Elizabeth Warren
Related: About this forumThe Hill: Why Elizabeth Warren should be the next president
12/23/14
...The 2008 financial crisis, not terrorism or any other recent threat, posed the greatest risk to this country since the Cold War.
...A champion of the free market, even Greenspan acknowledged that not only did he not see the crash, but certain aspects of deregulation that he and others espoused actually helped cause this financial catastrophe.
If you feel this vantage point is merely populist hyperbole and Warrens position on the spending deal isnt warranted, then read what David Ignatius wrote in a 2008 Washington Post article about Hank Paulsons real time view of the crisis:
"What's agonizing for Paulson is that he says he saw the storm clouds gathering two years ago when he became Treasury secretary
He also warned about the growing use of derivatives -- financial instruments so complicated that they confuse even the people who buy and sell them -- and how they posed a fundamental risk to the markets.
" If Bear Stearns had been allowed to collapse, for example, what would a bankruptcy judge have done with the billions of dollars in derivatives contracts -- and what would the other parties in these contracts have done in assessing their potential losses?" $22 trillions of dollars in lost wealth later, has our country learned the pitfalls of allowing Wall Street to engage in the same behavior that led to 2008? According to Warren in an NPR interview, the recent bill exemplified Americas dangerously short-term memory:
"Republicans slipped in a provision at the last minute that would let derivatives traders on Wall Street gamble with taxpayer money and then get bailed out by the government when their risky bets threaten to blow up our financial system.
You know, it was literally never introduced in the Senate. It had no hearings. There was no discussion about this. And let's keep in mind about this provision, this is a provision that Citigroup lobbyists literally wrote. And then, just to make sure that everybody got the point, Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JPMorgan, personally made phone calls to House members to push for this change.
...America needs a president who isnt intimidated by Wall Street. We need a president willing to save Wall Street from itself and save the American people from another future filled with economic catastrophes and bailouts.
Elizabeth Warren, not Hillary Clinton or Jeb Bush, should be president in 2016.
http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/presidential-campaign/227904-why-elizabeth-warren-should-be-the-next-president
safeinOhio
(34,090 posts)except for bankers.
Enthusiast
(50,983 posts)How does she feel about Chained CPI or similar measures designed to "extend the life" of social security? How does she feel about "raising the cap" on FICA contributions? Raising the retirement age?
How does she feel about Paul Ryan's proposal to voucherize Medicare?
How does Elizabeth feel about reining in CO2 emissions?
How does Elizabeth feel about Net Neutrality?
I am with Elizabeth on Wall Street. But I hear very little about other important issues.
I would like to hear some specifics.
We won't get fooled again.
RiverLover
(7,830 posts)I have to be brief here, but for a quick rundown~
On the TPP:
Warren raised the issue in a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman, which was also signed by Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) and Ed Markey (D-Mass.). The correspondence highlighted a broadening rift between President Barack Obama and the progressive wing of the Democratic Party over economic policy, less than a week after Warren and Obama squared off over a budget deal that provided government subsidies for risky derivatives trading.
"We are concerned that the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) could make it harder for Congress and regulatory agencies to prevent future financial crises," the letter reads. "With millions of families still struggling to recover from the last financial crisis and the Great Recession that followed, we cannot afford a trade deal that undermines the government's ability to protect the American economy."
...Warren, Baldwin and Markey are particularly concerned with a process called "investor-state dispute settlement," which grants foreign corporations the political power to challenge the laws and regulations of a government before an international tribunal. This nongovernmental court has the power to levy trade sanctions against offending nations. The investor-state dispute settlement regimen differs from those used in World Trade Organization treaties, which allow only sovereign governments to bring trade challenges.
"We believe that the TPP should not include an investor-state dispute settlement process," the letter reads, warning that doing so "would expose a broad array of critical American financial regulations to challenge by many additional foreign companies."
Investor-state challenges were rare before the new millennium, but have become increasingly popular tools for corporations to use when challenging regulations they object to. Under the North American Free Trade Agreement, for instance, companies including Exxon Mobil, Dow Chemical and Eli Lilly have attempted to overrule Canadian regulations on offshore oil drilling, fracking, pesticides, drug patents and other issues....
