How much govt. involvement in Wall St., health care, auto industry, banks?
(PHOTO CREDIT: STAN HONDA/AFP/GETTY IMAGES)
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
In calling on Wall St. to back reform - Pres. Obama says he believes in the power of the free market, but he also says: "A free market was never meant to be a free license to take whatever you can get, however you can get it."
The president insists that reform of the financial industry is necessary in order to avoid another crisis - the aftermath of which we're still living through.
He says reform would: Help keep consumers from being "duped" by deceptive financial deals, make complex investment derivatives more transparent, and create a "dedicated agency" to make sure banks don't take advantage of people. The translation of that last part is yet another government bureaucracy.
The president's in a tough spot - trying to convince those on Wall St. to support reforms of Wall St; and he insists the reforms are in the "best interest" of both the country and the industry.
We'll see. The fact of the matter is these calls for more regulation follow government meddling in everything from health care to the auto industry and banks… not what usually comes to mind when you think of free market capitalism.
And not everyone is comfortable with this. A new Pew poll suggests an overwhelming majority of Americans are either frustrated or angry with the federal government... and almost one-third of us see the government as a threat to our personal freedom.
This poll also shows most Americans are against a larger, more activist government... except when it comes to regulating big financial companies.
Here’s my question to you: How much should the government be involved in things like Wall Street, health care, the auto industry and banks?
Tune in to the Situation Room at 6pm to see if Jack reads your answer on air.
And, we love to know where you’re writing from, so please include your city and state with your comment.
@jackcafferty on Twitter
Government shouldn't be involved in any business, as it's involvement picks winners and losers – and most of us are the losers. Government is incapable of planning and regulating our lives to our benefit, only to what they perceive as our benefit.
Why is it that our Founders were so much more intelligent than our current mess of clowns – except for Ron Paul, of course. Why? Because they learned from history, while our current crop refuse to believe that history is anything other than what they want it to be. History will someday prove that the free market brought us our freedom, our liberty, and our wealth. While socialism brought us the dark ages to come...
Only insofar as they do not regulate themselves.
Just like anything, when the crooks and the creeps take over and start behaving with no regard for the betterment of their customers, industry and self reliance, someone needs to step in.
Should cops bust a "business" that's selling illegal goods?
Should the FBI step in and investigate a CEO who's breaking laws that will harm other people?
Yes. They do it currently. Why then should the government turn a blind eye to a bank or an insurance agency that's ripping people off?
Especially when the same industries are quick to grab an easy handout when the house of cards comes tumbling down.
The Obama, socialist party, is taking our freedom away. They are going against our CONSITUTIONAL RIGHTS. They have going overboard voting against our rights as Americans. The government has no buisness in our personal lives. Telling us want we can do, or making us purchase things we do not want. Telling us how to spend our money. Taking our taxes, and spending as they please. As for our President, he is using tax payers money, to fly Airforce one around the country. Using it for campaigning, for the dems. He only cares about 25% of the American people. They no right , with our insurences, our money or in the auto industry.
Keith
Coatesville, PA
I don't know.
Wasn't it Jefferson that said "a government big enough to give you everything you want; is big enough to take everything you have". ?
JerryinGA
I feel a little comfort knowing some one else it overseeing the agencies mentioned. I just wonder if the government is the correct agency or the only show in town. My grreat grand mother just said that damn dog wont hunt,money smells like steak.
Jack,
That's simple: to the extent that it prevents the entire system from collapsing!
Best,
Joseph
Brooklyn, NY
Conservatives claim that the wall street bailouts, GM bailout, healthcare plan, etc. are unconstitutional, and perhaps they are right. But the same argument can be made for SS, Medicare & Medicaid.
If conservatives are honest about wanting to reduce the size of govt, would they be willing to elimate the three biggest TAXPAYER funded Govt RUN programs: Soc. Security, Medicare & Medicaid. Especially since there is nothing in the Constitution that authorizes these socialist programs.
Just for the heck of it, why not refer to the government's constitutional powers? Ignoring it got us into this mess, but there's no chance it'll matter this time either.
Banks/Wall Street – Significant
The rest......
Whatever the people feel is needed in order to protect them unscrupulous business practices.
How about NONE AT ALL.
Our government's duty is to protect the citizens they govern. In this case, it makes sense to do something rather than to do nothing about a problem that is historical in nature. Individual greed, price of stocks and other indicators force the Executives of all corporations to do what they can, even to the point of foolishness in order to keep their job, make bonuses and to hell with the next quarter's figures. That's what happened and that's what will continue to happen unless they are prevented from doing this. I'm not in favor or "big government". If this doesn't work, we can tell Congress to change it. We're still the boss.
george from crofton kentucky
The government should play a part as an overseer or a panel to make sure they follow the rulesbut they should not "run" those industries except for the government, then again maybe there needs to be a panel set upto make sure they follow the rules and the constitution.
The latest debacle should make it very obvious that in an economy which fuels itself on greed, government regulation is required. The banking system worked fine until the repeal of Glass-Steagle in 1999 and that is where we should return, along with strong regulation of the trading of derivatives. The auto industry wouldn't have needed help if the ability to finance auto buying would have been there. The market would have handled the auto industry. Health insurance is different. This is the only country without a national plan and it will break us if it isn't severely regulated or nationalized.
In most cases the federal government should be the referee setting the rules and making sure people play by the rules. So it is fair to prevent Wall Street banks from cheating and without a referee they will cheat. The government should not bail out the auto companies because they were unable to compete in the market and even GM is not too big to fail. Health care is a different issue because it is related to the right to life. A sick person should have to die just because he/she can't afford treatment. Even having to go bankrupt because of a disease is a deprivation of his/her right. In the US, we have to protect that right.
Well, certainly more than Bush and his GOP cohorts were involved.We saw where the laissez- faire approach almost took us, didn't we?
When private industry demonstrates bad faith, concealment, risky and greedy investments, and all the rest, you either have to abolish the company, or set the standards.
One of the reasons the situation is so bad, is because the industry convinced Bill Clinton to set aside controls he should not done.
Once you do the wrong thing, it is necessary to correct that action.
Greed is so out of control in this country, that only major corrections, will work to solve the problems.
Jack, for years all we heard was that there needs to be less regulation. Both parties jumped on the deregulation bandwagon. Now our airlines are bleeding and our economy is just starting to recover from a near Depression. I want to see MORE regulation, not less. I'm tired of wondering where my food comes from, puzzling over whether a toy I buy is safe, watching cars go nuts on their own and so much more. Now the Republicans have decided to back financial reform. Apparently their constituents are not pleased with their pro-Wall St rhetoric. If anyone think the fox is going to stay out of the hen house because they've been told to act honorably, I have a bridge to sell them......
Jack: The government should be involved in Wall Street to stop Goldman-Sachs from advertising an ivestment as great when it is actually a terrible investment. The government should make an opportunity for its citizens to have adequate care without always having going to an emergency room. GM paid back its loan 5 years in advance to the government, but GM will have to generate a good decade of sells for the government to be totally out of their business. The banks need the FDIC to protect themselves and their customers.
Based upon recent history as well as history before the crash of the late 20's, A LOT. The regulatory power needs to be used to keep these self described business persons in check. They have proved beyond any reasonable doubt that they are not able to do so themselves. For example, they are still doing the same things that brought the house down. Go figure??
Government should be 100% involved in those things. There is a myth in the US that government can do no good, but the Obama administration forced the auto-industry to reorganize, which is now beginning to pay off, it stopped insurance companies from arbitrarily denying benefits and excluding people for pre-existing conditions, and it's now re-regulating Wall Street so that its crimes won't go unpunished. Ask yourself, where would we be if the govenment had done nothing?
Each case is different, but when it appears an industry is running roughshod over its customers – health insurance companies denying coverage if you're sick, Wall Street betting against the investments they sold you, etc. – the government must step in to protect the citizens of this country. We are powerless as individuals, but powerful as one entity.
When something doesn't work for everyone, e.g., health insurance, the government should get involved. When greed takes over and money comes before people, the government should intervene and take it over.
