CNBC's Santelli Speaks for All of Us 35 comments
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There are some incredibly strange things that continue to occur out of Washington. I am not a conspiracy theorist by any stretch. But unless one chalks up the US government's actions (or inaction) entirely to severe incompetence, then one can only conclude that there are those in control who are continuing to intentionally act against the best interests of the American taxpayer.
The biggest problem- from the outside looking in- is that it is very difficult to figure out exactly who is in control. Is it President Obama and his administration? Is Obama himself being controlled by certain people within his administration? Is it certain Congressional leaders within an overloaded Democratic Congress who are really running the show? Is it Senator Christopher Dodd, Representative Barney Frank or House Speaker Nancy Pelosi? Or are there powerful outsiders who are behind what has been going on?
And, what's been going on, is this:
The American taxpayer is the stock market. Although this is a fact of life, and obvious, many Presidents have come into office only to then be smacked with the sobering realization that the stock market rules them- not the other way around. It certainly appears, on one level, that the new Obama administration is only beginning to figure this out, much to their chagrin. Unless, of course, they have already long figured this out and have another agenda in play.
It appears to me that those now in control have undertaken over the last 2 1/2 years to take control of the markets, our corporations and our financial institutions and that the average American citizen has been made weak and afraid in order to not be able to "fight back."
What was deeply troubling about the recent Rick Santelli/CNBC incident was the administration's blatant attempt to lay "down the law," so to speak, as to how the markets must bow down to their agenda- and not the other way around. It wasn't that press secretary Robert Gibbs was attacking and belittling Santelli the "taxpayer" (which is outrageous enough), but that he was attacking what Santelli represents: The financial markets. After all, Gibbs (and Obama) are fully aware that Santelli is not simply the "media", he is a highly educated financial mind and a former veteran derivatives trader himself. Moreover, in taking on Santelli, Gibbs was also fully aware that the Obama administration was taking on CNBC, which is the markets.
So the line was clearly and intentionally drawn by the White House, meant to send the message to the average American that the markets were not in control of policy- Obama was. There's no other way to explain what happened.
Which leads me to a very troubling, gut-wrenching deduction.
The President of the United States and the government know that there are certain tools and actions available to them that can immediately reverse the markets to the upside and therefore begin to immediately restore wealth to investors and lessen the panic out there, while the government figures out exactly what it is they want to do.
Such as:
1. Temporarily suspend or modify mark-to-market accounting while the government decides exactly how to deal with bad or distressed assets on the books. Or, at very least, stop talking in cryptic terms and let the markets know what is really going on. Obama talks about "transparency" yet there is no transparency coming out of D.C.
2. Restore the uptick rule or at least temporarily ban short-selling again to prevent shorts from continuing to destroy and downward-manipulate stock prices. This is important especially in an environment where buyers are not around so shorts are really the only movers of the stock price.
Why the heck is Congressman Ackerman admonishing the SEC to reinstate the rule, or else Congress will do it for them? If the SEC is acting in the best interests of investors and the public, what in tarnation is the hold up?
3. Lower mortgage rates for all American homeowners to a fixed 4% rate- even if this is later repealed for future homeowners- to at least, get current homeowners' mortgage payments to a lower level. It will also get potential homeowners to really jump in to buy (instead of deciding to wait, believing mortgage rates might come down in the future).
4. Send a clear and indisputable statement to all Americans that banks are not going to be nationalized. Period. Current contradictions coming out of Congress versus the administration are extremely troubling.
And, if the government is not going to do any of these things, then Obama should inform all Americans that he is not doing any of the above because he has other, better ideas that will take time to study and implement. In the meantime, the markets and therefore the taxpayer's wealth factor is in severe jeopardy because of the way markets work.
Obama knows that markets are mostly all about knowing what is what- that they adjust positively when there is some semblance of certainty, and respond negatively when there is uncertainty. This is not about placating traders who want to know what's going on, this is about informing the average passive investor, people with their stock investments and 401ks tied to the direction of the markets, that they are going to continue to suffer losses because policies are slow in being developed and implemented.
You see, the President is already entirely cognizant of all of the above. That with every passing week losses suffered by the average American as a result of the markets will continue to mount, along with a continuing destruction of investor and corporate confidence (and panic) that accompanies these losses, including resulting job losses.
