A Pecora committee for the credit crisis

While I may disagree with a number of points Joe Nocera makes in this article, it's also easy to agree with some others. If I was convinced that Congress or anyone in power would do the right thing as far as correcting previous mistakes, it would be much easier to sit on the side but the problem continues to be a dysfunctional system that does nothing unless pushed. The relationship with Wall Street remains too cozy and it's a stretch to believe Congress, Obama, Treasury, or the Fed will change and move in the right direction. There's nothing that suggests such a change. Nothing.

One of the best points in the article is his mention of "the real culprits...are counting their money in “retirement.” Exactly. When was the last time you heard anyone in power raise this point and suggest pursuing those people? If it's happened, it's been quiet.

The argument that by bashing AIG, the American public is destroying value in a company they own is tough to swallow. Looking at the trillions spent on this crisis, how can anyone comprehend the difference between an AIG division selling for $10 billion, $5 billion or $0? None of these numbers mean anything anymore. Too many people are wondering what they would do in two months of they lost their jobs and they see crazy money being splashed around. A million dollar plus bonus registers. Billions don't. He may be right, but it's too abstract and mostly a losing battle anyway. Outside of the GOP, few people ever saw the AIG bailout as a money making venture.

The argument about bailing out the likes of Goldman, Citi and foreign banks is another story. This brings us back to the crazy bonuses though, since those bankers continue to be paid rock star compensation without the rock star performance. Slicing and dicing who is doing what within a business (this group is making money, this group is losing) is a Wall Street insiders game that again, does not translate to the rest of the country. What Americans see are too many people making too much money for being massive failures. They should be upset about this slightly hidden game of bailing out Goldman, etc. Let the macho folks at Goldman live with their failures, and explain themselves and why they deserve the big bucks.

What we ultimately need is a Pecora committee for today. The Pecora committee helped change our banking and financial system after the crash and worked for decades until the GOP ripped it apart. It would benefit Obama and the Democrats to get in front of this issue instead of letting the team that ruined our system take the lead. At the present time, the Democrats including Obama, look like a party in chaos.