As much as it takes! ...this is a new era, these TOO BIG TO FAIL companies have the power and the money to control government decisions...since many of those in congress are on their payroll in some form or other. The average joe has rules and regulations to follow, it's time for these corporate giants to have regulations that keep them in check. No one is above the law, and right now – there are too many freedoms and loopholes for these lawyer driven institutions which allows them free reign.
If the goverment can protect US consumers, than they should do whatever they must, given it's voted for by a majority of 51 in the Senate. Unless there are Executive powers the President can use to stop money hungry, immoral corporations. This is not a corpocracy...yet.
How much should the government be involved in things like Wall Street, health care, the auto industry and banks?
The government should be involved only if the actions of these industries effect the lives of the citizens that the government is suppose to protect.
The government has been spot on in their bailouts, because ultimately they help the citizens. And the government is correct to ensure that the citizens receive health care and that industries have to save monies so they no longer need taxpayer bailouts to survive.
Jenna
Roseville CA
It should NOT be involved in those entities at all, Mr. Cafferty. America is a capitalist, free-market economy based on the philosophy of laissez-faire, the smaller the federal gov't is the better off we all will be. I think that the degree to which a society adheres to capitalism is the degree of its success, including healthcare and the economy.
I want my prescription drugs to come with an FDA approval of safety and effectiveness. I want my automobile to be manufactured according to National Transportation safety standards. And as for the banks and Wall Street, if the taxpayers have to pay for the train wreck, then they have paid for the right to regulate the railroad.
Ed
Texas
Only as much as they have to be. Thanks to the Goverment, many thousands of jobs have been saved, & our automobile industry is already bank from the brink; something unimaginable just 1 year ago. No one expected their loan, (with interest), to be paid in full so quickly. Everyone thought it would take 5 years!
So, GM is alive & very well, under new management. We have a thriving car industry again, because the Government stepped in to save it. They have paid back their debt, much sooner than ever imagined, and the Government is no longer involved. ANOTHER SUCCESS STORY!
That should be the extent of Government aid. This Administration knows when it has to take action, & when to bow out.
Government's role is to protect the people, who rely on the auto industry, and have been victimized by Wall St. and the Healthcare insurance industry. Therefore the government must be involved to whatever degree it takes to strengthen the people and country as a whole.
From Texas. I want the govt. out of my life. Period.
They need complete oversight as they cannot be trusted. Look what has happened since the Right have virtually removed any control. You may call it socialism but it is needed. How far government can be trusted is another question. Too many in Congress have been bought, this has to stop.
They need to set reasonable standards and regulations for all those industries, or you get exploding Pintos (auto industry), a world economic melt-down (Wall St.), targeted rescissions for women with breast cancer diagnoses (health care), or rip-offs like Citibank (banks).
No industry can be left on its own to "do the right thing" because it's been proven time and time again that they won't.
Jack, since we are a government of, by and for the people, and since “things like Wall Street, health care, the auto industry and banks” sponge our middle-class wealth into the global economy, We the People should be involved in regulating those global corporate ”things” at least as much as they are involved in our wallets and polluting our planet!
Jack, the question is not whether they should be involved. The government had to get involved accept maybe for auto industry. Wall Street with companies so large they can bring down our economy and the health care industry with rates rising 10% and more year along with 40 million people without coverage. The government had no choice but to get involved. The republican party would have the gov't do nothing until it's too late to get involved. We're damn lucky we are not in a depression. I hope that's not what it will take for people to open up their eyes and see the road our country is headed down if no action is taken to prevent another Wall Street disaster. There will be no more money for bailouts the next time.
There must be a delicate balance Jack. Too much regulation will hinder the economy. On the flip side, no or little regulation leads to. Fannie Mae, Enron, Goldman sachs. The Gov. Is very necessary! Without it a climate of corruption and greed will be fostered. Which will only hurt the ordinary citizen.
Jack, we have laws governing finance gains, banking, healthcare, and manufactured good...we just need to insure they are followed. Not ignored like the previous administration...who was the guy at the helm them? Damn Oldtimer's Disease! Forgot to get dressed this morning before I went out for the morning newspaper to read what the right-wing neo cup of teas said about our president today. I am sure I'll make print tomorrow, my neighbor has a video cam aimed at me..all the time.
The quick answer is very little. The feds shouldn't be running a car company. They shouldn't be subsidizing healthcare for people making 88K a year. They shouldn't be giving the president full power to take over any company in the US. This is just not the American way. The American people need stop asking what the country can do for them and ask what can they do for the country.
For the same reason the government has an FDA, EPA and Department of Homeland Security there should be an enforceable government regulatory system to safeguard all Americans equally from those few greedy and unscrululous elements who attempt to exploit the common rights of citizens to acheive "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness".
The problem with our Government running anything is that most of them, both republican and democrat, are either incredibly stupid o incredibly crooked. It is most likely the latter!
No sensible or fair minded group would have a tax system of more than 3,000,000 words designed to expand their control of our lives, and to confuse the general public. (Check the work sheet for social security as an example).
Out of 535 members of congress there is not one who would stand up to the rest and "demonize" (a popular word these days), this burdensome and unfair system. It is this fact that appalls me. There's not even one who makes a serious effort!!
Can you imagine a world without govt involment? Think things are bad now get rid of rules and regulations and see how quick the middle and poor class fall and never get up.
tampa, fl only the obvious, they should make our auto industry competitive with the rest of the world by ending free trade agreements and installing tariffs. Banks & Wall St. should not only be regulated (again) but start prosecuting and sending those that commit fraud to jail. Health Care, both the uninsured and insured should join the rest of the civilized world and start giving all Americans free health care. It is time to bail out the legal, taxpaying citizens.
As much as possible. It's about time we truly regulated these entities in our society so that they can't screw the citizens over again. Because of the lack of regulations in the last decade everything has went to hell in a hand basket. We need to get things back in order or we're not going to have a country much longer with all these malitias and crazy Tea baggers wanting to take over, it will truly be Anarchy in the U.S.A.!
Terrence Cain
Big Spring, TX.
I have no clue. In a perfect world~none. Our world is far from perfect, so if Government can genuinely assist positively in these arenas, so be it.
As much as it takes to keep the robber barons honest.
Everyone can see what happens when you leave it up to these industries without strong guidelines. Thanks to the Republicans that let these industries run wild they came close to destroying this nation. The Republicans and their lobbyist buddies made billions of the backs of the average American and that is a damn shame, The Republicans have and continue to be a party that believes they should have total control over ever part of our lives and they should reap all the rewards along with the little evangelical jerks that think they to should be able to tell people how they should live and what is best for them. It's a shame that we've let this country get to this sad state of affairs.
It looks like the government has no choice but to become involved since our legal system obviously hasn't got the courage to address graft,corruption and other crimes.
It is the Government's job to protect the citizens. We were thrown to the wolves in recent years, when it comes to medical prices and financial practices. Now is the time for decent, common-sense regulations that will put the medical system and Wall Street on a sounder footing, while at the very same time helping regular Americans to get back on their feet.
Obviously the government has had to step in on all these greed driven industries. All you Obama haters out there seem to forget the depression, excuse me, I mean recession, Republicans have led us into like lambs to the slaughter. How short the memories are of so many. I may not trust the government so much but I trust these greedy Wall Street and Health Ins. companies less. So yes..get involved and put them in check..Please
Jack
Americans can vote twice once for elected legislators and again when they refuse to accept checks written on the dirty dozen bailout banks or buy a car from TARP Corporations on welfare or Wall Streters who buy sell and trade in the sweat shops around the world
Have the people read the : TARP monthly 105 (a) report for Januaruy Published date February 16, 2010 By the US Treasury, Big Ben Bernanke.
Money claimed to be repaid back to TARP was forgiven and not paid in full as they all are claiming on TV. Just read The Report 105 a for the truth thats not a TV advertisment
Jack I am of the opinion looking at our government owed debt and the past track record of our leaders in congress that they do not need to be involved in trying to run anything. They are no good at it. These folks could not find their own asses in the dark with both hands and a flashlight.