So why isn't Obama doing any of the above or using his clout to effect some obvious "market-slide halters"? Why isn't the SEC doing anything they have the power to immediately effect some of the tools I've mentioned? Who exactly is the SEC listening to? They refuse to move and instead are dragging things on with "studies" and inaction. Is Mary Schapiro merely a puppet of the new administration?
The only reason the experienced people over at CNBC keep railing about the "incompetence" coming out of the government is that things have gone beyond the absurd.
CNBC is simply speaking for the markets, that which the markets already recognize to be true. The markets don't lie (except for some ramifications of fair value accounting) and stock prices on the markets have spoken. But, as the markets look to tank even further, CNBC has gotten commensurately rankled along with their viewers.
When does this absurdity end?!
Unless, of course, certain members of government, who are really in control, don't really want to fix things... Which seems to explain some very peculiar goings-on over the last 2 1/2 years in the financial markets. And continue on, to date.
I used to make fun of conspiracy theorists, until I witnessed the way this global market crash has played itself out.
Something is extremely out-of-whack...and needs to be addressed by all Americans. Rick Santelli's "Chicago Tea Party" is merely a reflection of what many in the markets are already feeling or trying to put into words. And it will not be long before the Average American taxpayer joins the Tea Party. Which may explain why Gibbs (and Obama) reacted the way they did- heaven forbid the average US citizen catches on...
As far as I'm concerned- the "Obama" love affair is over. Santelli has lifted the veil for all to see.
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On Feb 23 10:46 AM bobbobwhite wrote:
>
>
> There is no
> comfort zone left in America and it feels more and more every day
> like a war zone, or close to that level of insecurity.
My bet is that not much comes out of the most recent Housing Affordability and Stability Plan. There won't be much, if any, net principal reductions, the pricing of interest rates on those 80-105% LTV conforming refis will be too high to provide significant savings for those eligible, and most lenders will continue to decline to refi thos non-confomring loans "at risk of foreclosure." Government data for mods through last December show that 53% of all mods are in default withing 6 months, and it's no wonder because 47% of all those mods resulted in higher, not lower, payments! Only 34% resulted in lower payments. My bet is that the modified loans also had perosnal recourse provisions unbeknown to the poor borrower who signed off. Even if a few million loans are modified with lower payments as promised by the latest program, it won't be sufficient to prevent a huge number of ultimate walk aways and short sales.
The bank suicide programs that Congress has offerred to date requiring banks to voluntarily write down principal (Hope for Homeowners) and the latest refi programs from Geitner are not being taken seriously by lenders, since they know they can bribe lawmakers into coughing up more taxpayer funds to bail them out from their mortgage losses while the homeowners continue to struggle, especially since it's just a few big influential banks that need the money. In the end it will be unwitting complicity by Congress in helping the big banks own a huge part of the home inventory while they're recapitalized with taxpayer funds.
The other thing the article missed is mentioning the one solution that would actually work, and would bail out homeowners, lenders and investors all at once: a program of direct lending by the government to homeowners and their lenders to convert much of the excess mortgage debt to low-interest long-term federal loans not secured by the properties, and similar loan opportunities to those who don't have a mortgage or don't own a property. For the details of The AllStreets Bailout Plan please see www.themortgagenews.in.... It isn't necessary or desireable for banks to go bankrupt or even write off mortgage loans that can be made good again with the right government program to help consumers.
No.No. No. All those bozos have to run for election/reelection. They need campaign funds. The folks in control are the campaign contributors and their lobbyists. Everything that happens in DC is bought and paid for.
Why do you think that not one single banker that bought, packaged and sold all those subprime loans as AAA rated securities is not being prosecuted ? Not one of them will ever go to jail, despite defrauding people around the world of $Trillions.
This fraud makes Madoff's caper look like a convenience store stickup in comparison and NOT ONE attorney general - federal, or state - has indicted a single perp.
Bankers wrote the last bankruptcy bill. They are running the show. The politicians are just puppets on a string, and they will keep pouring federal funds into insolvent banks as long as the banks keep asking for it.
We, the people, are not in charge, not even being considered.
That's what it's like when politics intrudes on each and every business transaction. Ask anyone from the old Soviet bloc or any of the Western European countries that have gone down that road. Why do you think the black markets in those countries are so large?
