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BO More Than Doubles New Deal

by BooMan
Sat Feb 14th, 2009 at 12:59:02 PM EST

Score this one in Headlines & Coverage We Like to See:

Obama Scores Early Victory of Historic Proportions
By Michael D. Shear and Alec MacGillis
Washington Post Staff Writers
Saturday, February 14, 2009; Page A09
CHICAGO, Feb. 13 -- Twenty-four days into his presidency, Barack Obama recorded last night a legislative achievement of the sort that few of his predecessors achieved at any point in their tenure.
In size and scope, there is almost nothing in history to rival the economic stimulus legislation that Obama shepherded through Congress in just over three weeks. And the result -- produced largely without Republican participation -- was remarkably similar to the terms Obama's team outlined even before he was inaugurated: a package of tax cuts and spending totaling about $775 billion.
...The feat compares only with President Franklin D. Roosevelt's banking system overhaul in 1933, which cleared Congress within days of his inauguration.

Speaking of Franklin Roosevelt, how does this legislation compare to the New Deal?

The New Deal of the 1930s equaled no more than 2 percent of the nation's gross domestic product. The new legislation represents over 5 percent and is probably no more than an opening bid...

Remember...Barack Obama? Not a progressive.

BO More Than Doubles New Deal | 16 comments (16 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

don't forget he's naive, trusting, post-partisan (4.00 / 2)

Washington ain't beanball, Barack. You can't come in there wet behind the ears, singing kumbaya, pretending to be a community organizer, with all that post-partisan junk that the brilliant tacticians of the blogosphere have already dissected and found wanting, and expect to get anything done. Hillary will hand him his ass in Iowa, and then Rove/MCcain will crush him, and then he'll be run over in DC as President.

Poor guy. Naive as all hell all the way to Mount Rushmore.

by rootless2 (sansracine_at_yahoo_dot_fr) on Sat Feb 14th, 2009 at 07:26:09 PM EST

Re: don't forget he's naive, trusting, post-partis (none / 1)

Ya,

but what has he done lately?

; )

nalbar

by nalbar (nalbarsatgmaildotcom) on Sat Feb 14th, 2009 at 08:52:35 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: don't forget he's naive, trusting (none / 0)

And after this...how can the rethugs explain money money for the banks. They can't. First step to nationalization.

Banned but hopefully not forgotten.

by Mattes on Sat Feb 14th, 2009 at 09:55:31 PM EST
[ Parent ]

nationalization (none / 1)

"They can't. First step to nationalization."

We'll see. FDR was against nationalization, even tho at the time the left had a fit, just as they are already screaming for Obama to nationalize. But it turned out FDR was right: if the banks were regulated properly, they could be saved from their own excesses. And largely, he was proven correct in that regard as our only major problems in the ensuing ~75 years occurred when regulations were ignored/not enforced/skirted/rescinded.

I see where some economists are for nationalization, some against, the pro-people saying the Swedish model shows it can work. But I've seen on the web that at the time, Sweden had only like 6 banks and of those only one was in very poor shape and a second was already under quasi-gvt control. (I have no idea if those numbers are correct, but Obama himself mentioned this in an interview this week)

Krugman argued this week that banks are taken over constantly by FDIC, so nationalization shouldn't be a big deal from a logistic standpoint. But I don't know if the many banks that have been taken over on a weekly basis are comparable in scale to the Wall Street behemouths that are currently insolvent. (What I'm trying to say is that it might be that 1,000 of these little community banks that have gone under and are under federal magagement might not even equal to 1 troubled Wall Street firm. I don't know anything about these banks or economics, I'm just skeptical about claims of economists on both sides of this issue.)

OTOH, Geithner's mention of 'stress tests' must be scaring the crap outta Wall Street. We'll see.

by jdw on Sat Feb 14th, 2009 at 10:23:12 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: nationalization (none / 1)

yes, wonder if Geithner is opposing caps so as not to scare them too much, knowing that Dodd has it covered. A very different picture takes shape if one assumes the Obama admin knows what they're doing and Obama is not Chance the Gardner.

Viva Obama

by Errol on Sat Feb 14th, 2009 at 10:47:10 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: BO More Than Doubles New Deal (none / 1)

In under a month, Obama passes a bill more than double the size of the New Deal and Jeb Bush thinks that nothing ideological happened last November?

To publicize their alternatives to President Obama's policies, Mr. Bush wants Republicans to emulate the British ("recognizing that we have a different system") and set up a shadow cabinet. "We should organize our opposition based on policy," he says. "I don't think the [2008] election was a transformational one in the ideological sense. I don't think Americans went to the left. Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't get that sense. It's a huge opportunity to advocate reforms and advocate our beliefs and do so with some humility and recognition that the other guys won."