Since the election of President Obama, the government involvement in the auto industry, the economy (TARP & the Stimulus), have been proven to be a win for taxpayers. If health care reform is a win, remains to be seen, as many provisions don't take effect for a few years, but the immediate benefits of the bill have to be a positive. As for Wall Street, anything to help "main street" as opposed to "wall street" has to be seen as a positive. Even the Party of No can see the benefits of financial reform, so that can be seen as a win for government involvement. Marlene in Mich
maybe the question should be how much involvement should lobbyist be allowed in our govt when we are all at work and find out the hard way that we have a failed 2 party monopoly with inherently corrupt officials giving away our future so the shareholders of those mentioned can get a bogus captial gains tax break while we have to pay full taxes to find out our govt gave it all back to the shareholders who didnt work forit..
Lots. Banks cross state lines and are huge. Look at the mess with mortgages we just went through. Its no longer your local banker with a handshake doing your mortgage. As far as Wall Street, just remember the Great Depression. They never learned from that and pretty much showed their true thieving selves in this Great Recession. Health care, way too much at stake for the 'free market' in fact, if you know anything about the free market, health care is the ONE thing that you can't do right on the free market. As far as auto, the industry is too large and has a lot of national security consequences. Remember when Ford turned its plants over to make bombers in WWII? think Toyota would do that? Or Honda?
There is little regulation of banks in the U. S. and last year 140 of them failed. There is regulation of banks in Canada and none has failed. Seems obvious which works better.
Let's face it Jack, if we were an honest nation, we wouldn't need government involvement!!
One of the Government's primary responsibilities is to protect American citizens from enemies, either outside and/or inside our borders, and to uphold the U S Constitution. Subsequently, the Government should get involved to the extent necessary to protect American citizens from practices or policies by any entity/body that collectively threatens U S citizen's health or general well-being as Americans.
These and the oil companies should be tightly controled by government oversight. Banks should be lmited in asset size, so that none can be "too big to fail."
Time for some trust busting, Teddy Roosevelt style.
Business should neveragain be in contol of the government, which is, after all, we the people.
The federal government should be involved as much as need be. The overpaid corporate leaders apparently can not think beyond their wallets. Ideology be damned! The people should be running this country not the elitists of the right wing cult. They have proven themselves incompetent and need adults to save themseles from themselves and us.
Yeah,
The Government's Job should be making the Laws as fair as possible. From then on it is let the buyer beware. If someone goofs they should learn from their mistakes, not the state. Government souuld not be collecting and disbursing money in most cases. But is anyone listening? I doubt it.
To the extent of nationalizing because the right to life, banking, transportation and energy are so funamental that financial considerations are irrelevant in providing service to the citizens.
All of these are now considered too big to fail. In fact, they are too big to control. They are so big that they can impact every facet of our lives...our health, our jobs, our interest rates, and our credit. There is only one entity big and powerful enough to reign in these corporations and that unfortunately is the US Government. Until they can be brought under control, I believe we must insist on as much government intervention as possible.
With Wall street? To the extent they can't manipulate markets and defraud investors.
With health care? To create legislature that assures no American dies due to lack of basic health care as 45,000 did last year, to assure than no American must declare personal bankruptcy due to unpayable medical bills as 900,000 did last year, to assure that no more than 11% of our GDP goes to health care as with other modern countries (Health care in America currently costs 16% of GDP)
Las Cruces, NM
It would be nice to live in a country where those very industries do not prey on the consumer like vultures on road kill. The truth is, if the leaders of those same industries had any morals, integrity, or even a conscience, we wouldn't need government involvement. They have brought it on themselves and their only thing that might save them is that the government is just as corrupt as they are, maybe more.
Preferably government involvement would be at a minimum however, we've seen how "self regulation" doesn't work so for the countries good it has to be involved. Of the four industries you mentioned name one, just one, that has any semblance of reason? As the line in the movie goes, "greed is good", that's the prevailing thought. There is no such thing as to much.
here is your answer. If the Gov. didn't do anything about it we say "what is our Gov. doing while this all collapse?' or if our Gov. involved we say why? and How much?. Jacki you know what they say where i was born? “Nothing will satisfy human, except the sand that is in the grave”
Minneapolis,MN
The government should be acting to protect the people of the United States who are not in the position to protect themselves. Because information flow is unequal, there is the FDIC, the FTC, the FDA, etc. to protect the average person. Beyond that the government has no business protecting business from itself.
So if Goldman Sachs might go bankrupt because it took a risk that AIG wouldn't default on its credit default swaps, then Goldman Sachs should be allowed to go bankrupt.
The people of the United States should not be required to support the lavish lifestyles of the financial business elite funded through outlandish bonuses made possible through the goverment bailout of irresponsible businesses.
It should be involved enough to keep the playing field level – which means there must be a big enough set of regulated firms to keep the regulated firms from calling the shots. Given the number of people in the government from Goldman Sachs, this will be hard to do. I worry more that bailed out firms are in the oil speculation market and that the lack of regulation is allowing them to bid up the price of gas again, with the blessings of the administration. Investigate this one, Jack.
Jack, the government has no business interfering in the operation of private businesses. If laws are being broken, there should be criminal prosecutions. If existing laws are insufficient, then pass new laws addressing the "problem" and if they survive a constitutional challenge, they are the last word. Not the word of people who have never run businesses such as every member of the Obama administration, including Obama himself!
Obviously these Corporations cannot police themselves and must have stiff Federal Regulations to make absolutely certain they are not breaking dozens upon dozens of laws, abusing their employee's and the environment during their push to make hyper-profits.
Recent times have shown that nearly every industry, whether it be the financial markets, the auto industry, or the health care industry, are interested only in increasing their bottom line, to the negligence of the human cost incurred. There is nothing to indicate that these industries will instigate better business practices, and as such it is the imperative of the Federal government, as the guardian of the security of its citizens, to force them to do so.
If they are not going to dismantle Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac,why bother with wall street? I look for health care to be,changed enough to make sense out of it,before they claim it is not affordable and Taxes have to be raised.Saving the Auto industry was nothing more than saving the Union,After all 50+ Billion and they pay back 8 whoopeee.
Jack,
Government involvement should never extend to permanent ownership of industries or banks. Regulation and even temporary ownership through share purchases is justified when it's done to protect the public from disasters wrought by idiotic and/or greedy executives. Obama has it exactly right.
Jim
Reno, Nevada
If Wall Street would not collapse the global economy by treating the system like a weekend in Vegas, they would not need regulation. If insurance companies would honor their contracts and cover their clients, they would not need regulation. If credit card companies would honor their contracts and not raise interest rates for no reason, they would not need regulation. If these people understood that, they would not need me to spell it out.
Jack, those against government regulation of business should read the constitution, which was written by the people in part to "provide for the common defense and to promote the general welfare" of the citizens of this country. Defending its citizens against the outrages and excesses of big business falls in the category of "common defense" just as much as defending it against foreign invasion, don't you think?
It's funny Jack.I didn't recall the health insurance company begging for regulation while it scewed the helpless in this country. I am not surprised the thieves who robbed the helpless retirees pensions are telling the head of our nation to get the hell out of their kitchen while they cook up more poison deals .
In this Nation it has become a matter of everyday life to expect the rich will get richer and screw the working man.
I think the president should concentrate on fixing Washington before he tries to fix Wall Street, health care, the auto industry and banks.
Jack, Based on the mess we are in due to greed of wall street and greed of insurance companies, It is obvious to me the government needs to take alot more control of both Healthcare and Wall Street, and the comprehensive health care bill and proposed finance bill are a good start. As far as the auto industry, they just followed the greed of the American consumer wanting bigger cars, and got caught. The auto industry is regulated enough and is more subject to foreign competition. Bailing them out was more about saving real jobs rather than the bank accounts of the rich.
The Government needs to be involved (and frankly should have started 10 years ago) in monitoring and correcting bad preactices of Wall Street. The government also needs to start enforcing Monopoly laws to prevent any business from becoming "too large to fail".
Some regulation is needed. The government is the regulatory entity in this country. so, I think the government does need too be involoved in the workings of banking and manufacturing in this country.
Of course, we also need the government to NOT be too heavily involved, in order for our free enterprise system to function. It's like anything else, a little goes a long way when it comes to government involvement. And it really depends on QUALITY not QUANTITY.