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/18/elizabeth-warren-trade-deal_n_6350312.html
On Medicare:
We believe that students are entitled to get an education without being crushed by debt. And we are willing to fight for it, Warren continued as the cheering grew and grew. We believe that, after a lifetime of work, people are entitled to retire with dignity, and that means protecting Social Security, Medicare and pensions. We believe only I cant believe I have to say this in 2014 we believe in equal pay for equal work, and we are willing to fight for it.
http://thehill.com/opinion/juan-williams/225544-juan-williams-warren-towers-above
On net neutrality:
"We dont know who is going to have the next big idea in this country, but were pretty sure theyre going to need to get online to do it," Warren wrote on her Facebook page Wednesday. "Reports that the FCC may gut net neutrality are disturbing, and would be just one more way the playing field is tilted for the rich and powerful who have already made it."
Last week the FCC announced that it was essentially backing down on plans to force big internet providers to treat everybody alike in their access to internet users. Under the FCC's new position, big data sources like Netflix could be forced to pay for access to customers of ISPs like Verizon.
Warren's voice is the latest to join a chorus of Democratic lawmakers like Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) who aren't happy with the FCC proposal, which represents a reversal from President Barack Obama's previous position on net neutrality. But her statement goes a bit further in tying the potential end of net neutrality to her trademark theme of an America rigged against the middle class and for big business....
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/30/elizabeth-warren-net-neutrality_n_5242629.html
On C02 emissions:
12/10/14
For the Clean Power Plan to be a success, it must achieve the level of emissions reductions that the science calls for to avoid the most dangerous impacts of climate change, the letter continued. Scientists and policymakers have landed on 2°C of global temperature rise by 2100 as the threshold beyond which climate change will become truly dangerous. At current global emission rates, staying under that ceiling will require all carbon emissions across the world to cease entirely by 2040. But slowing down the speed at which the world is dumping greenhouse gases into the atmosphere can extend that deadline.
Signatories to the letter include Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Corey Booker (D-NJ), Ed Markey (D-MA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI).
Specifically, they criticize EPA for relying on outdated data that led it to low-ball states potential for deploying renewable energy, and that the costs of renewable sources like solar energy are dropping faster than the plan accounts for. Along with that, it recommends the agency take up a different modeling approach to calculate states potential.
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/12/10/3602137/senators-epa-more-carbon-cuts-power-plants/
Enthusiast
(50,983 posts)I appreciate the information you provided. I have become downright paranoid about prospective candidates, especially presidential candidates.
RiverLover
(7,830 posts)just how much I agree with you & am equally downright paranoid. I've just been following EW since 2007 and from what I've seen, she is living & walking what Obama only gave us in the talking.
BrotherIvan
(9,126 posts)I too am in the once/twice bitten a million times more shy camp as well. That is one of the reasons I lean toward Sanders, because he has a very long track record. I don't think she is being disingenuous or a different brand of Trojan, but I want to be sure I hear what she's saying, because apparently I didn't hear about trade deals on steroids in the last two campaigns.
RiverLover
(7,830 posts)Not the stuff campaign slogans are made of.
Merry Christmas!!
BrotherIvan
(9,126 posts)It's bad enough that people demand items to retail for less than cost, which means the only possible solution is to go to China. With the TPP, the job loss in this country will be staggering.
Happy New Year RiverLover! Let's hope it doesn't suck!
RiverLover
(7,830 posts)So great to see an entrepreneur here. Best of luck to you & your business in 2015!!!
1StrongBlackMan
(31,849 posts)should, and I believe wants to, remain a Senator; rather than, running for POTUS.
As a Senator, one can focus on a very narrow range of issues; whereas, Presidents cannot.
maddiemom
(5,106 posts)1StrongBlackMan
(31,849 posts)The DH may, very well, be the best athlete on the field; but, being able to focus, solely, on hitting makes the DH more effective in an area that the team needs ... hitting, hitting for power and driving in the runs needed to win games.
(I know I use a lot of sports analogies; but, that is my earliest orientation.)
eridani
(51,907 posts)DinahMoeHum
(22,488 posts)sheshe2
(87,521 posts)I have been saying this over and over and over and I get trashed doing it. I respect that this is the Elizabeth Warren Group. She is my Senator from Massachusetts. I have met her and she wants and needs to remain our first woman senator, she is one awesome woman and is going to make history, just like Teddy did.
