Way back in August, I mentioned a Bloomberg article regarding their court case against the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. At the time, Manhattan Chief U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska had ordered the government to hand over TARP fund documents within 30 days. Well, the 30 days came and went with no news forthcoming. Nearly 5 months later, SURPRISE, the government is going to appeal the ruling. It’s beginning to look like this one will end up in the Supreme Court.
“The question is at what point does the government get so involved in the life of the institution that the public has a right to know?” said Charles Davis, executive director of the National Freedom of Information Coalition at the University of Missouri in Columbia. Davis isn’t involved in the lawsuit.
We are in it for $2.14 trillion. I’d say we’ve reached the point.
One group that is involved with the lawsuit is Clearing House Association LLC, whose members include Bank of America, The Bank of New York Mellon Corp., Citigroup, HSBC, JPMorgan Chase, US Bancorp and Wells Fargo. They don’t like transparency. Nor do they like new rules. The lobbying effort by this group was largely responsible for gutting HR4173, the financial reform act passed in December.
And, as promised, one of the best and most prolific chart makers on the internet, Calculated Risk, offers what some are calling, “The scariest jobs chart ever.”
Although the government cheerleaders are heralding the “recovery”, we are continuing in the worst jobs market since the end of WW II (on a percentage basis). It should be clear to all which side of the Wall St./Main St. divide our representatives are on.