As the saying goes, "The business of America is business". I'd much rather be living in a country run by the "financial elite" than "commissars". At least the "financial elite" have to give me some respect as a customer, whereas the typical "commissar" solution is Stalin's "No man, no problem".
People need to really be careful about full-on politicizing day-to-day life. History shows it gets very ugly, very quickly.
On Feb 23 06:28 AM bosun.j wrote:
> How DARE they! Who do they think they ARE! We the financial elite
> bought and paid for those politicians! Time was when a politician
> knew his PLACE! (on his knees before his corporate masters).
All the global online chatter and ongoing Tea Party "plans" have thus far utterly missed the most important aspect Mr. Santelli's diatribe.
What exactly is the 'derivative security' he is proposing to 'dump'?!?
The US Dollar? The 10-year Treasury note? An interest rate future or swap?
I can only assume that it is an option of some sort expiring July 18, 2009.
But which one and how will those on the other side of the trade (read: The Fed) be forced to respond.
'Quantitative easing' meet Mister Market..This could get ugly.
We're thinking of having a Chicago Tea Party in July. All you capitalists that wanna show up to Lake Michigan, I'm organizing. We're gonna be dumping in some derivative securities,what do you think about that?!?
www.youtube.com/watch?...
At what point will Americans stop voting party politics or sound bites? At what point will people look past Dr. Paul's diminutive stature and squeaky voice and lack of presidential hollywood good looks and lack of rehtorical charisma and see the true statesman that he is. The man is honest and fair. He understands how money works and is a student of politicial-economic history. He rages against fiat currency, fractional reserve banking, and big government.
Out of all members of Congress, only Dr. Paul has declined to accept the pork filled congressional pension package. Out of all members of congress, only Dr. Paul has never voted for a congressional pay raise. He does not vote for pork and so there are many congressional votes where he is the only "no" vote. He can not be bought by the financial elite and he gives the Federal Reserve living Hell every time they are brought to testify before congress.
Has Obama or McCain or Hilary done any of this? Hell no. They are all Keynesian Krooks and they are looting the country. Did you vote for Ron Paul? Of course you didn't because you foolishly voted party politics or you believed the silly lie that doing so would be wasting your vote when the truth is that a vote for Ron Paul was the only kind that was not wasted.
I will not sit here and tell you Obama is stupid or a fool. No, he is much worse than that. He is a sell out to the banking money elite and he always has been. They took a good looking, well spoken, minority nobody and they put him in the suit. He accepted the devil elite handshake in order to get elected and now he is doing their bidding, NOT YOURS.
Go look in the mirror if you want to know who is really responsible for this mess. This is not a slam but a statement of fact. Americans are gullible fools for whatever pollyanna sound bite the Keynesian politician de jour says on TV. Dang it people, don't you know when you are being scammed? If you don't know who the patsy is in this deal, it is absolutely you.
real estate or equities. Probably looking at 40-50% exposure to the
downside, maybe more.
It is an opportunity to re-regulate the whole system for future generations.
Maybe take a look at government spending via entitlements and military and
size of government.
Both parties are guilty here, they go to the same universities and work
for the same institutions, then sell out to provide a comfy lifestyle.
Ron Paul won't get in, so maybe 10-15 years from now, we the sheeple
will get serious and topple the powers and get some real reformers looking after us. Our city, state, and national governments are all hopelessly corrupt and will be the last domino to fall, and only by the will of the people. Much
more pain ahead and we are all guilty of electing these licensed criminals.
I Wish More People Would Have Debated Ron Paul Rather Than Dismissed Him. Debate Is The Distillation Of Reality.
The Masses Always Loathe The Prophets Of Doom; Even More When They Appear To Be Right.
Fear Is A Painful Emotion. Knowing the state of the greater situation is disconcerting. You can arrive at any conclusion if you limit your data to that which only supports your paradigm. Reality Will Be Reality Whether Believed In Or Not.
On Feb 23 05:11 PM henarl wrote:
> Did U: I voted for Ron Paul at every chance afforded to me. I also
> cotributed to his campaign. It turned out to be a waste of time
> and money, as it always has when backing anyone but the two annoited
> party candidates. The two party system is just too powerful and
> firmly entrenched to overcome and they will always dictate your choices.