She knows her strengths. Her strength is in the Senate where she can focus on the issues.
L0oniX
(31,493 posts)magical thyme
(14,881 posts)we already know Clinton's and Bush's positions (ignoring their rhetoric and focusing on their actions).
I suspect that based on her years of research into the main cause of bankruptcy for ordinary people, that she won't be in favor of privatizing Medicare or cutting Social Security.
I know that on some issues I disagree totally with Warren, but those are positions where she matches Clinton and Bush so they are a wash. We don't have a choice on those issues
And I also know that if we break up the TBTF and even jail a few bankers, at least some of the issues you listed will have a chance to resolve on their own.
Enthusiast
(50,983 posts)Dustlawyer
(10,518 posts)are not bought off. Unfortunately, there are not enough who are honest and not bought off. It falls on us, "We the people," to make the difference. There could not be a more clear example of the corruption in Washington than what they attached to this "Must Pass" bill!
Bernie Sanders is the only politician so far to publicly come out supporting the solution. The solution is to cut the bribes off by eliminating campaign contributions and instituting Publicly Funded Elections. Also, locking the "Revolving Door" between government and private companies.
I would love for Senator Warren to join Senator Sanders and run on the same ticket. I think those chances are slim to none.
It will take us to join various groups that are battling the symptoms of this corruption, i.e. Women's rights, education, environment, and all of the other problems that we face that are not being addressed because lobbyist are opposed to them.
With a united front and committed masses of informed citizens who understand that both Party's are corrupted by the money of the corporations and the 1%, we may have a chance to take our government back. It will take people like those of us at DU who are informed on the issues and do not fall for the propaganda that is spewing on us from all sides!
I hope those of you reading this will commit to spreading the word and letting Bernie know we can support his run. We could also encourage Senator Warren to join him in the fight of our time!
Scott6113
(56 posts)Makes a Republican President one vote more likely.
Remember the last time a Democrat from Massachusetts was elected President? You have to be at least as old as me. It was Kennedy.
I live here, but have to tell you don't go there. I love her, but she's another Dukakis, another Kerry in the making. Let her thrive as the next Teddie, not die on the national stage. I wish it weren't true, but they'd shred her in the narrow eye states.
RiverLover
(7,830 posts)He'll never win the GE, over & over & over.
jeff47
(26,549 posts)You'd have to be older than you are - It was FDR.
So by your metric, Clinton is a worse candidate than Warren.
Democrats don't need the South to win the presidency. There's enough electoral votes from the non-southern blue-to-bluish-purple states. Desperately avoiding annoying the South is a great way for a Democrat to lose.
MoonchildCA
(1,344 posts)...and I'm not entirely sure of how strong a candidate she'll be, Kerry or Dukakis never shared her rock-star status. Elizabeth excites people, they did not.
billhicks76
(5,082 posts)And the worst kind.
OKNancy
(41,832 posts)for President in another article.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/11/19/1345961/-Rand-Paul-Puff-Piece-by-HA-Goodman-is-Intellectually-Dishonest-as-it-Omits-Facts
This author's opinions are worthless
Original article: I'm a Liberal Democrat. I'm Voting for Rand Paul in 2016. Here Is Why.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/h-a-goodman/im-a-liberal-democrat-im_b_6169542.html
RiverLover
(7,830 posts)And as to the former, I've no issues.
OKNancy
(41,832 posts)However anyone who writes just last month that they support Paul is a nut.
His opinion is worthless.
RiverLover
(7,830 posts)RiverLover
(7,830 posts)What does the Democratic Party stand for nowadays?
We're the Anti-war Party, right?
Okay, stop laughing.
We're a foil to the corporatists in the GOP, correct? We'll stand up for the middle class and ensure that the same people who caused the financial collapse in 2008 won't hurt us once more, right?
We're different from Lindsay Graham, who stated the following about Elizabeth Warren's refusal to accept a spending bill that caters to Wall Street interests:
"If you follow the lead of the senator of Massachusetts ... people are not going to believe you are mature enough to run the place," Graham said. "Don't follow her lead. She's the problem."
We're brave enough, as a political party, to stand up to the snide comment of a Republican leader in the Senate, aren't we?