Humility would be nice but getting a grasp of reality would be better.

by BooMan on Sat Feb 14th, 2009 at 01:28:03 PM EST

Re: BO More Than Doubles New Deal (none / 0)

So he wants to set up a shadow cabinet? I wonder who he thinks would be the shadow president of that shadow cabinet? Rush?

I assume he is planning a run in '12. Somebody needs to tell him that Republicans NEVER have humility or show recognition that the other guys won. Once he said that he shot any chance he had down. He is now a defeatist in their eyes.

nalbar

by nalbar (nalbarsatgmaildotcom) on Sat Feb 14th, 2009 at 08:49:35 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: BO More Than Doubles New Deal (none / 1)

and in a few months to ensure success, President Obama will be compelled take on the banksters as FDR did:

James Saft, Reuters blog: Nationalisation by autumn, bank on it

Yeah, they're pulling a fast caper:

the hidden bonuses -

J.P.Morgan leads the pack
This article is about how J.P. Morgan's executives, instead of receiving easy to detect cash bonuses, received very large bonuses in the form of Stock Appreciation Rights (SARs) and Restricted Stock Units. These equity compensation securities are not easy to understand or value by other than experts in the field.

BTW, I thought SARs was a disease. It continues in another form.

Huffpost's Arianna ask when will Obama allow zombie banks to go bye, bye - the Zombie Banks Threatening Our Economy?

and the creation of toxic bonds continues:

IRA -To Stabilize Global Banks, First Tame Credit Default Swaps
Unless and until Chairman Bernanke and the other regulator are willing to tame the CDS tiger, there will be no success in bringing stability to the US banking system or foreign banking markets. And the longer Bernanke & Co refuse to say an emphatic "no" to Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS), JPMorganChase (NYSE:JPM) and the other CDS dealers, the financial crisis affecting global banking institutions will continue to worsen. Making this change may force GS and other dealers into mergers or liquidations, but such is the cost of reform. The US economy can live without the major Sell Side dealer firms, but we cannot survive without commercial banks, insurance companies and commercial companies, all of which are targets for the CDS Mafia and the unlimited leverage that they use as weapons against us all to generate speculative gains. We have the power to fix this aspect of the financial crisis immediately, but do our leaders have the courage and the vision to close down this reckless, speculative market before it destroys what remains of our economy?

beyond the $12 trillion already committed what's another $30 trillion..how will this be financed?

Well, "You can't vote for war and disown the results"

by idredit on Sat Feb 14th, 2009 at 01:29:45 PM EST

BO More Than Doubles New Deal (none / 1)

it appears dodd already has.

seems he snuck this stinger into the stimulus bill, causing much consternation amongst the banksters:

A provision buried deep inside the $787 billion economic stimulus bill would impose restrictions on executive bonuses at financial institutions that are much tougher than those proposed 10 days ago by the Treasury Department.
The provision, inserted by Senate Democrats over the objections of the Obama administration, is aimed at companies that have received financial bailout funds. It would prohibit cash bonuses and almost all other incentive compensation for the five most senior officers and the 20 highest-paid executives at large companies that receive money under the Treasury's Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP.
...
The provision, written by Senator Christopher J. Dodd, Democrat of Connecticut, highlighted the growing wrath among lawmakers and voters over the lavish compensation that top Wall Street firms and big banks awarded to senior executives at the same time that many of the companies, teetering on the brink of insolvency, received taxpayer-paid bailouts.
"The decisions of certain Wall Street executives to enrich themselves at the expense of taxpayers have seriously undermined public confidence," Mr. Dodd said Friday. "These tough new rules will help ensure that taxpayer dollars no longer effectively subsidize lavish Wall Street bonuses."
...
The legislatively imposed pay curbs are, in essence, a bad report card for the Treasury secretary, Timothy F. Geithner, for failing to be tough enough on companies getting bailout money. His long-awaited bank rescue plan also received harsh reviews when it was released this week.
...
"At some point, you begin to wonder: has the government given up on these companies anyway?" he said. "Why would the government or White House want to go along with that unless they have come to the conclusion they will have to nationalize these firms anyway?"
nyt

ya think?

my, my, no wonder the RATs are so upset.

the revolution will not be televised...

by dada on Sat Feb 14th, 2009 at 01:54:36 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: BO More Than Doubles New Deal (none / 0)

I think got dropped in conference.

by The Voice In The Wilderness on Sat Feb 14th, 2009 at 08:09:39 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: BO More Than Doubles New Deal (4.00 / 2)

nope...it's in there. and the wailing and gnashing of teethhas begun. see is here, and here, and any number of other sources for confirmation.

the revolution will not be televised...

by dada on Sat Feb 14th, 2009 at 08:21:30 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: BO More Than Doubles New Deal (none / 0)

yeah, it's a set-up to be diluted, in Feb, 15 Bloombergs.com:

Obama to Work on Executive-Pay Limits After Industry Complaints

if we don't get our candy, we'll pick up and leave

Feb. 15 (Bloomberg) -- The Obama administration pledged to work with Congress on limiting executive pay at banks that get federal bailout money as critics said tough new restrictions in economic-stimulus legislation will prompt talented managers to leave.