> Sad but true.
That's about the only truth there is.
Gotta agree with scotty here. Tough choices are coming.
On Feb 23 05:32 PM scotty1560 wrote:
> It is an opportunity to re-regulate the whole system for future generations.
>
> Maybe take a look at government spending via entitlements and military
> and
> size of government.
> 1. Temporarily suspend or modify mark-to-market accounting while the government decides exactly > how to deal with bad or distressed assets on the books.
That's not going to happen. All it would do would sow confusion by changing the game mid-stride trying to bolster the market with accounting tricks. The reality is that any asset can be sold, all the holders of these depreciating assets are saying is they do not like the price. So they're begging the government to set up a taxpayer subsidized market. M2M is an accounting standard and will be used regardless. undoing it now would be like trying to turn back time by moving the hands on a clock.
> 2. Restore the uptick rule or at least temporarily ban short-selling again to prevent shorts from
> continuing to destroy and downward-manipulate stock prices. This is important especially in an
> environment where buyers are not around so shorts are really the only movers of the stock price.
Also not going to happen. Recent reviews have shown that short-selling was not the problem behind financial stock declines last September. Short sales are a valuable tool for investors to voice displeasure. Markets go down for the underlying reasons, not the mechanism of choice. See point #3 about depreciating assets. I reserve the right to short sell what I know is a depreciating asset.
> 3. Lower mortgage rates for all American homeowners to a fixed 4% rate- even if this is later repealed > for future homeowners- to at least, get current homeowners' mortgage payments to a lower level.
Interest rates are not the problem. Principal is the problem for current owner; oversupply for prospective ones. People will not jump in unless jobs come back, especially in hard hit areas like California. People are still getting out faster than people are getting in. And the ones that are currently getting out are rational defaulters who will no longer pay into a depreciating asset. Only principal write-downs and re-negotiated mortgages will be incentive for people to stay, and only the provided they have employment. Only a fraction of the losses here have so far been realized, which in turn, impacts point #1. Those assets are looking worse and worse by the hour.
> 4. Send a clear and indisputable statement to all Americans that banks are not going to be
> nationalized. Period. Current contradictions coming out of Congress versus the administration are
> extremely troubling.
Cannot happen. That would mean undoing the FDIC. All you are saying is that different rues apply to the big banks (where is the line?) versus smaller banks, creating an unfair and uneven playing field. Instead what is needed is an affirmation that insolvency by way of FDIC rules means receivership (nationalization by another word) no matter the bank's size. There is no "too big to fail", simply failure by a means test.
Right now Geithner is trying to buy time for PPP, taxpayer subsidized toxic asset market plan to come into fruition. I think it will fail. The private capital base is simply not there and is risk averse. Instead of a contrived market the government will have to nationalize, register and act as a clearinghouse for these assets, breaking up the CDO's and selling them mortgage-by-mortgage to regional and local thrifts, with underwriting by the taxpayer. Then local mortgage terms can be re-negotiated (boots on the ground are far better applied locally than some market in Washington). Proper valuation can be made and this latent housing stock can hit the ground with a solid income stream, properly graded and vetted.
Until that happen there will be too much housing stock, too many unfulfilled contracts, too many people shoved off the housing ladder, and therefore too few buyers to put a floor to the property market. Will taxpayers foot a large part of the bill? Yes. It is unavoidable. Let Santelli rant.
On Feb 23 10:21 AM kelm wrote:
> Obama is running his administration as a "executive" and that is
> the problem in this crisis. I believe his expectation is that he
> sets out the broad vision and the people he hired, who are supposed
> to be real "execution, get it done people" go and make it happen.
> Unfortunately he has not realized that it is HIS administration and
> HE has to set the tone and vett everything these guys do. He has
> to manage the entire interaction between the administration and the
> public.
> For example, he let congress develop the stimulus plan based on some
> broad objectives stated in the campaign. Wrong - the administration
> should ave written it, written the rationale for each part, and given
> it to Pelosi to make it as close to this as possible. That should
> have gotten us to a real plan as opposed to grab bag (some of which
> Obama was ignorant of when asked at a press conference - inexcusable).
