Thursday, April 30, 2009

More Wall Street Bashing After Cramdown Amendment Defeated

In what is becoming a daily anti-Wall Street litany from the administration, there was more blasting of banks, this time courtesy of Rhode Island Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse who called banks "greedy, stubborn and unreasonable." His Obamaesque remarks came on the heels of the defeat of the cramdown amendment in the senate after a 51-45 vote, which curiously had 12 Democrats voting against the proposal.

The Cramdown measure would have allowed bankruptcy judges to cut mortgage terms and help underwater borrowers avoid foreclosure. As such the vote down is a victory for banks and credit unions who said a passage of the amendment would have led to an increase in loan costs.

And, not surprisingly, another Democrat took the liberty to promote the upcoming Main Street - Wall Street heavyweight title match just that little bit further. Senator Richard Durbin, Illinois Democrat, sponsor of the original legislation and the chamber's second-ranking Democrat said "These bankers who brought us into this crisis are literally shunning and stiff-arming the people who are facing foreclosure."

Apparently in addition to TurboTax, the current administration needs a refresher course on contract law.

Bet regardless, the defeat of the cramdown bill is a defeat to the Obama administration, which has now lost the battle of chicken every single time it has pushed a creditor to the brink and is looking weaker and weaker. Durbin, however would not let it go - the bank who would have been impacted the most from the Cramdown passage are JPM, Wells Fargo and Bank of America who "are surviving today because of taxpayers' dollars." Quid pro quo Clarice?

Of course nobody cares about the other side of the argument. “The cram-down measure would have increased the cost of buying a home for all Americans, and that is the exact opposite
result that everyone is working towards right now,” said Scott Talbott, senior vice president of government affairs at the Financial Services Roundtable.

But than again what is wrong in having the entire nation pay for the ridiculous greed of a few million fiscally irresponsible potential voters, living way beyond their means, buying vacation homes in Florida and Lake Tahoe, and maxing out their credit cards to buy that 3rd 50 inch plasma TV screen for the second bathroom. Sphere: Related Content
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