Next step and coming from the most unlikely side of the aisle;

Bank Nationalization

via Huffpost

Senior Republicans (Graham): Nationalizing Banks Should Be On The Table
"This idea of nationalizing banks is not comfortable," said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC). "But I think we've got so many toxic assets spread throughout the banking and financial community, throughout the world, that we're going to have to do something that no one ever envisioned a year ago, no one likes. To me, banking and housing are the root cause of this problem. I'm very much afraid any program to salvage the banks is going to require the government... I would not take off the idea of nationalizing the banks."
The remark prompted a bewildered smile of sorts from fellow panelist Maxine Waters ...[.]

~~Switching roles~~ Always carrying water for Wall Street Sen Schumer rails against the idea.

The roar to nationalize will get louder in the April-June 2009 window. By fall a done deal.

Shred the $683 trillion of OTC derivatives, and add to that the $586 trillion interest rate and credit default swaps. There's no practical way that amount of obligations can be sustained by a $50 trillion world GDP.

Well, "You can't vote for war and disown the results"

by idredit on Sun Feb 15th, 2009 at 12:12:33 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: BO More Than Doubles New Deal (none / 0)

I don't know if this part is correct:

"...The feat compares only with President Franklin D. Roosevelt's banking system overhaul in 1933, which cleared Congress within days of his inauguration."

iirc, immediately upon inauguration FDR declared the 'bank holiday' which averted further panic. But I don't think the meat of the financial overhaul came until his 99th day in office with the establishment of Glass-Steagall Banking Reform Act in June. As part of the early bank holiday, banks were classified into catagories...solvent/insolvent, etc but I don't think this compares in scale to Obama's first bill.

It's also interesting that the first major bill by FDR, the Economy Bill, signed at the end of March, actually severely slashed federal spending.

In addition, iirc at the time the large New Deal initiatives were passed unemployment was at 25% and FDR had a huge mandate that dwarfs Obama's. FDR's 1933 Congress was senate 59D/36R and the House was 313D/117R.

It saddens me that this major accomplishment by Obama, done in record time, is not being appreciated and instead people seem to only want to bitch about their pet issue x got less money then someone else's issue y. Or that Obama somehow got played. Or that his reach out to republicans, (which drove down approval ratings for the congressional GOP and raised his own)and got the necessary votes to get couture in the senate, was somehow misguided. Complete, total, utter nonsense.

by jdw on Sat Feb 14th, 2009 at 03:02:58 PM EST

Re: BO More Than Doubles New Deal (4.00 / 2)

might it benefit Obama that so many so underestimate him? How his admin is written about (naive, bumbling) vs. what it's really doing reminds me of Peter Falk's detective Columbo. I love the implication that, naive, trusting soul that he is, he sort of became president accidentally.

Viva Obama

by Errol on Sat Feb 14th, 2009 at 05:01:04 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Well said (none / 1)

A friend attended a Democratic confeence in Florida about 10 days ago, and reported that the general wisdom was how Obama had let the Republicans control the spin cycle and wasn't be forceful enough.

My answer was, "Didn't they pay attention to the way Obama ran his campaign? He was always criticized for giving the Republicans too much leeway in their hyperbole. And who won the election?" The guy is smart and, as importantly, he has a good sense of timing.

I think that some people get dumbed down by watching too much cable news.

by Sawgrass on Sat Feb 14th, 2009 at 10:14:33 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: BO More Than Doubles New Deal (4.00 / 2)

It's also worth noting that while FDR was elected in November, he wasn't inaugurated until March, which gave him a couple of extra months before his first hundred days that Obama didn't have.

Obama rocked it. Or rather, WE rocked it. He wouldn't have been able to do this had not the people voted for him in dramatic numbers.

"If you look for the social economic motive, you will not have to wait for history to tell you what was propaganda and what was truth." - George Seldes

by Real History Lisa (lpeaseRemoveThis@gte.net) on Sat Feb 14th, 2009 at 07:23:03 PM EST
[ Parent ]

BO More Than Doubles New Deal | 16 comments (16 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

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