>
>
> Same deal with the mortgage and the bank bailout. Did anyone get
> Geithner to practice his delivery? Did anyone vett he plan? Did Obama
> even see the plan before Geithner went live? A good CEO would have
> vetted the plan and presentation and said "kid, this isn't ready
> for prime time". Instead, he delegated to hi treasury secretary assuming
> Geithner an do it he way it needs to be done - he can't.
>
> The communication control has been horrible what with leaks, anonymous
> sources, rumors etc. Gibbs should never have mentioned Santelli or
> even the rant by name that was completely inappropriate and seems
> designed to shut the media up.
>
> However if you think Santeli speaks for the majority think again.
> far too many people, including many on SA, believe that governments
> buying up all the mortgages or somehow - making it all better - is
> just fine.
On Feb 23 05:55 AM NITRAM wrote:
> Thank you Rick. You are the only person on CNBC who calls things
> the way they are. Obama has done more damage to our country in one
> month than the previous administation did in eight years. Lets reward
> the people who take advantage of the system and penalize the people
> who play by the rules.I hop that GE doesnt curb your honest and truthfull
> remarks. After all GE blindly supported Obama. Better yet, Obama
> asks the man who has taken one of americas greatest companies, and
> destroyed it to be an economic advisor. Thats like asking the captain
> of the Titanic how to sail. Good job Immelt. We love ya Rick
On Feb 23 01:27 PM user344210 wrote:
> Are you advocating a system where you need to know the Assistant
> Secretary to the Interior Minister's Assistant Director of the Midwest
> Investment Regional Authority to get capital?
>
> That's what it's like when politics intrudes on each and every business
> transaction. Ask anyone from the old Soviet bloc or any of the Western
> European countries that have gone down that road. Why do you think
> the black markets in those countries are so large?
>
> As the saying goes, "The business of America is business". I'd much
> rather be living in a country run by the "financial elite" than "commissars".
> At least the "financial elite" have to give me some respect as a
> customer, whereas the typical "commissar" solution is Stalin's "No
> man, no problem".
>
> People need to really be careful about full-on politicizing day-to-day
> life. History shows it gets very ugly, very quickly.
>
You got it. Obama is intentionally tanking the stock market while taxing us into a Communistic system. I wish the Liberal press would do its job and start exposing this clown for what he is. Even FOX News has done very marginal reporting.
Speaking of which, the only thing I have found unique about Obama's politics is that he incorporates elements of Socialism, Communism and Fascism in his political theology, which, demented as it is, is still a fairly complex achievement. It is pretty amazing he has managed to do this considering he is the Village Idiot of D.C. Maybe Joe Biden thought it out for him, but then again that would be even more amazing. I've got it, Maybe Biden copied it from something Hillary wrote just like he cheated when he was in College.
What is really amazing is that Obama is probably is not even Constitutionally qualified to be POTUS because it is doubtful that he is a Naturalized Citizen as defined by the Constitution. Alan Keys and others have an ongoing case heading for the Supreme Court, the crux of which is that they want to see Obama's original vault copy of his birth certificate. Obama has spent nearly a million dollars in legal fees fighting to stop anyone from seeing it. All Obama has provided is a certified copy of his Hawaiian Birth Certificate, which Hawaii says is unreliable.
Having cut the heart out of our economy and beat it to the ground with mountains of debt and financial "innovation", the Santelli's of the world now want to kick it's face in with their moronic self serving economic ideas, and kill it off for good.
Go ahead guys. Knock the recovery effort to it's knees with your recalcitrant refusal to acknowledge the need to make a sacrifice or two for the common good every once and while, if for no other reason than to preserve the republic.
But remember that before the recent campaign to smear Roosevelt and his programs, it was widely acknowledged that he saved capitalism. Your intransigence at this crucial juncture may well see it undone, and not pleasantly or peacefully.
Santelli is forgetting that letting a lot of people lose their homes while bailing out the crooked CEOs could lead to the end of our country, and a much more violent "tea party".
On Feb 23 05:11 PM henarl wrote:
> Did U: I voted for Ron Paul at every chance afforded to me. I also
> cotributed to his campaign. It turned out to be a waste of time
> and money, as it always has when backing anyone but the two annoited
> party candidates. The two party system is just too powerful and
> firmly entrenched to overcome and they will always dictate your choices.
> Sad but true.