The Story: Obama is putting his foot down and calling out the banks. While he’s at it, how bout’ taking it a bit further.
The Search: Obama Banks
Perhaps president Obama didn’t realize who he was dealing with when he promised last years big financial bailout. The very same companies whose greed and unscrupulous behaviors created a bubble that burst on all of us were given the task of fixing things. No one in the executive branch considered that these guys might just use the bailout to take care of themselves, as they have always done, and move on with the task of making gigantic stacks of money. It came to light recently that this exactly what happened, with banker bonuses reaching seven digit figures while consumers are seeing no real benefit from the financial institutions that should have been fixed. Looking back, Barack Obama sees his blunder and is scrambling to fix it. Today he called for banks to repay what he called a ‘financial crisis responsibility fee’ of $117 billion.
While we’re getting paid back for things, how about a few other past expenditures?
Underemployment benefits–That whopping 10% unemployment rate is scary, until you look at the measurement and it gets scarier. It only accounts for those filing for unemployment, and you can only do that if you once had a job. It doesn’t include kids who graduated from college into this hell mess and don’t have the experience to get a job or a job to get the experience. Adding in these masses paints a much sorrier picture, and these people are a very real part of the potential work force that is not participating in the economy. Why not stimulate this segment with a little spending cash to give rise to the entrepreneurial spirit of Americans in their creative prime? (more…)
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