Do I think that is what we will get? Not a hope!
I would say that we need enough regulations by government to protect us from the crooks.
As much as possible as long as people want to make money off what is a fraud and betting on bad assetts.
Only so much as truth permits.
well government has to be involved at some point. no government equals a big mess. just what has happened .
Jack,
The corporate interests in this country have proven time and again that, left to their own devices, they will do everything in their power crush ordinary citizens (literally, in the case of car companies) in order to further enrich the tiny fraction of the population that owns most of these corporations. The people should be demanding protection from the government. Instead, the corporate hype machine whips up a frenzy of anti-government protest. Woe to my poor, sad, sick, media-dluded country.
I don't think all of this involvement is exactly what Thomas Jefferson had in mind. But,it is the present that needs to be addressed. I think involvement has gone too far but yet I would like to see more oversight and regulation of the financial institutions so we don't repeat the Fall 0f 2008.
Washington has become what we fought a revolution against over 225 years ago - an overreaching, overtaxing, oligarchy.
The role of government is defined in the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution. Perhaps the Democrats should read it.
Steve in Philly
Well Jack I say it like this if Goverment would'nt have bailed out the Big Banks and Wall Street, if Goverment wouldn't have passed a Health Care bill for everyone to have Health coverage, if Goverment wouldn't have bailed out the auto industry and banks where do you think we'd be right now Jack? I'll tell you, we'd be in a Depression, these actions had to be taken in order to not only save our country but to save thousands of people from losing there jobs, homes and investments! I think since Goverment got involved and did what it did when it comes to banks, wall street, health care and all that they did a great job and I don't regret anything Barack Obama does because it makes sense Jack!
Scott Stodden (Freeport,Illinois)
I live in New York. Here, Bloomberg has seen fit to regulate what people can and can't eat and/or drink. By comparison, what this administration wants to do is pretty mild. They're just putting guidelines back in, after they'd been taken down by the previous administration. A free market economy is good, provided it doesn't extend into the criminal practices we've been subjected to, and I can't afford to help bail any more billionaires out. I think Ali Velshi already made the comparison, but this is very much akin to city traffic. I'd rather have some lights at the corners. Otherwise, you'll just have to cross at your own risk, and you may recall where that philosophy got us.
Tim
NYC
Jack;
I have to believe that the only way to stop the monster "too big to fail" banking institutions from their criminal betting activities IS government involvement; however, these same instituions are spending copius amounts of money to change the equation(s),
Why do I feel that Congress has been comprimised?
Corporations have always been trying to pick our pockets but now it has gone to a new level. Wall Street uses high speed computers to jump ahead of people like us to make their profits. Banks use data mining to decide if you are getting into financial trouble. Insurance companies use algorithms to decide when to rescind you health insurance. Even Alan Greenspan admits he was wrong thinking that Wall Street and the banks were responsible enough to police themselves. If Washington doesn't do it then we'll all be right back here in a few years.
David
Gainesville, VA
Jack, the government should play a much larger role in the nation's economy than it does in order to protect the country from the excesses of the free enterprise system. I believe that government has a constitutional duty and right to provide for the common defense of and promote the general welfare of the United States and its citizens. A national healthcare system, sound regulation of the financial system and a strong social insurance system protects the American people are the attributes and function of the federal government. All Americans should respect their federal government. I do.
Well health care is now at moot point.
Not at all in the auto industry.
Some in wall street.
Some in banks.
I absolutely agree with President Obama. The fact of the matter is that this Wall Street reform bill is not as tough as the former regulations, that "W" and company got rid of. The immorality and unethical aspects of dirivitives need to be closely regulated by the government to prevent another near collapse. And the private healthcare corporations are one and the same blood suckers as the Wall Streeters.
The idea of a free market is a great one but, when the crooks are allowed to write the law and the contracts you get a crooked system without some type of government regulation. How much you ask? Enough to protect the consumers from unscrupulous behavior and keep the crooks half way honest. I think that the frustration comes from the consumer experiencing how little regulation there is when they have lost so much and, now they are wondering why the government did not protect them from this type of behavior. A Wall street firm cannot be allowed to sell a consumer stock in a company and then bet that the company will fail with another firm and call it a derivative. Talk about having your cake and eating it to! We need to get this type of activity in line now.
I think a simple fix to the situation would be getting control of credit default swaps (cds) When a company like Goldman Saks makes a risky investment they get their butt protected by securing a cds from a company like AIG. When the deal goes sour Goldman is paid by AIG to cover the loss. Now when AIG does not have sufficient funds to cover all the cds's their sales people have generated when the market goes sour AIG has to pay up but they don't have the cash. There should be a requirement that the company that issues the cds must have in their possession US treasury notes in amounts sufficient to cover the potential loss. I may not have the number exactly right but when WE paid AIG they in turn paid Goldman over 12 billion dollars. AIG should not have been allowed to accept this type of exposure and place US in that type of situation, Goldman should have been forced to accept a good portion of those losses instead of paying bonuses with our money.
Jack,
In the US there is a law against armed robbery. To enforce this law the government has created a massive bureaucracy called “The police department”. In addition to this massive waste of government funds Billions of dollars are allocated every year to help another bloated bureaucracy, “The courts” operate with impunity.
Give me a break Jack. If government doesn’t play referee than all you get is dirty players.
Derivative...... A high Stake Poker Chip. Wall Street needs Reform. Greed cares about no one. The American Public should be concerned when their elected officials ( GOP ) doesn't want to protect the masses only protect who lobby them. If they are conducting business fairly, lawfully and with common sense, why would they not want to be transparent.
Enough to protect every American citizen from the corporate greed that has been going on In America these past ten years. We are fast becoming a third world country. Instead of bailing corporate America out they would go to jail.
Jack, this financial "reform" is just another government joke. Everyone knows that any regulations you can set up will NOT stop someone from figuring out how to circumvent the regulation and do something to make more money, legal or illegal. Wall Street will rapidly develop new innovative ways to manage money, stocks, & wealth that will sooner or later lead to another crash that noone will see coming. People like Senator Dodd and Obama who believe that bigger government is the answer to every problem are stupid. Bigger government is only one thing, a way to spend more taxpayer's dollars and get less for it. This includes Health Care, the auto and bank bailouts, and most of the rest of the Democrat's agenda.
Government involvement in the auto industry should be minimal, but the other three it is absolutely necessary. the financial mess we are in is the result of removal of regulations put into place after 1929 to keep that disaster from happening again. Wall street and banking is primarily a paper manipulation business and is extremely vulnerable to con artists.
the health industry must be taken out of the hands of insurance and drug companies so that doctors are free to use their skills. the food industry as well because it creates the climate for diseases to flourish and the drug companies stand in the way of cures. let's quit allowing corporate executives from being appointed to the USDA, FDA and FTC to regulate the industries they are a part of.
You can't get it both ways in this situation, you don't want the feds to get involved - fine, just don't expect the banks to start "caring" for the people - let them stay the course and continue with Bush era deregulation that caused this financial industry disaster in the first place. Who's gonna watch the banks if it isn't gonna be the government? I'd take the lesser of two evils and go with my president, thanks.
Jack, pardon my ignorance but did free market and capitialism make us great? I recall railroad barons, and stock barons, and cattle barons, in our past and yes they did cross the line but we went forward. What I see now is government laws in place that have rarely been enforced. Will this new regulation be the same thing? All we need is more beuracracy costing the taxpayer more to have less effectiveness. I would like to frankly tell Mr. Obama to get the hell out of everything! However long he's in office will cause me a lifetime of stress, trouble, and loss of spendable income (which I don't have) in repaying the phony money we've spent into the next millineium.
Jack,
If you do not agree that the financial institutions need to be regulated and monitored, than you belong with the radical, support big business republicans that are willing to sacrifice us and our country for personal gains and goals. You support what these fianancial institutions did and are doing to the American people, thumbing their noses and getting richer every day, at the cost of ruination for many.
You never cease to amaze me with your complete turn around from the Jack that use to be.
