Sheila Bair: "Bull by the Horns"
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2012-09-26/sheila-bair-bull-horns
In 2008, the U.S. financial system was near-collapse. Bear Stearns failed and was sold to JP Morgan, Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy and worldwide stocks plummeted and Sheila Bair was at the center of it. Appointed Chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation in 2006, Bair helped shape the U.S. government response to the crisis. During this time, she closed and sold hundreds of failing banks, advocated for widespread mortgage relief for homeowners and pushed for higher capital requirements for financial institutions. Tom Gjelten talks with Sheila Bair about the 2008 economic crash and the many crises she faced.
Guests
Sheila Bair
former Chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
Related Items
Read An Excerpt
Excerpted from Bull by the Horns: Fighting to Save Main Street From Wall Street and Wall Street From Itself, by Sheila Bair. Copyright © 2012 by Sheila Bair. Printed by permission of Free Press, a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
Comments
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Many Conservatives hate our Government. They spout 'Government can`t do anything right' at every opportunity.
I cannot imagine where our country would be without the FDIC intervention in 2008. The Lame Stream media conveniently omit reporting on these successes of salvaging failed banks.There is little or no conversation of the Stress Test on American banks.There is little or no conversation on European banking failures that are still continuing today.
There was no run on our banks because of the FDIC.NeoCons,deal with it.
Clifford, Unless you spend many, many hours a week, over a very long time scouring alternative media to educate yourself, you do NOT have your own informed opinion, what you have is an opinion stealthily inserted into your mind, your very soul, by the .01%s propaganda machine of the Main Stream Media.
This is why most average people that call themselves conservatives hate government. Government is the only thing that can act as a balance to the corporate power of the oligarchs. The oligarchs know this, hate it, and are determined to put an end to it. So our ultimate owners have been pounding the message into the minds of the lazy, the uneducated, and those that are not capable of critical thinking that government is bad. It has been going on for so long now that the poor saps actually now believe it, while at the same time they have enjoyed the benefits of government like unemployment insurance, VA benefits, SS, Medicare, Medicaid, a public education, food stamps, public housing for the elderly, etc.
How do you fight that? I have no idea. I personally have a brother-in-law who receives SS Disability, VA benefits, doesn't even file a federal tax return because he makes so little, all the while he rails against government, socialism and thinks we all should pay a flat tax.
If you even attempt to question those opinions that has been so carefully placed into his mind, he just gets angry.
@NC-TOm
You are so right. How do you reason with someone who gets benefits from government that the government is not the enemy when it seeks to level the playing field so that we are not totally steam-rolled by those whould take us for everything that we own and anticipate owning?
Sheila, thanks for your book. Keep "talking." We need more female voices.
Glass Steagall? Why did this get repealed? How does Dodd Frank improve upon what we already had? Are the I-Bank lobbyist so powerful that we can not put in place restrictions based on experience hard earned, twice over now? Why would we not re-implement Glass Steagall?
Question: What role did Fannie and Freddie have in creating the financial crisis? My understanding is that they back-stopped mortgages so that banks who otherwise would not make a loan, would now loan to a less than capable person. Should the government interfere when a willing customer and willing buyer reach a business agreement?
Can you ask Sheila how she feels about the fact that Moody's and Standards and Poors and Fitch are still in business?
It's so good to hear a rational Republican. We need more policymakers and leaders like Sheila Bair.
so sheila baird is pissed at obama and geithner for not holding wall street accountable. get in line!
in Jeff Connaughton's new book: The Payoff Why Wall Street Always Wins the obama adminstrations selection of Geithner was the first hasty move made by a president in a despearate situation to keep the economy afloat by asking the same perpertators of hubris to fix the damage they had caused. the second choice made with a clear head this time was to forgo criminal prosecution of wall street intoning again that the economy was too weak to tolerate justice. the third was to implore geithner to stay and maintain the status quo even when he yearned to "get his life back" to quote anotherheedless criminal.
I don't know of any democrate who isn't disappointed with obama but I don't know of any who won't vote for him again.
@Rocco:
Rocco you need to put names with Fannie and Freddie. Those names are Dodd / Franks. While the President and media are busy blaming Bush and chronies we also need to remember who was in charge of the Fed banking regs and specifically had influence over Fannie and Freddie. There is more than enough blame to go around, and the Bush regime is part of that, I just don't want these 2 culprits overlooked in the mud throwing process.
@Clifford: you stated "There was no run on our banks because the FDIC NeoCons deal with it"
I say, if the FDIC Neocons created the mess, they SHOULD have to deal with it. Specifically Dodd / Franks.
Forcing banks, thru regulation by FDIC / FSLIC to Lend money to people who can't afford to pay it back, and assisting those people in getting so far in debt that they will never see daylight again is patently and morally wrong... You can say that you are doing it in the name of "fairness" and "equality" but it is wrong never the less.
The three biggest lies in the world:
1- I'm from the Government
2- I'm your friend
3- I'm here to help you...
Sheila Blair for Treasury Secretary!!
Finally some intelligent information about the real 2008 debacle and the FACTs that both parties contributed to both the problems and the failure to repair them.......from Clinton and Graham to Bush and a Congress driven by rampant greed.
As long as We The People continue to elect only wealthy oligarchs, we will never be truly free. The deck is stacked against those who make less than 200K.
Most ironic of all, the very 47% Romney railed against comprise most of his true base voting block. He doesn't worry about them because they are already deluded into voting for him......NOT Obama. A recent survey showed that the elderly and those in "red" states ARE the largest component of those in his 47%.
Relevant Planet Money podcast:
http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2012/02/07/146531493/the-tuesday-podcast-...
My comment is to Rocco's question: I guess you didn't get to hear all of the interview because Sheila Bair answered this question. If you are interested, her response is in second half of the hour.
I knew I was a Republican. Sheila confirms my belief. Con we convince her to run for president?