US Politics Thread |OT| THE DARKEST TIMELINE

[I'm a Puppy!]

But we do need to break up the big banks.

Do we, though?

I'd really like to read the best case for why a financial system with smaller institutions would be immune (or at least much less susceptible) to crisis.

Well, just look at the last financial crisis. All the big banks were on the verge of collapse but Wells Fargo didn't take part in the subprime mess. They were largely insulated from its effects but the fact that all the other big banks were exposed and on the verge of collapse put Wells Fargo at risk because there were only so many other firms that could service Wells Fargo. If banks were smaller in size and there were more of them, in theory should something like this happen again the impact would be lessened because there would be more banks like Wells Fargo that did things differently and they could all buoy each other up while the rest fail. Further, more competition is always a good thing in capitalism. That being said, you can never remove the possibility of total collapse completely. You can try to mitigate it though. My main concern is even if you split up banks to be smaller, you can only really do that in the US. In our global economy there's only a handful of international banks and if those start failing there's no real way to stop the hemorrhaging and since they're international entities it's difficult for us to do anything about it.

[Rufus]

The other idea being bandied around a lot is to simply split off the more volatile business sectors, but I'm not sure if they could survive on their own.

[Syph]

(Image removed from quote.)

Bernie Sanders is literally turning senile right before our eyes and straight up lying about what other candidates have said. Sad.

"Well-uh I-uh had sex with your wife-uh"

[VomKriege]

The other idea being bandied around a lot is to simply split off the more volatile business sectors, but I'm not sure if they could survive on their own.

They did well enough before having that.
Wouldn't more, smaller banks actually be more in line with neoliberal theory of having an atomicity of actors ?

[Madrun Badrun]

Sanders biggest problem seems to be his in ability to not accept the premise of the question.  Someone need to sit him down and watch the last 2 season of the west wing so that he can get some experience in campaigning at the national level. 

[Human Snorenado]

Wait, doesn't Dany have more support among black and brown people than anyone? 

Not to mention the support of the non-binary Unsullied

 

[Human Snorenado]

I don't think the issue is banks being too "big," per se, as much as it is allowing the same institutions to have fingers in every fucking pie. No commercial banking and private banking under the same roof.

[I'm a Puppy!]

I just don't see that happening because there's too much overlap in resource types. It's like setting up bakery and then saying "OK, you can do pastries but no breads." I can see the argument but it seems too limiting for the business side of me.

[Great Rumbler]

The size of banks wouldn't be that much of a problem if we had actual, for real financial regulation in this country. Or punished banks/bankers for playing games with the economy at a level that didn't incentivize them to continue doing it.

[I'm a Puppy!]

That might be true (but it's a Bernie sanders level of disconnect to believe it'll ever happen) but on principle I disagree. Market consolidation on a massive scale is a sign of an unhealthy economy. I mean look at something like Cisco, they could literally not ship product for the next 20 years and still be around simply because they're so immense. It stifles competition and innovation. The more competition there is the more innovation there is.

[HyperZoneWasAwesome]

Yup, that's it.

Some regulation with actual teeth in it would accomplish a lot. Start by giving some strength to the SEC, IRS, FCC, and the EPA and all of a sudden you'd have some better corporate and big financial behavior, after a few dozen bad actors find themselves in a general population prison of course.

[Great Rumbler]

That might be true (but it's a Bernie sanders level of disconnect to believe it'll ever happen) but on principle I disagree. Market consolidation on a massive scale is a sign of an unhealthy economy. I mean look at something like Cisco, they could literally not ship product for the next 20 years and still be around simply because they're so immense. It stifles competition and innovation. The more competition there is the more innovation there is.

Well, my point is that with stronger regulation and actual punishment for financial misdeeds you'd set up a situation where the issues with just having a few mega-banks could be more easily handled. Just breaking up the banks wouldn't fix anything, really, since they'd all just consolidate again over the course of decade or two and we're right back where we started.

[Madrun Badrun]

So smaller banks should have less lobbing power and influence which makes regulation easier to make and keep.  Also I'd think smaller banks are less inclined to take larger risks, which is kind of a self regularization.  I think the biggest issue is that there isn't a lot stopping financial companies from moving to London or Hong kong if they don't get the regulation they like. 

[Phoenix Dark]

Yup, that's it.