Government is involved in practically every aspect of life. Regulating everything from drivers lic., product quality, food production, insurance industry, stock market regulation, automobile safety, etc.
None which are inherently bad, without government intervention there would be absolute chaos. Regulation is not control, it is like the rules for a football game or hockey game, etc.
Absolutely government should regulate these vital industries. Simply because they depend on the public at large and can put the shaft to them and surely would without some regulations and/or laws.
CSB
Toronto Canada
Absolutely none. No license for Doctors. No interference with a good monopoly. No safety requirements for Autos and no speed laws for highways. Let banks merge with local loan sharks, and let food and drug companies regulate themselves.
Go after those crooks and go after them big time! Remember the subprime mortgage that nearly drove this country bankrupt? Wall Street is C R O O K E D with a capital C.
Enough to significantly reduce the fraud and corruption that steals life savings, that kills small businesses and eliminates their jobs, that forecloses on homes that were affordable under the original interest rates.
License to steal is too much license.
I would argue the gov't has been very conservative with its involvement, just reactionary at best.
Gov't seems to only get involved after the industry has already screwed over the public in some way. To the denying of medical care to so many, the diminishing 401k's and foreclosures on so many homes, our govt has only increased involvement AFTER these industries have taken so much from the average citizen.
Omnibus Bill: Clinton it was wonderful: isn't that what got us here? Lets really think about this why are banks in the business of banking?
Had the government regulated banks, insurance, and securities, provided health care so 48,000 Americans would die a year from lack of insurance, and required car companies to produce fuel efficient vehicles that could be exported- we wouldn't be in this mess. It was lack of government involvement and not too much that was the problem.
With all the corruption going on, it is amazing there is a state in the Union that is trying to follow the Law of the Land! Congratulations Arizona for being LAWFUL!
I would like to say “Not at all”. However, as long as humans are seduced by greed and power, we need government involvement to protect us from those who grab for all they can get, those who take advantage of others, those who care only for themselves, those who are lacking in self-control, character and integrity. While government cannot cure the ills of mankind, it can limit to a degree the excesses of Wall Street, health insurance companies, the auto industry and banks. What you perceive as government meddling I see as shielding the public from deception.
Government needs to stay out of it!! What happens with Fannie, Freddie and AIG! Let's get real! People were encouraged by the government to buy homes they couldn't afford! Credit rating agencies were told by the government to look the other way. Come on please!! The government can't regulate itself what makes anyone believe they can regulate banks. REALITY BITES
It used to be that the government would look out for the interests of the nation by investing in industry, creating jobs, providing loans, regulation and so on. Doing so created revenue, and a place to invest our pensions. But then deregulation allowed banks to gamble with our pensions in derivative trading instead of investing in our nations industry. And, our manufacturing base was outsourced. Leaving the people with no jobs, no pensions and no tax base for the government.This is the result of NOT having government involvement in the the interests of our nation. The only exception during the last ten years was the illegal invasion of Iraq for the sake of oil. That is the sort of government involvement that we can do without.
This is a gradual step toward Socialism.Slowly but surely !
Jack, I can agree that the government should stay out of our business for the most part. However, when the leaders of an industry prove themselves irresponsible and greedy then someone acting for the greater good of all needs to step in and clean things up and then get out.
Without someone with a big stick watching, the companies in question will act in their own interests and take advantage of us.
As much as it needs to be involved to protect the People's interests.
I expect government to protect us from financial ruin due to out of control greed. To watch people lose everything because Wall Street gamed the system, kept their winnings, had us cover their losses, and then rewarded themselves spectacularly was an injustice I may never get over. And where does one begin on for-profit health care? Our value is now based solely on profits and losses. It’s obscene.
No mention of General Motors paying back all the funds they were subsidized with. That this money kept thousands upon thousands of people from losing their jobs and suppliers, etc going out of business.
Or that the financial institutions are largely responsible for our country's and the worlds near financial collapse with the free rein the had for years, letting them legally rape the American people. And that they continue to thumb their noses at us with their billions in bonuses.
And, health care that will no longer allow insurance companies to discriminate, cancel, rob the American people.
Nothing short of government intervention will right all the wrongs that have been committed. If you trust Wall St, the health care entities more, than go for it, Jack.
They should set some ground rules to ensure competition and to prevent a "too big to fail" bail out, but other than that they should stay out. Unfortunately the government is arrogant and wants to pick the winners which they are not capable of.
regulate wall st., and leave the rest to us. Whenever government expands, liberty contracts.
It's really funny when the fox watches the henhouse. Obama took how much in contributions? Oh yea, 994,000 dollars that is!
Dear Jack,
It's plain and simple – the government should only be involved with big business to regulate them so that they'd play fairly! The government should not in any circumstance forgive big business for their mistakes – that's the same thing like letting a child run wild and not teaching them right from wrong. Oh wait, I forgot – they ARE children!
Washington is supposed to regulate interstate commerce. That is the only role they should have in a free market.
The government should ensure that there is fairness in our free market system and the only way to do that is regulation; they should not do that through owning any companies. When it comes to healthcare I take a harder stance because care has become unaffordable without insurance therefore we should not allow companies to decide who gets that care based on their profits.
The Government should get involved as much as necessary to protect the economy and the American people. The people who say otherwise just want to protect their own wallet in the short term, or are too deluded by the rhetoric from the nutty right.
As much as needed to protect taxpayer dollars and limit the lawlessness of rampant greed in this free society.
Jack, the Federal Government needs to be as involved on the front-end - as it might take - so they wouldn't need to be involved on the back-end with, for examp[le, civil investigations by the SEC or criminal indictments by the Department of Justice. If a person or business doesn't have a conscience, then at some point, the Federal or State government will need to be involved.
Jack,
Our government should be involved as much as it takes. Fix what's wrong, pull back, pull out and move on! Too many Americans wrongly believe that the government wants to control things until the end of time, when in reality our government does not dominate our society, it guides our society and holds it together.
Jack – "We the people" are dumb. We denounce govt, but guess we either have the attention span of a 1 year old (suddenly we need financial reform-where we were before on this??) or we like govt when it does stuff for us (witness even Republicans WANTING more funding for NASA to preserver GOVT jobs–huh?). What our Congress does simply reflects our own stupidity
The big banks have shown that they are not mature enough to handle the free market. EXAMPLE: I once lifted my 16-year-old son's curfew. After two days he didn't come home. Obviously I was wrong. He has a curfew again now.
Government should not be involved in big business. The people running these companies are among the most honest you will find, especially in the Health Care and Banking Industries and also on Wall Street. These people will always think first about the people whose money has been entrusted to them. TRUST ME JACK.
Little by little the government is intruding into every aspect of our lives. And the "big" media is letting it get away with it. Nobody wants to tell this guy (Obama) to get out of town.
Good afternoon, Jack. There's always some fraction of us who believe our government is threatening our personal freedom, but I honestly don't care if I lose my "personal freedom" to be screwed over by unethical health insurance practices and unscrupulous wall street bankers.
I've worked in the health care insurance industry for years and I can tell you that we have two choices: government-run health care, or insurance executive-run health care. It's the same way with big business. If we're going to have huge corporations, we have to have a government big enough and strong enough to regulate them. Because, without regulation, they've shown us the kind of destruction they will visit on our country. Without government regulation, we're all at the mercy of those greedy, double-dealing CEOs who won't hesitate to rob us.
Government should to protect us from enemies, from the bad financial sector, provide good education, keep our infrastructure in good condition, provide healthcare for the poor, elderly, and veterans, and police business and financial institutions.
But we don't want to pay for it!!
I'm all for some federal regulation of entities like health care, banks, and wall street. I am NOT for government controlling and funding them. Entities that are "too big to fail" deserve government regulation because they pose a threat to regular people, but when the government controls these industries – our country moves closer to totalitarianism and further from a democratic republic.
I voted for Obama because I thought he was going to change the way politics works, not to take over and control every aspect of my life.
They should be involved in every way. And if some of these "Retarded" people don't want the Federal Government involved, ask them are they willing to give up their Social Security, Medicare and other government programs they are enjoying right now?
