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America’s Women to Dodd — Size Matters
To: U.S. Senator Chris Dodd
Chairman Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs
Dear Senator Dodd,
As women and as taxpayers, we are writing to you today to tell you that size matters.
Usually we love big. Big boxes of chocolate, big boxes of wine, big - well you know. But when it comes to big banks and big bank bailouts, it's a whole different story.
As you get ready to take up bank reform in your committee next week, we need to talk.
When Congress voted to repeal depression-era Glass-Steagall protections, it put the big banks on Viagra. Since then they have had a big problem and it has lasted a lot longer than four hours.
The top five banks hold 50% of all bank assets. That hurts. They are simply too big for their britches. They have been ramping up those big bank fees, paying out big bank bonuses and spending big bucks on bank lobbyists to defeat reform.
We know what those big banks are telling you - "size doesn't matter." JP Morgan's Jamie Dimon may be cute, but he is just a player. Big bank bravado only leads to big bank bailouts. After spending $4 trillion on the latest one, we simply can't afford to get knocked up for another.
It's better to be safe than sorry. Now is the time to take the prophylactic approach. Your bill needs a hard cap the size of the biggest banks. That right, cap ‘em, shrink ‘em, slice ‘em, dice ‘em. Economist Simon Johnson tells us that no bank's liabilities should be greater than 2% of the nation's Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Did you know Bank of America's liabilities are 14% of GDP? Your teeny, tiny $50 billion bailout fund could leave taxpayers on the hook for trillions if that big boy went belly up.
So be a big man and do the right thing. You can prevent the next crisis and by doing so you will give yourself (and us) a great deal of satisfaction.
Put a real size cap in the bill - the one you have now does absolutely nothing - and put stronger Glass-Steagall protections in place so we are no longer taking chances that are too big and will fail.
- Posted in
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13 Comments so far
Show AllBravo girl friend!
In a 'free market', too big to fail = too big to exist...
Pretty simple actually...
The best thing most citizens can do at present, is to move their financial and banking accounts to a smaller bank or credit union. If they do not have your money, then these over-sized institutions on steriods cannot loose or use YOUR assets as gambling fodder.
"Usually we love big. Big boxes of chocolate, big boxes of wine, big - well you know."
I don't recall my wife ever asking for any of those bigs. How about a big heart to do what's right? Most women do love men who show true compassion for helping others in any crisis including an economic crunch. I hate to say this but Dodd has been in Washington for too long and is totally divorced from reality and has his heart set for the big bucks. Good luck getting him to listen.
Indeed, I think it's a myth that women want everything to be big. Not that we're less greedy than males, but I personally think most people aren't that greedy, or size conscious, period.
As for asking Dodd to Do The Right Thing in a jokey way, it's not likely to work any better than asking/demanding seriously, and how far has that gotten us with any of those bubble dwellers?
As for asking Dodd to Do The Right Thing in a jokey way, it's not likely to work any better than asking/demanding seriously, and how far has that gotten us with any of those bubble dwellers?
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Agreed. Too cutesy-poo.
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Not that we're less greedy than males, but I personally think most people aren't that greedy, or size conscious, period.
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I think the cross-cultural data coming out of revisionist-economists' fieldwork is fascinating: the rich are the only ones who routinely try to behave in unfair ways. Everyone else is happy to be fair, and strongly expects others (except for the rich) to be fair in their turn.
"Homo Economicus" is nothing but another Chicago-school fraud.
Well said and nicely done Mary Bottari! What better metaphor to invoke to get a message through to a Washington DC politician than a sexual one.
It is too bad that your wit and wisdom are being wasted on a lame duck senator who won't be there a year from now.
Like most retiring or defeated party regulars he has probably already gotten himself lined up with a cushy job as a partner with either a law or lobbying firm, or a think-tank fellowship affiliated with the industries his legislative activity has regulated (aka: the revolving door).
Poet
Dodd isn't running again so Rahm can't touch him. The question is whether or not he has the balls to do what's right.
Just a heads up. There has been a lot of talk that the price of precious metals are being manipulated. Hearings into the CFTC were to commence next week.
Today the CFTC announced it was moving into temporary offices because they had sufferred a fire in their basement.
I for one will be keeping my eyes on this story to see if paper records just happened to "burn".
I hope more pople clue in. The CROOKS are in charge.
"There has been a lot of talk that the price of precious metals are being manipulated. Hearings into the CFTC were to commence next week."
I believe they are still on. Bill Murphy, Chairman of the Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee is slated to be a witness at this meeting. You can find more information at ....http://www.gata.org/node/8442....
"When Congress voted to repeal depression-era Glass-Steagall protections, it put the big banks on Viagra. Since then they have had a big problem and it has lasted a lot longer than four hours."
It's been more like 17 years!
By the way, are you aware that "cute" Jamie Dimon, in addition to being the CEO for JP Morgan Chase, also sits on the Board of the Federal Reserve? Do you think there might be a little conflict of interst with that dual role?
Women generally love big and strong, not big and limp. That is the difference, is it not?
"the beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure that she carries, or the way she combs her hair.
The beauty of a woman must be seen in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart - the place where love resides."
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