Maxine Waters vs. Fatal Derivatives | Black Agenda Report

Maxine Waters vs. Fatal Derivatives

Glen Ford, BAR executive editor

15 Jul 2009

🖨️ Print Article

A Black Agenda Radio commentary by Glen Ford

Click the flash player below to listen to or the mic to download an mp3 copy of this BA Radio commentary.

The Obama administration is clearly trying to keep Congress from taking legislative action against derivatives, the “financial weapons of mass destruction” that set off the economic crisis. “Geithner claims he wants credit-default swaps brought under control, but only through stricter regulation, not by law.” California Congresswoman Maxine Waters wants derivatives banned outright, and has submitted legislation to that effect. But so far, she has no co-sponsors.

Maxine Waters vs. Fatal Derivatives

A Black Agenda Radio commentary by Glen Ford

“When it comes to making rhetoric into law, Obama’s team sides with the money bags.”

President Obama’s sent his dog-and-pony show on banking regulation to Capitol Hill, last week, with Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner as Master of Obfuscation. The Obama administration spews lots of rhetoric about reining in the investment banks and hedge funds so that they don’t get another chance to destroy themselves and what’s left of the economy. But when it comes to making rhetoric into law, Obama’s team sides with the money bags that were his biggest campaign contributors and now run his economic policy.

Geithner promised he would control derivatives, the Wall Street inventions that billionaire George Soros has called “financial weapons of mass destruction.” The explosion of derivatives is widely acknowledged to have set off the global economic crisis. Credit-default swaps are among the most volatile and dangerous types of derivatives. Geithner claims he wants credit-default swaps brought under control, but only through stricter regulation, not by law. Amazingly, Geithner argues that passing specific laws would make it easier, rather than harder, for the high rollers to break the rules – a totally illogical and dishonest position. Instead, he wants regulators to keep the players in line – but Geithner refuses to say which part of the bureaucracy the regulators should come from, and the Obama administration won’t offer anything more definitive until September.

“We are supposed to trust the same regulators that have always been in bed with Wall Street.”

Geithner’s mission, as directed by the president, was to discourage the Congress from interfering with Wall Street through legislation. Instead, we are supposed to trust the same regulators that have always been in bed with Wall Street – the guys that allowed Bernie Madoff to operate with impunity decade after decade – and to trust the Obama economic team, made up of the same people that set the derivatives Frankenstein on its path of destruction under President Bill Clinton.

The Obama team says it will force the high rollers to back their derivatives with more capital, so that they will be less likely to implode. But the derivatives market is nominally valued at $592 trillion, about 12 times the value of all the goods and services produced per year on the planet Earth! It would require far, far more money than exists in the entire world to make the planet safe for derivatives. They must be abolished, before they implode again.

Black California Congresswoman Maxine Waters has introduced legislation to do just that: ban credit-default swap derivatives. “Preventing all credit-default swaps is essential,” said Congresswoman Waters, “to bringing stability to the market and preventing a similar crisis in the future.”

The crisis set off by derivatives has stripped African Americans of hundreds of billions of dollars in wealth – a catastrophe of historical proportions that has undone much of the economic progress of several generations. Congresswoman Waters’ bill, HR 3145, has no co-sponsors, as yet. We shall see how the rest of the Congressional Black Caucus responds. This is a clear choice of doing what is necessary to protect Black America, or going along with Barack Obama and his Wall Street friends.

For Black Agenda Radio, I’m Glen Ford. On the web, go to www.BlackAgendaReport.com.

BAR executive editor Glen Ford can be contacted at Glen.Ford@BlackAgendaReport.com.

Do you need and appreciate Black Agenda Report articles? Please click on the DONATE icon, and help us out, if you can.

More Stories

Jacqueline Luqman
Defeat The Fascist War On African People In The US And Abroad!
19 Jun 2024
The struggle to defeat the war on African people can be understood through an analysis of the ongoing relationship between African people and the state.
Communist Party of Kenya
Unmasking Ruto’s Betrayal and Mobilizing for Kenya’s Sovereignty and Justice
19 Jun 2024
Kenyan President William Ruto, despite his posturing as a strong leader for the people, has betrayed the masses time and time again. His neoliberal policies and allegiance to the imerperialist west…
Janvieve Williams Comrie , Mauri Balanta Jaramillo
The Intersection of Vulnerability and Power: The Case of Francia Márquez
19 Jun 2024
Francia Marquez's rise to Colombia's vice presidency has put a target on her back, but she also brings with her hope for a real change in Colombian politics. As in the U.S., Black political…
Black Alliance for Peace Haiti/Americas Team
Black Alliance for Peace Condemns US Black (Mis)Leaders for their Support of US Military Intervention and Occupation of Haiti
19 Jun 2024
The ruling elite uses black misleaders to shore up support for imperialist objectives. Currently, these misleaders are freely and happily offering their services in support of the invasion and…
Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
The Problem with Juneteenth
19 Jun 2024
Juneteenth was a people's holiday with deep meaning for the descendants of enslaved people. But the declaration of an official federal holiday has turned it into an opportunity for corporate…