Financial Idealism

Huffpo has a feature with the TARP czar, Elizabeth Warren, discussing the coming financial industry regulation with Mikey "I hate capitalism even though I got rich off it" Moore. Amidst some sensible talk (not from Moore) there's also some naive utopian drivel mixed with tasty irony.

Before dropping the hammer on her it's worthy to note that Ms. Warren seems like a perfectly nice woman and none of the criticism to follow is personal. Like others in the administration and on the left in general, she seems an idealist bent on challenging O'Reilly for the prize of "looking out for us". It's likely she'll be just as effective.

Granted though, it's hard to disagree with her take on credit card companies, mortgage lenders, and car loan companies. Many are loaded with unscrupulous land sharks who'd sell their mother a bad loan if it improved their annual bonus by ten cents. Sean Hannity needs to take off his Kool Aid costume and get real on this--it wasn't just sub-prime loans that caused the financial meltdown--greed knows no political boundaries when the regulatory boundaries are removed.

But insinuating that everyone in that business is bad because they work with money is ludicrous to the extreme. Most are decent people trying to make a buck and get ahead, which used to be called the American way. And why pick on this industry alone? Has this woman ever tried to get her car repaired? Why not go after the unscrupulous car repair outfits, including some Chevy and Chrysler dealers getting taxpayer bailouts? Obviously there are deceptive practices in just about every other business in America. The old saying, "let the buyer beware" didn't just float down from heaven on silver wings during the Bush years.

The irony begins with her portrayal of the typical 30 page credit card agreement being too hard for even a law professor genius to understand, then suggesting she can fix it with a new federal bureaucracy. Good grief, has she even discussed this with Joe Biden yet? After all, he's from Delaware, where most of the these evil card companies are headquartered (the fundie Muslims must hate those usury laws). Maybe she's scared to mess with Joe, who knows.

While she's at it why not a consumer fraud protection agency for the voters? Perhaps politicians should come with a warranty or some counseling. What's the over/under on politicians even reading her financial protection bill in its entirety even if it's the same length as her credit card agreement?

But the final irony is the notion of a bunch of liberals complaining about the investment business when so many have made fortunes off it. How about the little guy, who she claims to be representing in Washington, getting a crack at some of that Hillary Clinton cattle futures action for a change!

MORE 10/23/09

Another view on Warren, from the left, with a suggestion for 2012. The frost is definitely off the pumpkin.