Some regulation with actual teeth in it would accomplish a lot. Start by giving some strength to the SEC, IRS, FCC, and the EPA and all of a sudden you'd have some better corporate and big financial behavior, after a few dozen bad actors find themselves in a general population prison of course.

[Tasty]

White House: Obama thinks Clinton is qualified for president

[Madrun Badrun]

http://onpublichealth.org/substance-abuse/drug-overdose-fatalaties/

[Oblivion]

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/ben-carson-john-berman-criminal-charge

[Great Rumbler]

http://onpublichealth.org/substance-abuse/drug-overdose-fatalaties/

Yeah, not surprised by this. I went to the ER with abdominal pain that they were eventually unable to nail down to anything specific, so they just wrote me a prescription for a month's supply of pain pills. Note: I already had a month's supply of pain pills from a previous visit.

[Trent Dole]

White House: Obama thinks Clinton is qualified for president

Well there's not any other Democrats running right now, who else would he endorse?

[Dennis]

Is 'yuge' the new trendy word? I see it everywhere now.

Based Donald.

[I'm a Puppy!]

It's only popular amongst the yutes.

[Madrun Badrun]

Fuck the Yutes, I'm an Angle man.

[Phoenix Dark]

Obama On Garland: 'Yeah, He's A White Guy' But He's A Great Jurist

President Barack Obama was candid Thursday when asked about the diversity his Supreme Court nominee, Merrick Garland, would bring to the high court.

In response to the question from a University of Chicago Law School student, Obama jokingly responded that Garland was from Skokie, Illinois.

"The way I've thought about diversity is not to think about any single seat as 'I've got to fill this slot with this demographic,'" he elaborated. "But rather if I've got a broad set of nominees to make, and this is true across the board, how do I make sure that I'm intentional throughout that process so that the talent of every American, and every potential candidate, gets a fair look."

Obama said he was committed to appointing a diverse group of judges to federal courts and noted that he'd appointed more women, minority and LGBT judges during his time as President than his predecessors.

"But at no point did I say oh you know what — I need a black lesbian from Skokie in that slot. Can you find me one?" Obama said to laughter. "That's just not how I've approached it."

Obama has received some flack, particularly from black women's groups, over picking Garland, a 63-year old white man, to replace late Justice Antonin Scalia. He noted that prior to nominating Garland, he nominated two women, Elana Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor, who is Hispanic, to the high court.

"Yeah he's a white guy, but he's a really outstanding jurist," Obama said of Garland. "Sorry. I think that's important."

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/obama-defends-merrick-garland-diversity


I'm gonna miss Obama

[I'm a Puppy!]

late second term obama is best obama.

[Dennis]

Did Bill Clinton just accidentally say how he really feels? 

[Madrun Badrun]

Did he finally zip up, let you out from under the desk, and say 'I love your tongue stud', Dennis?

[ToxicAdam]

Did you guys read that article on Denny Hastert? What a sick fuck.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/watchdog/ct-dennis-hastert-investigation-met-20160406-story.html

[I'm a Puppy!]

Tasty, this is fucking unacceptable

[CatsCatsCats]

Love the worker who is clearly thinking "you're gonna need to dump that shit out and try again"

[Tasty]

Tasty, this is fucking unacceptable
(Image removed from quote.)

 

[nachobro]

that is the shittiest pour i've ever seen goddamn

[ToxicAdam]

I've seen college pictures of Hillary, I don't think she spent a lot of time at keggers.


Between that picture and Donald Trump eating pizza with a fork, we are doomed as a nation.

[mormapope]

Its not like wine is viewed as a rich person only alcoholic drink. Not to say elderly women can't or don't drink beer, but of all the bars I went to, I've never seen a grandma ask whats on tap.

[Human Snorenado]

I've seen college pictures of Hillary, I don't think she spent a lot of time at keggers.


Between that picture and Donald Trump eating pizza with a fork, we are doomed as a nation.

Help us, John Kasich. You're our only hope.

[Tasty]

Hillary's a classy woman, and classy women drink wine. Doesn't surprise me she'd have trouble with such a plebeian beverage.

[thisismyusername]

Its not like wine is viewed as a rich person only alcoholic drink. Not to say elderly women can't or don't drink beer, but of all the bars I went to, I've never seen a grandma ask whats on tap.

