Transcript: President Barack Obama, First Press Conference, February 9, 2009

(Source: CNN)

President Obama: Good evening, everybody. Please be seated.

Before I take your questions tonight, I’d like to speak briefly about the state of our economy and why I believe we need to put this recovery plan in motion as soon as possible.

Read more

Text: Alan Greenspan Testimony | Congress | October 23

The following link is Alan Greenspan’s testimony before the House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform in Washington today.

Click Here for Greenspan Testimony

Transcript: Nancy Pelosi Before Bailout Vote

Much has been said about U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s speech in the House chamber before Monday’s failed bailout vote. Republican leaders have used the idiotic argument that some of those in their party who were being counted on to deliver ‘yeas’, instead voted ‘nay’, because they were turned off by the partisan nature of her speech. Cry me a river. If your vote in Congress is dependent on whether or not the leader of the opposition says something partisan on the floor of the House, you’re not fit to serve.

At any rate, here’s what she said.

(Source: Congressional Record)

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentlewoman from California is

recognized for 1 minute.

Ms. PELOSI. Thank you very much, Madam Speaker, for recognizing me, Read more

Financial Crisis News Update – Thursday Late Night

Deal Now Stalled on Capitol Hill

• Tentative Accord Fails at White House Meeting – New York Times
• News Analysis: McCain’s Peril in Wading In – New York Times

  Senator John McCain had intended to ride back into Washington on Thursday as a leader who had put aside presidential politics to help broker a solution to the financial crisis. Instead he found himself in the midst of a remarkable partisan showdown, lacking a clear public message for how to bring it to an end.

• Leaders Wrangle over Bailout Terms – Wall Street Journal
• Wrangling holds up U.S. bailout – Financial Times
• Fed keeps banks afloat as money market crisis deepens – Reuters
• White House meeting fails to yield bailout deal – Washington Post

WaMu Fails

• JP Morgan to acquire WaMu deposits – Financial Times
• WaMu is largest U.S. bank failure – Reuters
• JP Morgan Chase purchases WaMu – Washington Post

Congress Should Consider Saying ‘No’ to Paulson’s Plan

For those of us who don’t spend our professional lives steeped in the news and nomenclature of Wall Street and 21st Century financial markets, there is a huge learning curve to get around in even beginning to understand the depths of this current economic crisis.

From the president to the Cabinet secretaries, to the Congressional representatives, to those who would be president, we are hearing the steady refrain that we must do something now, this week.  Practically breathless from their dire warnings they are also sending a mixed message about the proposed action – a $700 billion U.S. government purchase of what seems to be nearly worthless paper. 

The mixed message is this: On one hand we have a financial system on life support because there was no oversight or accountability.  On the other hand we are supposed to surrender nearly a trillion dollars to U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson with no oversight or accountability.  Something doesn’t compute.

There’s more.  The public is supposed trust that Paulson will do the right thing, make all the right moves, by his little old self.  This country doesn’t have $700 billion for Paulson’s plan, so what we will do is sell U.S. Treasury bonds to China, Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates, Russia, and all the other friendly foreign powers who are owning us a little more every day.  Under Paulson’s plan, he will not only be able to buy the worthless paper of American companies, but also the worthless paper of foreign companies.  The public might want to ask how much the European Central Bank is chipping in to save the U.S. financial sector?

And, of course, it’s all got to be done right this minute.  Here’s an exchange from the The News Hour tonight.  Margaret Warner was interviewing Chairman Chris Dodd, D-CT, of the Senate Banking Committee and Sen. Jon Kyl, R-AZ, of the Senate Finance Committee:

MARGARET WARNER: Quick final word, Senator Dodd, Senator Kyl, does this have to be done this week?  

SEN. CHRIS DODD: Well, it should be done soon. And, again, I think speed is important. But I want to emphasize to you getting it right — we’re going to live with this for decades to come now, so we better do it right, as well.

MARGARET WARNER: Do you think it has to be done this week, Senator Kyl?

SEN. JON KYL: I do. I agree with Chris; it’s got to be done right. But this is one of those things where there is an emergency. And the kind of time that we would ordinarily put into one of these things is not available to us now.

So I think, by the end of the week or early part of next week, we’d better have it done or the market is going to react in a pretty negative way.

Dodd describes the action Congress is poised to take on behalf of Wall Street as something that will have affects for “decades to come.”  Kyl says, “… there is an emergency.”  Is there no middle ground here?  In an emergency, can’t you make a temporary repair to the ship and get it into the shipyard where careful, longer-lasting repairs can be made — where it will acutally be fixed.  Is spending $700 billion from one Friday to the next our only option?

What I wonder tonight is could this be one more set of politicians cramming something (ie. Iraq War) down our throats with fear tactics?  Much has been said about dire consequences without much light shed on just what those negative outcomes would be.  Some have said that because this is essentially a crisis of capital, or liquidity, a meltdown would mean even less capital in the economy.  So, what.  We don’t produce real goods anymore, our growth has been in the financial sector, and we now know that that growth was bogus.  Let the markets take out the trash and let’s start a new game with better rules.

Monday a.m. – Obama, McCain, Foreclosures, Fannie/Freddie, Oil prices

I called it last night …

• Oil rises on tropical storm, other news – Bloomberg

Look here.

• Obama arrives in Basra - New York Times
• Obama lands in Iraq amid troop pullout talk - The Times
• Minor parties a November wild card – Columbus Dispatch
• Some help on way for foreclosure crisis – Columbus Dispatch
• Editorial: To the Rescue – Columbus Dispatch
• Editorial: Taxpayer financed cars for members of Congress – Columbus Dispatch

If they were to make the switch to more economical cars, they could do what Ohio’s state government did and declare the Ford Focus the default car choice.

• Ohio’s unemployment fund on edge of crisis - Cleveland Plain Dealer
• After 2000 McCain learned to work the levers of power – New York Times
• Mideast faces choice between crops, water - New York Times
• Black, female, accomplished, attacked – Washington Post