Why we need government--and regulation

Why do we need government? Why do we need government regulations?

Look no further than this headline from The Wall Street Journal a few days ago:

Interest Rate Probe Escalates

Barclays Agrees to Pay Record Fine; Emails Show Traders Tried to Manipulate Libor

Barclays PLC agreed to pay $453 million in fines to U.S. and U.K. regulators after admitting that traders and executives tried to manipulate interest rates tied to loans and financial contracts around the world.

If the 2008 national and international collapses of the world's financial markets weren't enough for you, or the collapse of Enron or the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, or one of the many other big catastrophes in the last few years weren't enough, this should do it for you.

Barclays Bank, in England, was just big and powerful enough to do their best to try to manipulate international interest rates to go in their favor. This, this is why we need something bigger and stronger than corporations--to control them. To keep their greed in check.

If you don't either already know this or understand it, you need to see one of the many documentaries on these collapses.

We need government as an independent check on corporations and the world's wealthy.

This, above, got Barclays a nearly half billion dollar fine.

And the thing is, the examination is still going on.

Who knows what they did we don't know?

As if that isn't enough, Glaxo-Smith-Kline of the pharmaceutical industry was also fined. This time for three billion dollars--that's $3 billion--for fraud, for stealing from the American public:

GlaxoSmithKline Settles Largest Health Care Fraud Case In U.S. History

WASHINGTON (AP) — GlaxoSmithKline LLC will pay $3 billion and plead guilty to promoting two popular drugs for unapproved uses and to failing to disclose important safety information on a third in the largest health care fraud settlement in U.S. history, the Justice Department said Monday.

The $3 billion fine also will be the largest penalty ever paid by a drug company, Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole said. The corporation also agreed to be monitored by government officials for five years to attempt to ensure the company's compliance, Cole said.

Small government? Sure. You bet.

No government? Not a chance. Weak government? Ditto. No, thank you.

So, Libertarians, you can count me out, thanks very much.

Link to original article: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304830704577493092589081130.html

"Inside Job" (documentary): http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1645089/

"Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room": http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1016268/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/02/gsk-fraud_n_1643186.html

Casino Jack: Coming to a theater near you

And we still don't have meaningful financial reform.

What I'm concerned we're going to get for financial reform

First they fought us on health care reform, now it's financial reform

Yeah, first the Republicans fought this Administration's wanting to give the American people some relief in the form of health care reform.

Natch.

They wanted to protect their wealthy buddies in the insurance and pharmaceutical companies, etc.

Now, they're at it again..

Now they want to fight this White House--again, so they can protect their wealthy banking friends--on getting any financial reform.

Forget that the banking and mortgage industries almost brought the nation--and world, in reality--to complete, total and utter financial and economic devastation within the last year or two.

No, no, they have to rush to protect the lobbyists, corporations and all the rich people in whose pockets they are so they can keep their money coming in.

Let's not give it to 'em, folks.

We need to re-regulate our banking industry the way it was after the Great Depression so we have our safety nets, for the good of everyone.

Especially if the bankers don't like it.

Ayn Rand be damned.

Do you know who Phil Angelides is?

If you don't, you'd better learn.

Do you know what the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission is? (Hopefully it's self-explanatory).

The thing is, this commission has started meeting already. They began this week.

Mr. Angelides heads up the commission.

They're looking into the banking/mortagae/loan/investment nightmare that led us down the path to a near collapse of our economic system, both here in the US and around the world.

And I'll tell you, this is going to go on for some time and we'd better all be checking in virtually daily on this thing, to see what new revelations there are.

We need to know what happened in this crisis.

We need to know who did what.

We need to find out what was done illegally.

We need to find out what was done that should be illegal.

And we need to find out how we can avoid this greedy, stupid mess so we don't do it again.

To hell with catharsis. We need information, laws, regulations and solutions.

Ayn Rand be damned.