Goddamn, now I have a challenge to accept. Gonna have to find a grandma and get her to go to a bar and ask what's on tap in front of you.

Hillary's a classy woman, and classy women drink wine. Doesn't surprise me she'd have trouble with such a plebeian beverage.

Says a man that has to get black-out drunk to suck dick for her.

[Madrun Badrun]

Who needs Monica when a women gives that much head?

[Tasty]

Who needs Monica when a women gives that much head?

[Tasty]

@I'm a Puppy:

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/08/opinion/sanders-over-the-edge.html

The easy slogan here is “Break up the big banks.” It’s obvious why this slogan is appealing from a political point of view: Wall Street supplies an excellent cast of villains. But were big banks really at the heart of the financial crisis, and would breaking them up protect us from future crises?

Many analysts concluded years ago that the answers to both questions were no. Predatory lending was largely carried out by smaller, non-Wall Street institutions like Countrywide Financial; the crisis itself was centered not on big banks but on “shadow banks” like Lehman Brothers that weren’t necessarily that big. And the financial reform that President Obama signed in 2010 made a real effort to address these problems. It could and should be made stronger, but pounding the table about big banks misses the point.

Yet going on about big banks is pretty much all Mr. Sanders has done. On the rare occasions on which he was asked for more detail, he didn’t seem to have anything more to offer. And this absence of substance beyond the slogans seems to be true of his positions across the board.

- Paul Krugman, 2008 Economics Laureate

[I'm a Puppy!]

But tasty, you're missing my point that mass market consolidation is unhealthy for the market and stifles innovation. But hey, if you're saying it's not broken

[Madrun Badrun]

Honestly, I just want big banks to be broken up because I don't like rich people. 

[benjipwns]

If you’re with her, chip in to get your free sticker and let her know how proud you are to support the most qualified candidate in the history of our country.

Barbara Boxer Verified account
‏@BarbaraBoxer
Bernie’s attack on @HillaryClinton tonight was beneath him. She is the most qualified person to ever run for POTUS.

[benjipwns]

@I'm a Puppy:

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/08/opinion/sanders-over-the-edge.html

The easy slogan here is “Break up the big banks.” It’s obvious why this slogan is appealing from a political point of view: Wall Street supplies an excellent cast of villains. But were big banks really at the heart of the financial crisis, and would breaking them up protect us from future crises?

Many analysts concluded years ago that the answers to both questions were no. Predatory lending was largely carried out by smaller, non-Wall Street institutions like Countrywide Financial; the crisis itself was centered not on big banks but on “shadow banks” like Lehman Brothers that weren’t necessarily that big. And the financial reform that President Obama signed in 2010 made a real effort to address these problems. It could and should be made stronger, but pounding the table about big banks misses the point.

Yet going on about big banks is pretty much all Mr. Sanders has done. On the rare occasions on which he was asked for more detail, he didn’t seem to have anything more to offer. And this absence of substance beyond the slogans seems to be true of his positions across the board.

- Paul Krugman, 2008 Economics Laureate

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/04/opinion/paul-krugman-dodd-frank-financial-reform-is-working.html

But how do you rescue the banking system without rewarding bad behavior? In particular, rescues in times of crisis can give large financial players an unfair advantage: They can borrow cheaply in normal times, because everyone knows that they are “too big to fail” and will be bailed out if things go wrong.

The answer is that the government should seize troubled institutions when it bails them out, so that they can be kept running without rewarding stockholders or bondholders who don’t need rescue. In 2008 and 2009, however, it wasn’t clear that the Treasury Department had the necessary legal authority to do that. So Dodd-Frank filled that gap, giving regulators Ordinary Liquidation Authority, also known as resolution authority, so that in the next crisis we can save “systemically important” banks and other institutions without bailing out the bankers.

- Paul Krugman, 2008 Economics Laureate

[benjipwns]

I've seen college pictures of Hillary, I don't think she spent a lot of time at keggers.


Between that picture and Donald Trump eating pizza with a fork, we are doomed as a nation.

Help us, John Kasich. You're our only hope.

"Look, look, the pizza came scalding hot, OK? And so I use a little fork," the governor of Ohio told ABC's "Good Morning America." "You know what? My wife who is on spring break with my daughters said, ’I'm proud of you. You finally learned how to use a utensil properly.’ But I mean — not only did I eat the pizza, I had the hot sausage. It was fantastic."

