Wednesday, December 02, 2009

"Matt Taibbi on Obama's Economy" (video)

Matt Taibbi (Rolling Stone), video:
In “Obama’s Big Sellout,” Matt Taibbi argues that President Obama has packed his economic team with Wall Street insiders intent on turning the bailout into an all-out giveaway. Rather than keeping his progressive campaign advisers on board, Taibbi says Obama gave key economic positions in the White House to the very people who caused the economic crisis in the first place. Taibbi also points to the ties Obama’s appointees have to one main in particular: Bob Rubin, the former Goldman Sachs co-chairman who served as Treasury secretary under Bill Clinton.

Click above for Taibbi’s video breakdown of his argument in which he identifies the major players on Obama’s economic team, untangles the web that ties them to Rubin and points to how these relationships play into the financial “reforms” the Democrats are currently pushing through Congress.
Howie P.S.: I can't find “Obama’s Big Sellout” online but here's an excerpt-- Publicola's MORNING FIZZ reminds us "The one Democrat Taibbi namechecks as a good guy? Sen. Maria Cantwell.

Taibbi notes:

…the decision to gut derivatives reform sent some legislators howling with disgust. Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington, who estimates that as much as 90 percent of all derivatives could remain unregulated under the new rules, went so far as to say the new laws would make things worse. “Current law with its loopholes might actually be better than these loopholes,” she said.

No comments: