All of this might work (I don’t know but I am sure if I phoned Mike Whitney, Paul Craig Roberts, or Michael Hudson they could tell me). However, don’t we have to take care of the elephant in the room first---the Federal Reserve?
What about the Housing and Urban Development (HUD)? What about the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)?
I’m going to bypass your laundry list of offerings to American voters which you claim will jumpstart this economy and offer you some suggestions for how to fix this “broken system” of ours.
One, you should read about Theodore Roosevelt and familiarize yourself with the way he engaged in trust-busting. Consider this historical “fun fact” found on the National Park Service website:
While in office, Roosevelt became a "trust buster" by forcing the great railroad combination in the Northwest to break apart. As President, Roosevelt saw himself a representative of all the people, including farmers, laborers, white collar workers, and businessmen. Roosevelt therefore was focused on bringing big business under stronger regulation so that he could effectively serve all the people he represented. He sought to regulate, rather than dissolve, most trusts. Efforts continued over the next several years, to reduce the control of "big business" over the U.S. economy and workers. Earlier Congress passed the Sherman Antitrust Act in 1890 to maintain economic liberty, and to eliminate restraints on trade and competition. This act came into play during Roosevelt's trust busting activities.
Second, re-institute the Glass-Steagall Act (or some form of it).
A MarketWatch article on the lift of the act in 1999 notes, “Glass-Steagall was passed by Congress to prohibit banks from owning full-service brokerage firms and vice versa so investment banking activities, such as underwriting corporate or municipal securities, couldn't be called into question and also to insulate bank depositors from the risks of a stock market collapse such as the one that precipitated the Great Depression.”
Further down in the article, the author (besides showing how we have seen the recent Wall Street crisis looming on the horizon for over a year) cites the key benefit of the Glass-Steagall Act and why it would have been nice to have that benefit in place in the past week:
Glass-Steagall would have at least provided what the first of its names portends: transparency. And that is best accomplished when outsiders are peering in. When every one is on the inside looking out, they have the same view. That isn't good because then you can't see things coming (or falling) and everyone is subject to the roof caving in.
Congress is now investigating the subprime mortgage debacle. Lawmakers are looking at tightening lending rules, holding secondary debt buyers responsible for abusive practices and, on a positive note, even bailing out some homeowners.
These are Band-Aid measures, however, that won't patch what's broken: the system of conflicts that arise when sellers, salesmen and evaluators are all on the same team.
Like Barack Obama says, I believe we can “battle back from adversity by recognizing that common stake that we have in each other’s success.” What I also believe is that until Obama’s campaign strategies which concern the economy are confronted, we will continue to see politicians dither and flounder about incapable of reigning in those in the Treasury Department and other government entities that tend to banking, insurance, and securities & investment issues.
-Why did you appoint Jason Furman to be your economic policy director after he defended Wal-Mart’s model against fierce critics and published a 16-page paper titled, “Wal-Mart: A Progressive Success Story” in 2005 and after you spoke out against Wal-Mart during your primary campaign when campaigning against Hillary Clinton?
-Why did you surround yourself with a group of people to influence your economic policy that Naomi Klein properly called, “Obama’s Chicago Boys”? How do you explain hiring people who have worked to fend off serious economic regulation?
-Why do you hesitate to campaign against free trade agreements like NAFTA? Why do you avoid such a move that significantly increase your lead over McCain?
And here’s the kicker---the line that really gets me, Barack. This is what proves to me that you may not have the courage or fortitude to reverse what has happened over the past eight years and start the reformation and revitalization of this democracy that must begin in order to give future generations in America a bright future.