[benjipwns]

4) people pretending to give a shit about ted cruz

[ToxicAdam]

"Look, look, the pizza came scalding hot, OK? And so I use a little fork," the governor of Ohio told ABC's "Good Morning America." "You know what? My wife who is on spring break with my daughters said, ’I'm proud of you. You finally learned how to use a utensil properly.’ But I mean — not only did I eat the pizza, I had the hot sausage. It was fantastic."

I feel like we've scratched the surface on some next level Bilderberg shit.

(whispers) "The lizard people can't touch pizza with their hands!"

[tiesto]

Finally seeing campaign ads and shit on TV, this is like one of the first times in a long time that NY is actually important for something election oriented. Hillary doing a fund raiser at the spot where I had my senior prom, Trump rally across from where I work, wish Bernie would come out here b/c getting to the city to see him would be hard as hell.

[octopushover]

he's going to have a hard time getting out of the city if he doesn't even know how to use the subway

[Oblivion]

"Look, look, the pizza came scalding hot, OK? And so I use a little fork," the governor of Ohio told ABC's "Good Morning America."

So it was too hot to hold in your hands but not hot enough to put in your mouth? 

[Mandark]

But tasty, you're missing my point that mass market consolidation is unhealthy for the market and stifles innovation. But hey, if you're saying it's not broken

I'm not really sold on "innovation" in the financial sector automatically being a net positive.

[benjipwns]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/fec-deadlocks-over-allegations-gingrich-used-2012-campaign-to-sell-books/2016/04/08/ab34ba64-fda8-11e5-80e4-c381214de1a3_story.html

Former House speaker Newt Gingrich will not face a Federal Election Commission investigation into allegations that he broke federal law by using his 2012 presidential campaign to promote books that he and his wife wrote, documents released Friday show.

As part of an agreement with the FEC finalized Feb. 23, the veteran Republican party leader will shut down his 2012 committee, Newt 2012, in the next few months. The campaign still owes nearly $4 million to more than 100 vendors, who are now unlikely to see full payment.

The FEC’s top attorney recommended in 2013 that the agency investigate Gingrich, but the case languished and the six-member commission eventually deadlocked along partisan lines in June, with the three Republican commissioners voting against an inquiry.

The general counsel’s initial review found evidence of seven violations of campaign finance laws, the FEC documents show. Among the findings: Gingrich’s campaign staff and the employees of his production company at times swapped duties as the then-candidate was holding concurrent campaign rallies and book-signing events.

The general counsel also found evidence that the campaign’s resources benefited Gingrich personally, noting that his campaign website included more than 80 links to the Gingrich Productions website, along with blog entries promoting book signings and movie screenings. Many of the links went to pages urging supporters to buy books written by Newt and Callista Gingrich.

Noah Bookbinder, CREW’s executive director, called the FEC’s decision to close the case “distressing.”

http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/New-Jersey-Homeowner-Cited-Flying-Donald-Trump-Campaign-Flag-Too-Early-374982211.html

A New Jersey man who's been flying Donald Trump's campaign flag in front of his home since February could face up to a $2,000 fine or jail time when he faces a judge in the case.

Joe Hornick has been flying Trump's "Make America Great Again" flag outside his West Long Branch home on a busy corner near the Monmouth University campus for months.

But he got a ticket recently citing him for illegally posting political signage more than 30 days before an election. The New Jersey presidential primary isn't until June 7.

"I'm not a football fan, I'm not a sports fan, but I'm surely a Donald Trump fan," he told NBC 4 New York.

Hornick actually flies two Trump flags day and night, and lights them up when it gets dark. They've been ripped down five times so far.

"Let them come, let them rip those flags down because I have a warehouse on alert, and I'll put up a flag every time they tear one down," he said.

  R.I.P. America 1776-2006

[Great Rumbler]

If the FEC can't even get this one right, what's the point of even keeping the lights on?

[benjipwns]

I like how the agreement is that he gets to stiff more than a hundred vendors in return for not being investigated?

[Great Rumbler]

Like, it's not even that they couldn't agree whether he was guilty or not, they couldn't even agree that the preliminary evidence discovered by general council was sufficient to warrant a full investigation!

