Maxine Waters: Bailout Bankers Grilled

Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) grilled bailout bankers on Capitol Hill today.

Maxine Waters

The AFP reports that she "mocked" the CEO's of the largest banks in the Nation, labeling them "captains of the universe."

Under a withering interrogation from Waters, a contrite Bank of America boss Ken Lewis said he felt more like a "corporal of the universe" than a captain these days

Ms. Waters was enraged about a number of things, among them, that bailout bankers may have raised credit card interest rates after receiving TARP funds (bailout money). Rep. Barney Frank, Chair of the House Financial Services Committee, summoned the bankers, as they did oil company and auto executives. Another display of obscene, worthless bureaucratic righteousness on display today in the Nation's Capitol. You can read some contrite comments by the bailout bankers here. The groveling of these men make me feel so much better. Rep. Waters was directly involved in the melt down of our financial system. She aided and abetted, on a grandiose scale, the issuing of mortgages to people who not afford a mortgage. When legislation was introduced to stop sub-prime housing mortgages (a high-risk mortgage), she:

"...denounced attempts to stiffen oversight and regulation of this duo “so as not to impede their affordable housing mission, a mission that has seen innovation flourish, from desktop underwriting to 100 percent loans.”

Human Events explains it accurately: “Desktop underwriting” meant undocumented loans. No proof of income or credit history required. And zero down payment. Maxine Waters desperately needs to cover her tracks and the fact that she was complicit in bringing down the banking institutions. Rep. Barney Franks (D-MA) - even guiltier than Maxine Waters. As Republicans tolled warning bells, Barney Franks said Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were "fundamentally sound," and criticisms were unjustified exaggerations and "disaster scenarios."

The more pressure there is [to regulate] then the less I think we see interms of affordable housing..."

Need we mention that Franks one was of the largest recipients of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac donations. So today, Waters and Franks are grilling the bailout bankers to help them decide whether or not they will give out the remaining TARP funds - some $300 million of your money and mine. So many questions, but chief among them: When the first half of the TARP funds were let, were the banks required to lend the money they received to get money flowing to the economy? We were told that was exactly what would happen, but Representative Kanjorski told C-Span that was never the plan (see video). Nevertheless, the House voted to pass the TARP legislation. They were in charge. They passed inadequate legislation. They wasted our money. We thought there were safeguards. They dupped the Nation. I'm no apologist for these miserable banks, but without Congress, none of this could have happened. Maxine Waters loves her power. Read this and see what else she is up to. Off topic, but...here's how Maxine Waters works a "protest:"

Maxine Waters

Maxine Waters

Maxine Waters: Bailout Bankers Grilled (Video)