Forum Post: Obama will appoint a new economic team very soon. His last one was pro-Wall Street. Let's demand change in his second term.
Posted 11 years ago on Nov. 21, 2012, 4:33 p.m. EST by toobighasfailed
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I sometimes worry that Occupy Wall Street has drifted from its original purpose: to call attention to Wall Street. This loss of focus is precisely what Wall Street wants because it means they can keep the status quo. And they will, unless the pressure for them to change is strong and unified.
In his first term, the Obama team helped appoint a number of advisers who were strongly connected to Wall Street—Larry Summers, Tim Geithner, Mark Patterson, Gary Gensler, and William Dudley. It's little wonder, then, that we didn't see major reforms on reigning in the big banks.
There's big speculation now that Jack Lew—another guy with a Wall-Street-first mentality—will be appointed as treasury secretary. This will ensure that things remain the same.
If we unite and stay focused, then we might see real change on Wall Street. Here are a list of petitions that call for Obama to appoint people who want real reform. These petitions deserve the continued attention of OWS.
Credo petition, with over 35,000 signatures already: http://act.credoaction.com/campaign/sec_chair/?rc=tw_email
SwitchYourBank.org petition: https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/appoint-economic-team-supports-real-reform-wall-street/N4GnHd8D
Change.org petition: http://www.change.org/petitions/president-obama-appoint-a-treasury-secretary-and-sec-chief-that-work-for-all-americans
Signed the 2nd 2. (1st one failed 'pg not found'). Good effort.
What about the fin reform that congressional repubs watered down and have delayed implementation of.? We must build on that. We need reinstatement of Glass Steagal that Repubs w/ Clinton did away with.
But do you think we should just stay silent about the politicianss who are standing proudly with the wall st banksters against the fin reform passed and any that might be pushed.
Or is it just Pres Obamas appointees that matter?
It'd be awesome to create and sign petitions for specific Congressmen as well. The reason the treasury matters so much is that because the treasury has been critical in watering down Dodd-Frank. Last Friday at 5 pm (a good time for announcing bad reforms) the treasury announced that it would exclude foreign exchange swaps from regulation. It's a horrible loophole with serious potential consequences (including the consequence of making all other derivatives regulations meaningless).
See the story about foreign exchange swaps. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-11-16/u-s-treasury-exempts-foreign-exchange-swaps-from-dodd-frank.html
Also: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/20/opinion/a-step-back-for-derivatives-regulation.html?src=recg
I think we cannot be silent about the politicians who are the architects of weak fin regs (repealing Glass Steagal) stood proudly against all fin reform, are committed to repealing existing reform & continue to delay the implementation of any fin reform.
If all we're doing is going after Pres Obama that is inadequate and just partisan.
Good luck!
Exactly right. The only reason Obama deserves special attention right now is that he's the one who's either going to appoint Jack Lew as treasury secretary (thus perpetuating the status quo) or someone better.
Yeah Obama sucks. If only we had someone else. Everything would be all better!
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Right on. Thanks for connecting me and others with these key ways to support reform and push our president to do the right thing. You're right. The award-winning documentary Inside Job really lays out what a disappointing cast of characters our president hired. I think he just didn't know where else to turn in the middle of an unprecedented crisis. He should have known better, but I honestly think he might have assumed that the only people who could fix the mess were those who made it. Seems silly in hindsight and obviously it was the wrong move.
Can some one tell me if the president power can enforce a decision with out the R house to agree on???
The president only needs to get these appointments confirmed in the Senate, so he can do it without worrying about Republicans in the House. http://people.howstuffworks.com/senate-confirmations2.htm
Let's help him fight the Greed-Addled 1%!!!