RSS Feed
Twitter
Facebook
Email
HomeUPDATE: Who Directed Abuses of Power at IRS?
Posted by Larry Doyle on May 17th, 2013 11:20 AM |
Is there any doubt that the IRS engaged in an abuse of power in the manner in which it handled the applications of selected groups for tax-exempt status?
In Congressional testimony this morning, the outgoing acting commissioner Steven Miller has done his best to parry — some would say stonewall — Republican committee members. The simple fact is America learned what it needed to from this hearing in the opening testimony provided by the Inspector General J. Russell George.
Let’s watch, listen, and learn: (more…)
Kathleen Furey v SEC: Wow, Just Wow . . . Read This
Posted by Larry Doyle on May 16th, 2013 6:26 AM |
For those with an interest in learning how our financial regulators fail to perform in upholding both the law and their duty to protect investors, the SEC is “the gift that keeps on giving.”
As if we did not already know that the SEC has all too often failed to protect investors, let’s navigate and learn about the case of current SEC employee Kathleen Furey. From a recent complaint brought by Ms. Furey against the SEC:
The three-year ascent of Kathleen Furey to higher levels of official responsibility and pay came to an abrupt halt in 2008, shortly after she was forced to become a whistleblower. (more…)
Obamacare: Unaffordable for Many; Broken Promises Are Numerous
Posted by Larry Doyle on May 14th, 2013 8:39 AM |
A month ago Senator Max Baucus, a Democrat from Montana, projected that he envisioned the implementation of the President’s new health care program, aka Obamacare, as being “a train wreck.”
Well, in reviewing a report released yesterday by the US House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce, we gain a greater appreciation for just how expensive this train wreck might be.
I hope readers are not already feeling ill at ease this morning because after reading this report I can assure you that you will get sick. Let’s navigate and look more deeply at The Looming Premium Rate Shock: >>>>>>> (more…)
Everything’s Political
Posted by Larry Doyle on May 13th, 2013 8:57 AM |
How sad.
In light of the ongoing developments with the stories centering on Benghazi and the abuse of power within the IRS, I feel compelled to offer a brief comment.
Politics is certainly a dirty business.
National security in a world filled with new risks has likely never been more challenging. That said, there comes a point in time where politics need to be set aside and the people’s business needs to be prioritized.
In the course of a brief conversation with a reporter who covers the scene in Washington, he shared with me that a since departed senior White House official shared with him that he was frustrated in his capacity. Why so? (more…)
Paul Ryan: Dodd-Frank Goes In Wrong Direction
Posted by Larry Doyle on May 10th, 2013 7:10 AM |
America is increasingly aware that banks that are too big to fail, trust, regulate, prosecute, and jail are thus — duh — TOO BIG TO EXIST!!
This basic principle espoused by anybody with even a modicum of “sense on cents” is gaining momentum in Washington given the growing bipartisan support for the Brown-Vitter Bill to address the too big to fail reality.
I personally believe the Brown-Vitter Bill should only be an initial pit stop on our way to breaking up these mega-banks that own Washington and run our country. Who recently weighed in on these topics? (more…)
Watch Today 2-3pm: Cliff Asness on Crony Capitalism
Posted by Larry Doyle on May 9th, 2013 7:31 AM |
In May 2010, financier Cliff Asness said in The Wall Street Journal that the Dodd-Frank Act was “perfectly designed to create the largest and most powerful crony system in history. It’s not that the people, regulator or regulated, are personally corrupt. It’s that the system will itself select for, reward and enforce corruption.”
I would not agree with a blanket assessment that all the regulators and regulated are not personally corrupt but I give Cliff Asness credit for going where few in the industry are willing to navigate.
I will be watching Asness this afternoon from 2-3pm EST talk at the American Enterprise Institute about the impact of Dodd Frank — er, that is, aka Fraud Dank here at Sense on Cents — and the state of competition in America’s financial markets. (more…)
Colleges/Universities Leave Lower Income Students Behind
Posted by Larry Doyle on May 8th, 2013 9:50 AM |
The business of higher education is changing rapidly.
With family incomes stagnant, job prospects for graduates challenging, and pressure on the bottom line — for families and schools alike — increasing like never before, those within the executive offices of our nation’s ivory towers are scrambling.
What is one area that is getting a lot of focus? The manner in which schools dispense financial aid, which for more and more families is becoming THE key variable in determining where little Susie or Joey might go to school. In a report that is troubling to those who know that higher education is THE only real path for those in the lower income strata of our nation to advance, the New America Foundation writes this morning: (more…)
Hedge Fund Survey: “Findings Are Troubling”
Posted by Larry Doyle on May 7th, 2013 8:03 AM |
Early last year, the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Preet Bharara, in alluding to activities within the hedge fund community asserted that insider trading was rampant and routine. Strong words.
Fast forward a year and a recent survey of those within the hedge fund world unsurprisingly shows that a host of issues remain, and that the “findings are troubling.” Let’s navigate and review the results of this recent survey: (more…)
JP Morgan Seems To ‘Love That Dirty Money’
Posted by Larry Doyle on May 6th, 2013 8:12 AM |
If those in my beloved hometown of Boston “love that dirty water,” then similarly current management at my last stop on the sell side of Wall Street, that being JP Morgan, seem to ‘love that dirty money.‘
The filth and stench surrounding this story runs so high as to have recently influenced JPM’s bedmates — er, I mean regulators — to pronounce that they do not trust JP Morgan management. Wow. That’s saying something.
We know that only 1 in 5 in America trust our banks (down from 1 in 2 a mere 5 plus years ago), but for regulators to now voice their distrust in JPM’s management is a cry from the bedroom not often heard. What’s going on at JPM? Let’s navigate. (more…)
Where Does The Buck Stop?
Posted by Larry Doyle on May 15th, 2013 9:09 AM |
The stench of the cesspool of scandalous activities in Washington is now bubbling over into the backyards of those who have previously stridently defended this administration.
The flood of filth associated with the three current bombshell stories leaves me with a number of feelings and questions that I would like to share with readers. I would welcome hearing what readers make of all these sordid situations. My thoughts include: (more…)
Tags: a failure of leadership, AP scandal where does the buck stop, Benghazi scandal where does the buck stop, Danielle Brian Nixonian comment, does the buck stop with Obama, intimidating whistleblowers, IRS scandal where does the buck stop, POGO Danielle Brian on AP scandal, scandals in Washington, the buck stops where, the buck stops with the President, where does the buck stop, White House chief of staff Denis McDonough, who is Denis McDonough
Posted in General, Obama Administration, POGO | 8 Comments »