[benjipwns]

http://www.theonion.com/article/shimmering-immaculate-republican-candidate-appears-52710

WASHINGTON—Explaining how they froze in place and stared up at the miraculous vision in rapt wonder, members of the Republican Party leadership reported that the shimmering image of an immaculate, ideal GOP presidential candidate appeared before them for a brief moment Friday and hovered in front of the party’s headquarters in Washington.

Those who witnessed the awe-inspiring vision said they felt a warm, comforting presence wash over them as the clouds parted and the luminous form of a man in his late 40s with chiseled features and perfectly parted hair descended from the sky above the Republican National Committee building. The mysterious levitating figure, who is said to have worn a brilliantly gleaming American flag lapel pin and an exquisitely tailored shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, reportedly flashed a confident yet disarming smile that, according to accounts, left several onlookers so moved that they began openly weeping.

“We were heading in for another meeting about how to deal with the upcoming convention when, suddenly, this perfect figure appeared in the air above us: a conservative presidential candidate with youthful energy and an undeniable everyman charm who shone with a golden light,” said RNC chairman Reince Priebus, choking up as he described how he and other party leaders gazed in wide-eyed disbelief at the tall, handsome apparition. “After all this time, to lay eyes on a pristine, easily electable Republican—it was staggering. It felt like every burden on our party melted away the instant he appeared. Everything became calm; peaceful; still.”

“He spoke only a few words, saying that we should lower corporate tax rates to boost economic growth,” Priebus added. “It felt like he was speaking directly to my soul.”

[Dickie Dee]

@I'm a Puppy:

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/08/opinion/sanders-over-the-edge.html

The easy slogan here is “Break up the big banks.” It’s obvious why this slogan is appealing from a political point of view: Wall Street supplies an excellent cast of villains. But were big banks really at the heart of the financial crisis, and would breaking them up protect us from future crises?

Many analysts concluded years ago that the answers to both questions were no. Predatory lending was largely carried out by smaller, non-Wall Street institutions like Countrywide Financial; the crisis itself was centered not on big banks but on “shadow banks” like Lehman Brothers that weren’t necessarily that big. And the financial reform that President Obama signed in 2010 made a real effort to address these problems. It could and should be made stronger, but pounding the table about big banks misses the point.

Yet going on about big banks is pretty much all Mr. Sanders has done. On the rare occasions on which he was asked for more detail, he didn’t seem to have anything more to offer. And this absence of substance beyond the slogans seems to be true of his positions across the board.

- Paul Krugman, 2008 Economics Laureate

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/04/opinion/paul-krugman-dodd-frank-financial-reform-is-working.html

But how do you rescue the banking system without rewarding bad behavior? In particular, rescues in times of crisis can give large financial players an unfair advantage: They can borrow cheaply in normal times, because everyone knows that they are “too big to fail” and will be bailed out if things go wrong.

The answer is that the government should seize troubled institutions when it bails them out, so that they can be kept running without rewarding stockholders or bondholders who don’t need rescue. In 2008 and 2009, however, it wasn’t clear that the Treasury Department had the necessary legal authority to do that. So Dodd-Frank filled that gap, giving regulators Ordinary Liquidation Authority, also known as resolution authority, so that in the next crisis we can save “systemically important” banks and other institutions without bailing out the bankers.

- Paul Krugman, 2008 Economics Laureate

benji I know you have better reading comprehension skills than to think you just made a point 

[Madrun Badrun]

http://hwcdn.libsyn.com/p/0/7/8/0781640b7314eabc/cswdcd03.mp3?c_id=11370030&expiration=1460178176&hwt=65523de995cac14705e72cf532bbed99

really liked this common sense

[Mandark]

benji I know you have better reading comprehension skills than to think you just made a point 

To be fair, Krugman didn't write those, William Stanley Bill Ayers Jesse Malkin Robin Wells did.

[Tasty]

Bernie wins Wyoming and extends his streak, which everyone expected as Wyoming is a caucus that's 97% white.

Most polls had Sanders winning 70-80%, but he barely scraped 56%. The kick in the teeth? Both Sanders and Hillary walk away from the state with 7 delegates each, despite Bernie winning.

I really can't wait until NY. Gonna bust out the popcorn, some lube and go to town when the results start coming in.

[Tasty]

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/boston-globe-unveils-fake-trump-882330



Shit, man. Bravo.