We have a government to oversee the things that go wrong. Isn't that why our federal courts exist? You can't kill government, it just needs fixing like Wall Street, and all of the other corrupt institutions in this country. Fix the government so that it can work the way it was meant to. I do not hate government – I have corrupt politicians, lazy bureaucrats. That system needs to be overhauled as much as private companies do. If the government worked as it should the world would not look so dismal.
The government has three purposes: 1) national defense, 2) upholding the Constitution (and as part of that, ensuring individual rights are not violated), and 3) levying taxes to pay for the first two. That's it - that's their entire charter. They should butt out of everything else.
Only as much as it will take to prevent another ENRON, Lehman, AIG.
The problem is Congress cannot reform Health Care, Wall Street, Broadway or anything else, until Congress reforms Congress.
Term limits, Tax reform with no loop holes, Lobbying, etc. Eighty percent of what I hear from the lips of the leaders of the opposition party are LIES.
We have the best government that Big business can buy with lobbying.
it all depends jack. whens the next time you want a world bending recession? Wallstreet taking dangerous unprecedented risks is a given. it all depends on how much we don't want an economic down turn.
The private sector has shown that it can't be trusted to work for its purported goals. We have too many examples of ineptitude and power-mongering and greed. Doesn't anyone remember learning about what happened before the trust-busting and regulations of a century ago? Those constraints against runaway greed saved our country, enabled competition and helped create the middle class.
Jack, we need both the private sector and the Feds to each do its part to establish honesty and create goods and services. It's called "checks and balances".
The government should be involved in EVERYTHING to the point of REGULATION ONLY. The 'hands off' and 'let the market conditions prevail' attitude of the right has proven a dismal failure... just like Reagan's famous 'trickle-down' theory. If the market is allowed to do as it pleases, individual GREED will take over to the detriment of the people. On the other hand, if government is allowed to be everything to everyone from cradle to grave, we will spiral down into the cesspool of bankruptcy.
The Government is the People's only voice in dealing with the banks & insurance companies. If the government does not intervene on our behalf, as was the case with the Republicans, all hell breaks loose and the walls come tumbling down. Our only hope is that the government will help protect us from the obviously-greedy-with-no-morals banks and insurance companies. More government? Hell yes! WE choose our government. And in my experience, government does most things very well.
At this juncture, as much as possible. Insurers and Financial institutions need close supervision and overhaul. Their obsession with the "bottom line" has and will continue to create havoc for the rest of us all over the world. At the same time, the government should have a committed exit strategy with ongoing monitoring of safeguards in place after these industries have learned how to operate responsibly on their own. Change is essential.
Don Phoenix, Oregon
To a limited extent in all areas, but I'm anxious to see the fight Wall st will put up considering the big fight the insurance companies put up against healthcare reform. You go for it Obama we're right behind you!!! Texas for Obama
It's this simple: the government should be involved as much as the private industry forces it to be. Think of government like a lion tamer at the circus. When the lions start trying to eat people in stands, the lion tamer cracks the whip. Now, how do figure supposed to work if you tell the lion tamer they don't get to have the whip? We know from how they behaved that the lions are pretty wild if you let them be. So we better make sure that guy has himself a good whip, otherwise some innocent folks are gonna eaten alive, all over again.
We tried giving these folks free reign, look what they did with it. Time to reign 'em in.
Most people would say they don't want Govt involvement in any of these areas, but the reality is harder for people to swallow. If banks and financial institutions acted responsibly and had more ethical and moral standards, then they wouldn't have to have the government regulating them and creating laws to protect citizens from the corruption. Same goes with the health insurance. The premise is simple. Don't rip people off and expect to get away with it all the time. This is not capitalism, its corporatism.
My deceased husband managed a stock brokerage. When the Glass-Steagal Act was revoked, he said that we would have the banks do the same thing they did before the Great Depression: gamble with their clients money, who had not agreed to gamble. The banks did this when they were allowed to be involved with investments, now we have the current crisis. The solution is not to give centralized federal government more regulatory power, it is to eliminate the problem as the former generation did: a new Glass-Steagal Act.
No, the government should not be involved in regulation of the financial industry at all. I've always wanted to experience the trhill of a genuine bank panic like my great grandfather had to deal with. Knowing the money is in my account when I go to withdraw is just too boring. Burying it in the backyard is much more exciting. This is why we have free markets...
As much as is necessary to make sure that what happened this past year never happens again. Also, it is very important that regulations be put in place that cannot be circumvented. The more regulations passed and highly monitored, the better off this country will be in the future. Regulations worked for many, many years and then all of a sudden certain individuals believed that they were not needed or could be by-passed. WELL, that certainly helped this country, didn't it? Hopefully, regulations will once more be put in place without any loopholes that can be walked through like a wide open door.
With the exception of the auto industry, the government should be involved in the rest of them enough to keep them honest. We have seen what eight years of mostly non-involvement or blind involvement has produced. The auto industry was never really regulated and died on its own. We should get out of that project as soon as possible, hopefully keeping the jobs in tact in these fragile times.
The government needs to be involved to the point that enforces reasonable guidelines to ensure fairness and responsible conduct. Because we have seen the effects of unfettered capitalistic greed...it will eventually devour itself, causing unnecessary severe hardships among its people and consequentally, the federal government's bottom line.
We depend on our government to protect us and take care of us. Americans have run rampant overspending, overeating, and relying too much on credit cards. We are out of control and our congress proves it. The mess the last administration left for us tells me that congress can't take care of itself let alone our government. It's time for them to step back and ask questions about what the right course should be rather than assume they know best. A little humility is in order for both houses. If Wall Street isn't reigned in, we will continue to live under the thumb of big business. That isn't freedom or security. If it takes government intervention to stop the bleeding, then so be it. If Wall Street can't clean up it's act, then someone needs to do it for them. I'm tired of being robbed.
Since the days of Teddy Roosevelt we, as a nation, have acknowledged that unbridled capitalism aligns the power of the wealthy against the interests of the not-wealthy. Government has seen fit to regulate anti-trust activities, securities fraud, food & drug purity, and the list is long. We are now correcting the rampant abuses health insurance companies have heaped on many of us. We have seen that the repeal of Glass-Stegall–a reduction in government regulations that grew out of the Great Depression, contributed to the Great Recession. In short, the notion that markets should be free and unregulated is a naive obfuscation of history. We should not be wed to a doctrine such as unbrideled capitalism when that doctrine results in harm to people and the economy. We should be wed to taking measures that help people, even at the expense of Wall St., insurance companies, and banks.
How about we repeal all the paws written over the last 40 years that deregulated the oversight and caused this problem? I remember when banks & savings and loans were very separate entities and restricted as to the type of business they were allowed to do. Now I see why that was a good thing! Michael in North Redington Beach, Florida
Tucson, AZ – Free market theory is just that, theory. In practice, wholly free markets do not exist, and market players always have the ability to cheat the buyers if there are no rules at all. That is exactly what "Wall Street" did during the G W Bush Administration – played the public for suckers, sold crap investments as if they were as good as gold, and bought insurance to guarantee no losses to themselves which we, the public wound up paying for with taxpayer money. It is government bureaucracy that prevents the sale of poison in food and drugs, and it is government bureaucracy that provides our national security. The only real purpose of government is to protect the public from robbers, swindlers and thieves. Reform of the sort proposed is NECESSARY to prevent these swindlers from crashing the economy this way again. That is the truth.
I don' know about the others but wall st needs to be reigned in, if oil had not been pushed up to $150 a barrel, a lot more people would have jobs, if jp morgan had not raped jefferson county alabama with the refinancing of a sewer system that was originally $250 million and is now $1.8 billion due to criminal refinancing, more people would have jobs and food on their table, but than again Jamie Dimon probably needs a few more yachts, but what he has really earned is a jail cell.
At this juncture, as much as possible. Insurers and Financial institutions need close supervision and overhaul. Their obsession with the "bottom line" has and will continue to create havoc for the rest of us all over the world. At the same time, the government should have a committed exit strategy with ongoing monitoring of safeguards in place after these industries have learned how to operate responsibly on their own. Change is essential.
