In his weekly address, President Obama spoke about his nomination of Mary Jo White to head the Securities and Exchange Commission and Richard Cordray who was illegally appointed to his position as a recess appointment when the Senate was still in session. The Cordray appointment must be viewed in the light of the recent court ruling that Obama’s recess appointment of the National Labor Relations Board Members under the same conditions was illegal and an abuse of power.
Remarks of President Barack Obama -- Weekly Address -- The White House -- January 26, 2013
Hi, everybody. Here in America, we know the free market is the greatest force for economic progress the world has ever known. But we also know the free market works best for everyone when we have smart, commonsense rules in place to prevent irresponsible behavior.
<<Yet, Obama’s actions demonstrate respect for socialism with its central planning, managed outcomes, wealth redistribution and corrupt leadership pandering to the special interests in return for access to power.>>
That’s why we passed tough reforms to protect consumers and our financial system from the kind of abuse that nearly brought our economy to its knees. And that’s why we’ve taken steps to end taxpayer-funded bailouts, and make sure businesses and individuals who do the right thing aren’t undermined by those who don’t.
<<Anyone who can add up a column of numbers can see that the “too big to fail” financial institutions which represented a systemic risk to our economy have continued to grow in size until their combined contingent debt obligations overshadow even the national debt.>>
But it’s not enough to change the law – we also need cops on the beat to enforce the law. And that’s why, on Thursday, I nominated Mary Jo White to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission, and Richard Cordray to continue leading the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
<<Obama has little or no respect for the law. Witness the illegal activities in Fast and Furious, the Benghazi Affair, the administrative rules and regulations that bypass the Constitutional authority of Congress – and the illegal recess appointment of Richard Cordray while the Senate was still sitting. All done knowingly with the knowledge that the courts may rectify the situation – but by then, Obama’s agenda would have been moved forward.>>
Mary Jo White has decades of experience cracking down on white-collar criminals and bringing mobsters and terrorists to justice. At the SEC, she will help complete the task of reforming Wall Street and keep going after irresponsible behavior in the financial industry so that taxpayers don’t pay the price.
<<This is a true statement, but one should not overlook the fact that the nominee has little or no experience in securities law and that her department, with its purposefully limited budget and personnel resources, will be facing some of the smartest securities legal talent in the nation. And, unfortunately for America, corporations are viewed as artificial persons who cannot be sent to prison, so when a corporation pleads guilty in return for a “record fine” and not admitting nor denying the government’s allegations, the real perpetrators – the executives – walk free. Thus we see $1.2 BILLION in customer funds go missing at Jon Corzine’s MF Global and Corzine skates the responsibility while graciously pointing out that he waived a multi-million dollar severance package should the company have been purchased in a ‘white knight’ bailout.>>
Richard Cordray is a champion for American consumers. After the Senate refused to allow Richard an up-or-down vote when I nominated him in 2011, I took action to appoint him on my own. And since then, he’s helped protect Americans from predatory lenders, launched a “Know Before You Owe” campaign to help families make smart decisions about paying for college, and cracked down on credit card companies that charge hidden fees. But Richard’s appointment runs out at the end of the year, and in order for him to stay on the job, the Senate needs to finally give him the vote he deserves.
<< There is a fundamental flaw in the government’s thinking when it comes to financial crimes. That is, you can get away with egregious behavior which disadvantages the consumer ‘if you disclose it somewhere in the dense legalese that cannot often be understood by lawyers.’ The “Know Before You Owe” was little more than the re-jiggering and combination of two mortgage forms, the misleading and misnamed “Truth in Lending” form and the “Good Faith Estimate” form. One form being a summary of the loan’s terms and conditions and the other a summary of the closing costs. Unfortunately, the mortgage industry has found a way to bypass the closing cost issue by promoting loans whose closing costs are rolled into the interest rate – at many times what the actual closing costs would have been – and therefore do not need to be disclosed individually. As for Cordray’s recess appointment, it was knowingly and blatantly illegal and a slap at the Constitutional authority of the Senate. Because the Senate was controlled by democrats, the opposition could do nothing except sanction the President and nullify the appointment – which they clearly refused to do.>>
As President, my top priority is simple: to do everything in my power to fight for middle-class families and give every American the tools they need to reach the middle class.
<<That must be the reason that the President and his fellow travelers in Congress continue to spend taxpayer funds far in excess of what is needed to run the country, as well as channel taxpayer funds to unproductive and obscenely costly union-dominated projects. And, in the so-called recovery period after the recession, slap additional taxes on the American worker who is struggling under an even greater local, state and federal tax burden. Not to mention the billions of dollars wasted in crony-socialism with Solyndra and other faux-green companies who require government grants, loans, subsidies and usage mandates to exist in the free and competitive market.>>
That means bringing in people like Mary Jo and Richard whose job it is to stand up for you. It means encouraging businesses to create more jobs and pay higher wages, and improving education and job training so that more people can get the skills that businesses are looking for. It means reforming our immigration system and keeping our children safe from the menace of gun violence. And it means bringing down our deficit in a balanced way by making necessary reforms and asking every American to pay their fair share.
<<Mary Jo and Richard are agents of the President of the United States and will be carrying out his agenda, even if that means additional rules and regulations that disadvantage consumers and citizens or the type of selective enforcement designed to silence the opposition and provide perks and privileges to the special interests funding Obama’s campaign and party.
It is not the government’s job to create more jobs and pay higher wages. Prices and wages are a function of the ‘free market’, which the President mentioned in his first sentence. However, it is the government’s job to spend the taxpayer’s money wisely and to create a general economic atmosphere which encourages economic growth. The free market will determine what jobs need to be created and what those jobs are worth. Immigration is a matter of enforcing the existing laws, laws that the Administration refuses to enforce and which should represent an impeachable offense for perjury – violating one’s oath of office. We had a workable immigration and guest worker program until both political parties started playing politics to gain favor with voters divided on a class basis. The implementation of gun control does not solve the problem of crazies or criminals, and it certainly does not keep children safe. What it does is disarm law-abiding Americans and enlarge the “gun free” zone in which criminals are safe to ply their trade. As for bringing down our deficit, reforms and paying one’s fair share – the President is a stone cold liar. It is the President and his party that refuses to cut spending in a fiscally prudent way. It is the President and his party that is raising taxes on the disadvantaged middle class. It is the President and his party that are disobeying the Constitution and equality under the law as the continue to divide and conquer American using class envy and warfare against Americans.>>
I am honored and humbled to continue to serve as your President. And I am more hopeful than ever that four years from now – with your help – this country will be more prosperous, more open, and more committed to the principles on which we were founded.
<<As far as I can determine, there is nothing honorable or humble about President Obama’s service in office. One of manipulation and an anti-America agenda. The President appears to be an egotistical poseur willing to let others do the work of governing while he vacations, plays golf and continues to campaign. In essence, a movie-star/celebrity like the grossly ineffective and damaging Arnold Schwarzenegger.>>
Thanks, and have a great weekend.
Source: WEEKLY ADDRESS: Two Nominees Who Will Fight for the American People | The White House
This is the type of bafflegab that is pre-written, pre-tested and represents nothing by spin. It’s a puff piece that lies to the American public by not stating the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. In reality, more partisan bullpucky.