strategy. When Democrats play by Republican rules, people see our party as weak, and a false alternative to the power of rich individual and corporate interests that are increasingly dominating our government. And we will never be able to raise the kind of unlimited money Mitt Romney, Karl Rove, and the Koch brothers can.
I know a lot of Democrats in D.C. dont agree. That shouldnt be a surprise to anyone. The D.C. crowd is dominated by the political consultants who stand to gain significantly from the decision to use super PACs to fund the campaign. I understand the desire to do everything possible to win. But this is dancing with the devil, and progressives must unite against it.
In the coming days, we will likely see the administration push for a weak foreclosure deal with the nations biggest banks and that is just the beginning. Our government is for sale, and we are going to have to fight to get it back.
I founded Progressives United so that a grassroots movement of Americans could stand up to exploding corporate power. There is no silver bullet that can fix our broken system. The road to ridding our democracy of corrupt money is a long one, and it will not be easy. But united, we are strong.
Progressives are discussing the president's decision and my argument against it on ProgressivesUnited.org right now. Click here to join the discussion and let me know what you think. http://links.mkt3255.com/ctt?kn=11&ms=NDM4NjgzNwS2&r=MTY3ODk4MDY2MTMS1&b=0&j=MjYyNjI5ODg5S0&mt=1&rt=0
Thank you for joining me and so many other real progressives in this fight,
-- Edited by Calvin on Thursday 9th of February 2012 03:21:44 PM
...or do so now, if ya haven't already managed ta get more poop on Bank of America, which is one of the worst of the worst. Another bank giant of note is Wells Fargo, who've been ripping off their customers for at least a century. Fuckers...
By Dave Clarke
Thu Feb 9, 2012 3:23pm EST
(Reuters) - The Federal Reserve announced on Thursday it has reached an agreement with five U.S. banks on penalties totaling $766.5 million over problems in their mortgage servicing businesses as part of a larger $25 billion foreclosure deal struck between the banks and state and federal agencies.
In April 2011 banking regulators reached a deal with 14 banks on the steps they have to take to clean up how they deal with struggling homeowners but no fines were levied at the time.
On Thursday the central bank said it was announcing penalties related to that deal as part of an effort to coordinate with the larger settlement between banks and state attorneys general and the Justice Department that also was announced on Thursday.
The banks involved are Bank of America Corp, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase & Co, Wells Fargo & Co and Ally Financial Inc, the Fed said.
The Fed said its penalties are included in the larger deal's $25 billion total.
Under the agreement the banks would not pay their fines to the Fed and would instead make them as part of the programs that comprise the broader state-federal deal.
Under the Fed agreement the breakdown of what each bank has agreed to pay is $175.5 million for Bank of America, $22 million for Citigroup, $275 million for JPMorgan Chase, $87 million for Wells Fargo and $207 million for Ally.
A Fed spokeswoman said JPMorgan's penalty is the largest ever levied by the agency.
The penalties being imposed are based on the amount allowed under law, the severity of the problems found and on the size of a bank's foreclosure operations, according to the Fed.
If after two years the banks do not pay the full amount of the penalty through the state deal or similar programs they would have to pay the difference to the Fed.
The penalties are the result of mortgage servicing problems that burst into public view in 2010 when government agencies began investigating bank foreclosure practices, including the use of "robo-signers" to sign hundreds of unread foreclosure documents a day.
Mortgage servicers collect payments and handle foreclosures.
In April of 2011, 14 mortgage servicers entered into a settlement with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Fed and the now defunct Office of Thrift Supervision on steps that have to be taken to correct and improve their servicing practices, such as providing borrowers with a single point of contact for questions.
The OCC on Thursday also announced penalties on Bank of America, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo related to the April agreement.
The Fed and the OCC oversee different parts of banking institutions, with the Fed focused on the overall holding company, and the OCC focused on the banking unit within that umbrella.
Because of this difference, the penalties were announced separately but the agencies said they coordinated their efforts.
The OCC said the banks have agreed to pay $394 million in penalties. The regulator said, however, that the banks could satisfy this requirement by showing that they have made an equal amount of payments through the state-federal deal.
If after three years the regulator determines they have not satisfied this agreement the banks would be required to pay the fine to the OCC.
Under the OCC agreement the breakdown of what each bank could owe is $164 million for Bank of America, $34 million for Citigroup, $113 million for JPMorgan Chase, $83 million for Wells Fargo.
Do your business at your nearest credit union, or if ya must use a bank, there are lots of good, solid regional banks. One that comes ta mind immediately is Columbia Bank. They're based in Tacoma, and have branches in Seattle, Portland, and Vancouver (WA).
Perhaps Hog Bob uses CB...or a local credit union.
Yes Cy, Uncle Warren owns a sizeable chunk of BofA in the form of 'preferred' Class-A shares. Simply put, preferred shares of a stock pays the owner FIRST if the compant tanks, or defaults.
Uncle warren didn't amass his billions by playing roulette, craps, poker, or gambling. Nope. He's a very smart, astute investor. He knows a good thing when it falls into his lap.
His buyout of 2LARRCO is only one such example. And it's also the largest generator of wealth in BRK's universe.