I have never been one for protectionism, as the grandson on an Irish Immigrant, I firmly believe in an open door policy, yet like the challenges my grandfather faced the United States can only hold the hope that opportunity offers. Not a silver spoon offer and at this time of rapidly rising unemployment which we can agree is a result of the failures by these institutions we find ourselves facing a national emergency, maybe even a national Katrina. We are past the time when these institutions should have heard the outcry for change, and to realize the harm they have inflicted on the neighborhoods and the very neighbors they live and work with. The actions in this news report are just a further demonstration of a total denial of responsibility.
This action by the very people and industry that has lead our country and the world into what I will continue to say is the second Great Depression has no justification. These actions clearly demonstrate that they lack the ethical and dear say moral values we expect in our society and they are clearly unwilling to change and adopt. This change in corporate action should be a cornerstone requirement; to justify the bailout they have received thus far and must be the corner stone of regulations that are part of the plan for the additional $350 Billion dollars to their bottom lines. May I repeat that we are talking our money not theirs but has their actions and corporate culture demonstrated a belief that it is all theirs and we are just allowed to use it if and when they say so. This continued denial of responsibility for their actions and the behavior that this attached article further demonstrates is justification for Nationalization of the entire sector. It is critical to this down turn that two things must occur in order to stabilize our economy the first is a floor on values and the second is a restoration of faith in the financial system. Actions like this and the spending of $18 billion on bonuses in 2008 and 50 Million dollars for French luxury aircraft is making it all to clear that this system critical to our economy is continuing to refuse to take responsibility for their betrayal of our trust. I would suggest in the strongest terms that President Obama and all 50 states need to take punitive steps to clear the decks of this generation of financial leadership that is unable to respond to the call for reform and to replace it as quickly as possible with new leadership that is willing to work to restore these core values to the financial sector, to rebuild the faith and trust lost.
My fear is that the longer this takes to happen the longer it will take to turn around this economy and to start the rebuilding of our future. The Stimulus thus far will be little more then a safety net for those who through little fault of their own have lost much we will cruise through the $815 billion with little hope of sowing seeds that will grow into a future if we do not deal first with this underlying crumbled foundation.
It may be time for Governor’s like our own Deval Patrick to look long and hard at State Chartered Banks and review the charter process and charter language and to propose changes to reflect the harsh realities of today’s crisis. My Hope is that this would be done in the same way that the cause of ethics reform in government has been championed. If there is one thing made clear it is that the financial sector is long past the time for Ethics reform.
TheBostonChannel.com
AP: Banks Sought Foreign Workers
Unclear How Many Actually Hired
POSTED: 7:38 am EST February 1, 2009
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — An Associated Press review of visa applications shows banks collecting billions of dollars in federal bailout money asked for permission to bring thousands of foreign workers to the U.S. for high-paying jobs.
The dozen banks have received the biggest rescue packages, worth more than $150 billion. They tried to bring in almost 21,800 foreign workers over the past six years to fill openings that paid an average salary of nearly $91,000.
As the economic collapse worsened last year the numbers of visas sought by the dozen banks in AP’s analysis increased by nearly one-third, from about 3,300 in fiscal 2007 to nearly 4,200 in fiscal 2008.
It’s unclear how many foreigners actually got hired, but it’s likely only a fraction of the requests were approved.
Foreigners are attractive hires because companies have found ways to pay them less than American workers.
As usual just my opinion