Nope, try again.
Instead, we've proven that we can indeed "run the place" in the manner the GOP and Wall Street deem commendable. The cowardice of cold pragmatism rules the Democratic Party in 2014. Compromise is great, but just don't compromise the economy in the name of bargaining or reaching across the aisle.
Some true believing liberals might say that Democrats represent the eloquence and determination of Sen. Elizabeth Warren. In an NPR Interview, Warren highlights the points introduced in her now legendary Senate floor speech:
...o, Citigroup and other Wall Street lobbyists practically write a provision in a spending bill (that increases their profits while ensuring higher risk in their activities) meant to ensure this nation continues to function properly.
The outrage among leading liberals was felt throughout the nation, right?
Furor over the president's capitulation to Lindsay Graham Republicans and fat cats on Wall Street caused even the probable Democratic nominee to defend a liberal standing up to the GOP and investment banks, correct?
Keep dreaming. All you heard was the deafening silence of centrists....
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/h-a-goodman/elizabeth-warren-an-hones_b_6338522.html
I think he nails the differences between "centrists" (conservadems) & the populist party we believe the Democratic party to be.
We have a real problem with some Democrats campaigning as Democrats but acting like rethugs in office.
I appreciate his insight.
AikidoSoul
(2,150 posts)Keep it up RiverLover. When I have more time I will be pushing hard for her election as POTUS.
Thinkingabout
(30,058 posts)briefing and make a good decision, one who wants to protect our country. Why worry about the financial side if we are not safe to enjoy life, we can not live by bread alone.
RiverLover
(7,830 posts)Instead of the regression of it like we see now.
Before we sink more money in gas infrastructure, we have an obligation wherever possible to focus our investments on the clean technologies of the future -- not the dirty fuels of the past -- and to minimize the environmental impact of all our energy infrastructure projects. We can do better -- and we should."
http://www.berkshireeagle.com/columnists/ci_26322123/sen-elizabeth-warren-we-can-do-better-than
Also,
On Friday, December 20th, Democratic U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren finally separated herself clearly from former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, regarding the issue of climate change and global warming. Here is the story:
TransCanada Corporation wants to build the Keystone XL Pipeline to carry oil from Alberta Canada's tar sands to two refineries owned by Koch Industries near the Texas Gulf Coast, for export to Europe; and Hillary Clinton has helped to make that happen, but Elizabeth Warren has now taken the opposite side....
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eric-zuesse/elizabeth-warren-comes-do_b_4483753.html
And unfortunately, this would be used ag her by the rethugs in their "jobs vs the environment" crusade. But this is what they would use ag any Democrat running. And luckily her views on fracking aren't as extreme as mine, because if she wanted no fracking like me, she'd lose in a landslide. And that genie is already out of the bag anyways. We frack, but we could make it safer & that is what she is pushing for...
"I believe we need to get serious about climate change, and we can start by ending the subsidies to big oil companies and investing in clean energy," she said. "Right now, we're losing out on these investments to other countries."
Warren sees the Cape Wind offshore wind project as a step toward that shift to renewable power. She says the 130-turbine project planned for Nantucket Sound, which aims to be the nation's first offshore wind farm, will provide both clean energy and good jobs.
Brown says he supports wind power, but Cape Wind is planned for the wrong location. He says Nantucket Sound is a national treasure and compared the Cape Wind project to building windmills in the Grand Canyon.
Warren's focus on developing renewable power drives opposition to the Keystone XL pipeline, which would transport heavy tar-sands crude oil from Canada to Texas' Gulf Coast refineries.
"We should be making investments to grow the clean energy economy, not continuing to support dirty fuel," she said, dismissing claims the project would be a major job creator or drive down gas prices.
Brown counters that the pipeline will, in fact, create thousands of jobs and help suppress gas prices.
He's also enthusiastic about fracking, a technique that's recovered large reserves of natural gas by pumping volumes of water, plus sand and chemicals, deep underground to break shale apart and free the gas. Brown says it can be done safely and help achieve energy independence.
Warren, though, believes fracking poses possible health and environmental risks, particularly to the water supply. Fracking, she says, should be subjected to federal safe drinking water laws.
http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2012/10/sen_scott_brown_elizabeth_warr_1.html
Common sense & smart politics.