I am all for gov't involvement in Wall st, health care, auto industry, and banks. Just look at what they have done to the american people and economy going unregulated, I am all for the free market but a free market is not a excuse to take advantage of people with back door deals and fine print writing. Its time to take back our country from those that would swindle it away for pride and profit. REFORM IS A COMING BOYS, GET READY CAUSE HERE IT COMES!!!!
The government's involvement should be no more than those of "referees" in those industries, just like they have in football to insure that the players are following the rules. Otherwise, you're just playing "Australian Rules" football like we did when we were kids... no rules, and someone always got hurt.
As a Canadian I feel sorry for America that it lives in so much fear of its government. It is so much that it is literally destroying your nation. The current economic system is such failure yet far too many insist on still using it. For quality of life America is ranked near or at the bottom in the Western world.
I think one of the main reasons for this is that the other nations of the West are primarily democracies while the USA is not. People have more of a say with their governments under a democracy than under a republic. The founding fathers made the wrong choice, even though they choose a republic because they didn't want to give the average American the power being a democracy would.
Canadians don't fear our government, it fears us. With one non-confidence vote a government can change overnight. Canada is a Parliamentary Democracy.
Politicians and the media love to confuse civil liberties rights with the rights of corporations. Bailouts and federal regulations are two completely different topics and lumping the two in this questions is idiotic. Instead of treating corporations like people and people like consumers we should treat corporations like businesses and people like people.
Keep an eye on Wall st. and banks, and only watch Auto and Health when they fall away from the healthy marks. Where is the free medical for our economy? Iets make them pay their own bills, and not push it of on the tex payers... Oh wait, that would mean that the goverment might lose the money these people send them, they won't give up $3.50 for us, so thats never gona happen.
I want to see reform in temp job services, they are stripped of any benefits, while only paying slavery style wages and all jobs in my area only go through temp services.. hmm if i got paid more, maybe i would be able to put more money in the economy.. factories and other companies use temps as they wish, and if they want to get rid of ya, they can with no reason what so ever. There should be some kind of reform in that department and spread out what is fair. temps keep this Country moving, if not more than others. and no companies what to hire in, if they can just get temps without worrying about giving them benefits or insurance. to me this is the same as what China does when it comes to cheap labor.
The answer to how much the government should be involved in things like Wall Street, health care, the auto industry and banks is easy in my opinion. The government has make sure that corporate CEO's and executives are operating and behaving honestly and the givernment also has to make sure that the playing field is level for average, every day people. In other words, the free market should be allowed to operate but it has to operate on an honest and a level playing field. That is not Socialism or Communism, it is just plain common sense in my opinion!
If you like complete unreliability, any thing goes, rip-off the suckers appropach to finance, you want to keep things as thy are. Actually, everything is regulated – if it is allowed, the government enforces the ability to persue the mode of operation, the alternative is anachary. Talk about too much government regulation is a red herring.
If the previous government had done its job, Mr. Obama would not have needed to take all these decisions – at this point in time, he has no choice but to do what he is doing.
Everyone who wants this country to remain free needs to realize that along with freedom comes responsibility. If banks, businesses or any other entities are not behaving responsibly, they will invite government intervention. Leaders of business and industry behaving irresponsibly – taking advantage of the people for their own personal gain – is one of the biggest threats to our freedom.
The market crashed because of one word.....greed. That greed was reflected in other areas as well. Housing. WHy should anyone get a mortgage without putting at least 20% down? Since when is owning a home a "right"? The politicians put pressure on banks to lend money to those who don't qualify. The previous administration did little to curb the excess, and the present administration has not mitigated it but in my opinion, exacerbated it.....all in the name of "populism". "A chicken in every pot....etc" Fine. But first, go buy and hatch some eggs
Now GM stands for Government Motors (read taxpayer bailout). WHat if GM failed? What if the banks failed? Isn't that what "free enterprise" is all about? We have the right to FAIL!
Yes, we have an intrusive and seemingly omnipotent federal govt.
Ben Franklin said "those who would sacrifice freedom for safety deserve neither". 'Nuff said.
If individuals and companies were perfect, we wouldn't need government. But we're not perfect; we're human and subject to human foibles, such as greed. That's why we need regulations and laws from an impartial third party such as our government to help keep us on the straight and narrow. The problem is, our government is becoming less and less impartial. It is run by humans too, and many times they make decisions based on what will benefit them and their interests and not the country as a whole. So we as a nation are between a rock and a hard place: we can't trust big business without regulations, but we also can't trust our government to do the regulating.
Arnold from Los Angeles
There is an inverse relationship between the size of government and the amount of freedom.
Not so much involvement but regulation and oversight is needed to control businesses that operate with a lack of social responsibility and ethics. It's a social tragedy that businesses have become so unethical and greedy that they need to be regulated to protect our consumer society and economy from them. If a business conducts it's afairs with an ethical conscience then they shouldn't be affected by regulation. The businesses that will have their profits compromised by regulation of ethics and blind greed are probably the ones crying foul.
And while they're at it, they should include the OIL industry. IF anything hurts and continues to hurt the low to middle class. it is the way the oil companies manipulate the price of oil. They should only be allowed a certain rate of return on investment as was done with ATT before 1984. 7% would be ideal............
There is definitely too much government involvement in our lives. Patriotic citizens are made fun of by many sectors of the media for calling the practices of this White House socialism. If you look up the definition of socialism the definition reads in part as follows: "Socialism is a political philosophy that encompasses various theories of economic organization, including the organization of economic institutions and method of resource allocation." If the shoe fits.....OR ....If it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck....Many Americans are not stupid and can see what's happening.
Wallstreet has proven that it cannot monitor itself. We would not consider it good for casinos to go without regulation, lest the take advantage of its customers, and the negative effects of wallstreet are more devistating than any casino could ever be. Wallstreet should not need to be convinced, I'm sure that the casinos did not want regulation either; however, ANY restrictions put in place should be as UN-restrictive as possible. The same rules apply to the banks, as they are as imbedded in wallstreet tactics as any hedgefund.
Healthcare, on the other hand, ought to be a basic human right; otherwise why would we be helping countries such as Haiti in their times of need? If it wasn't we would just be shaking our heads and wondering why they did not have earthquake insurance.
Helping the autocompanies was pure protectionism... plain and simple.
I think that the government should be involved in health care, banks and other industries that directly impact the economy. We have seen the horrible things (greediness at the expense of others) these industries have done to our economy, and healthcare system with little to no government involvement. Now, it is time to regulate them and protect hard working Americans. We do not live in a purely capitalistic society – if we did we would not have a police force, the VA, state colleges/univ, medicare and firefighters in our communities.
Renee
CT
How much government? Do you have to ask? Just enough, Jack.
Just enough to keep Capitalism working, and not running amok. Not too much, not too little. Just like Goldilocks, not too hot, not too cold; Just right!
Duh! Is it me that is dumb, or is it the question?
I believe in a free market system, however the individual needs protection from large corporations that can take advantage of individuals at any time. To my mind the government is responsible for maintaining a level playing field so that there is balance between the two. Government should pursue regulation in any business where the average citizen can be taken advantage of.
Ray
Addison, TX.
Jack, I think the Gov't should be involved as much as it takes to insure the average American to have the 3 things that the Constitution guarantees:
Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness without allowing some creepy corporate math-whiz to snooker our savings out of us.
the only involvement government should have at this point is to look at laws they passed over the years, and going backward look closely to see where government to a large extend created the problem, then repeal, or redo those laws that have a proper basis rather than pilling additional laws on top of bad ones. It just creates bigger government and no one knows anymore what is legal and not legal anymore.
Jack: I predicted this mess before George W. Bush was re-elected. So much of this was because Bush used 'signing statements' against the Constitution. ("Conservatives" take note!) It's so unfortunate that all of this started years before Barack Obama entered office.
We had laws on the books that simply were not enforced.
Follow the trail of our financial 'bailout'. The real people we should be going after are no longer in office and have absconded with trillions of our tax dollars with their scare tactics.
The regulations that were put in place after the Great Depression must be restored. The mythsthat Ayn Rand and others have made us all believe got us into this mess.
anything the federal government is a part of usually fails, so keep them away from free inter prize, but there should be some stiff penalties for companies, banks etc, for inappropriate actions, if they do, all involved should be charged with a treasonous crime, all of the above companies, banks, industries, that are so called to big to fail should be dealt with the possible destruction of the American way of life. Enough of just a fine and slap on the wrist mentality we take with them
Jack, I want the financial regulations we used to have RESTORED! Bring back Glass-Steagall! Bring back the sensible commodity-trading restrictions we used to have!
I disagree with your characterization of financial regulation as "government meddling". I want some rules so we little minnows are protected from the big sharks. For example: I don't want Goldman Sachs and other big traders manipulating the commodities markets anymore. Why don't you ask your viewers this question instead of the one you posed: How many are in favor of $4 per gallon gas so Goldman Sachs traders can buy a few more Ferrari's?"
Jack, someone mentioned it was Bill Clinton's fault. This goes to show that person hasn't done their research. No regulations needed? I guess the USDA and FDA should stop regulating our food supply so more of us could get sick. as for financial regulation, yes! This all began 30 years ago when Reagan deregulation began, continued with Glass Stealgall repeal as well as the 2000 changes in the derivitive mkts with Sen. Grahams name (and the Republican Congress) all over both bills (and yes, Clinton signed both into law), to Bush's hands-off/look the other way policy toward the markets. There is blame on both sides but deregulation is a conservative ideal. Additionally, lobbying money has corrupted the federal govt. Jefferson warned against this and it has come true. We need campaign finance reform now!
Unfortunately, a hand full of CEO's and investors have forced our economy into a desperate cituation. Our only chance of financial survival is to have government play a much bigger role. It's sad that a few extremely greedy people have left us no choice but to sacrafice a small amount of our freedom in order to avoid future recessions. I'm just glad that such a role would be lead by Obama as oppossed to our previous presidents!
The government should provide just enough services to keep us safe, well and healthy. Some would say that the measure of a government is in how well it treats it's poorest people. If our government continues to allow dangerous and even fraudulent Wall Street companies to take advantage of Americans and cause another severe economic decline where people in our most vulnerable areas loose their jobs and homes, then would our government really worth it? We need Wall Street reform just as much as we need politicians to give us a straight-forward and serious debate about the policies being discussed. The very idea that any single bill will "fix" or "destroy" America is just absurd. America is to strong to fall or be destroyed by any legislation, just the same as any bill cannot magically fix everything. It takes time to fix things, especially in a large country like America.
-> Aaron. Columbia, Missouri
Polls show people are confused. The same polls that show that people want a smaller government, leff involvement of the federal government in their lives and such laissez faire policies also show that people don't want to give up their social security benefits, want the government to regulate lead in toys from China, want the government to better regulate meat production, etc. The slogan of supporting the "free market" sounds good, but the reality is that we want the government to guard against the excesses of big business.
Without the government stepping in to save us from Wall St. selling worthless bonds, backed by very worthless AIG insurance, and then stimulating our economy so we didn't drive off a cliff, we would all be living in an economy like Haiti's. Thank God the government was there to save us. Thank God the government is cleaning up the health insurance strangle-hold. Now let's regulate Wall St. so they can't hurt us again.
As James Madison said, "If men were angels, no government would be necessary." Unfortunately, Wall Street and big business are not full of angels.
What short memories we have. I remember that when Ronald Reagan deregulated the Savings and Loan it led to a government bailout. When we deregulated the Leveraged Buyout Industry, it led to recession. We deregulated the Oil and Gas Industry and we got Enron and nearly put California in bankruptcy. The SEC under President Bush believed that the "market will regulate itself" and look what we got.
We have to remember that the financial industry is about making money for themselves. Without regulation greed will win out and we will just have to face new and bigger problems in the future.
Stuart Davis, Merrick, NY
Life is full of competitions where there are winners and losers Think of what a sporting competiton would be like with no rules and no referees or umpires. How long would the result be interesting to watch or to bet on, much less be of public value? The rule makers and the rule enforcers don't "own" the competion, they just provide a level playing field. Wall Street and banking are competitions. They need rules and enforcers.
Finally you've got a US government with a brain.
The rest of the world has been waiting many years for this.
As much as needed to protect the common people of America.
Government should be involved as minimally as possible. It should not be a burden on society or hinder life liberty and the persuit of happiness. Look at what TARP and all these lovely social programs are costing the US. Look ten years from now when we are swimming for our lives in the seas of debt. When the average tax payer gets the bill for all this "I am the government and I am here to help." Do you really think we are going to say thanks with a smile ??
By the way the answer is NO !!!
In order for our country and our society to be successful, the people, business, and the government MUST work in cooperation with each other. Any two elements cannot do the job. It must be all three. Let's work together and not act alone.
If a few large corporations, by their actions of unbridled greed or stupid decisions, have the ability to jeopardize our economy and destroy our livelhoods, then a government 'by the people and for the people' should probably either regulate them or have some oversight on their activities.
Hi I'm a high school student from nashville. I think the government has increased it's involved in these three industries but for good reason. The healthcare industry, auto industry, and wall st. have all acted irresponsibley and need reform. While I have agreed with all of the Presidents bills on healthcare, the auto industry, and wall street reform, I can completely understand the fear or weariness most people are experiencing. I don't think many Americans truly believe our country os moving towards socialism but with so many large peices of legislation being passed back to back to back, it makes it hard for the average American to handle.
This is ridiculous, Jack. Those who clamor for 'less government' are always the first ones to scream 'bloody murder' when a preventable crime is perpetrated against them.
Where are we heading when the same people who scream about more government restriction also want us to have more strict immigration laws?
What gives? What do these people really want?
As much as is needed to protect the public. I do find it curious that a lot of these raging mad tea partiers and others demanding limited government are curiously receiving some sort of government subsistence whether thru Social Security disability, Medicare, etc. and they want limited government as long as it doesn't affect what they get. As a 38 yr old who saw the value of my 401k dwindle up to this downturn and was left to depend on it due to subsequent unemployment caused by the company i worked for going under soon after due to the same, i want to know that someone is looking out for the little guy. These people can keep listening to the right wing radio and tv and remain uninformed and if these people should get elected would realize they have voted against their own interest. These people that are telling you to be mad, some make a nest egg in one year with the jobs they have. Its about time the President is given credit. Ask the hundreds of thousands of jobs saved by the so-called bailout of GM.
Put it this way, if the federal government weren't involved in regulating and attempting to regulate Wall Street, healthcare, and other areas, the financial meltdown of 2008 and 2009 wouldn't have been a blip on a radar. They'd price people out of surviving because they could get away with it. The only reason that they haven't went as far as they have, is the federal government, as inept as it is. It's not perfect and it's our fault for their short comings.
I 'm not a Republican or a Democrat just a person trying to get along without fuss or fanfare. However my retirement portfolio did take a hit this past year but has recovered to pre – crash levels. I have not heard of any small banks folding in my area, including the one I have accounts with. I also live in Canada where such regulations are in place and recession here was not as deep nor as long as South of the border. Perhaps some rules and regulations do work. The last Canadian bank reports all had healthy profits and paying investor dividends.
The government is becoming much to involved creating a welfare state and now welfare for Wall Streeet. Free market and competion has always worked for the USA. Regulations need to be established to insure that brokers must be responsible finanically when they behave such as they have in this latest issue with Goldman Sachs,leeman Bros. and not another tax payer responsibility. Why noy have the Wall St. industry contrubite to a bailout fund? And why are Freddie Mac & Fannie May not included ?
Jack:
SInce the days of Teddy Roosevelt we have acknowledged that unbridled free markets result in a a concentration of wealth and power in the few, who use it to the detriment of the many. We have not had a pure free market in more than 100 years–thank God. We regulate against monopolies, securities fraud, bank fraud, insurance fraud, and other excesses of big business who are able to "game" the system to the disadvantage of the little guy. Some of those regulations need updating to keep pace with the clever industry geniuses in the health insurance, securities, and other industries. It sounds good to be for "free enterprise." However, the landscape is littered with the unemployed the foreclosed, the bankrupt–all of whom suffered the detrimental effects of free enterprise in the Great Recession.