Friday, September 7, 2012

And, who is Elizabeth Warren to speak about “The system is rigged”?

If there is something that you can really accuse the financial system of being rigged by, that are the capital requirements for banks based on perceived risks. These requirements favor immensely those already being favored by the markets, namely those borrowers perceived as “The Infallible”, and thereby discriminate immensely against those already being discriminated against by the markets, namely those borrowers perceived as “The Risky”, like small businesses and entrepreneurs. 

And that odious discrimination, constitutes a regulatory wedge which only increases the existing the inequalities and reduce the opportunities, as the “The Infallible” are most often the haves, and, the “The Risky”, the not haves. 

And since Elizabeth Warren, having been involved with regulations for such a long time, has not uttered a word against that regulatory discrimination, I am not sure what moral right she has to speak out about “The system is rigged”?

What nonsense is believing in a "level playing field", and then not speaking out against colleagues and regulations un-leveling it? What has regulatory discrimination against those perceived as "risky" to do with "giving everyone a fair shot"? What has this extreme regulatory risk-adverseness to do with the need to "restore the values that built the nation"? Is not just betting on The Infallible "betting against the American people"?

She said in her recent Democratic Convention speech: “I talk to small business owners all across Massachusetts. Not one of them—not one—made big bucks from the risky Wall Street bets that brought down our economy.” And I must say: “No, Elizabeth Warren, of course they did not, they were too busy having to pay all that extra interest rates to the banks that the bank regulations caused.” 

She said in her recent Democratic Convention speech: “We turned adversity into progress because that's what we do” And I must say: “No, Elizabeth Warren, you did not! You were among those many regulators who want to turn progress into risk-adversity! And this, amazingly, in the land of the brave!” 

But, let me be absolutely clear, I could use exactly the same arguments against all those on the other side of the political spectrum who extol the benefits of a free market, but who also keep absolute silence about this dirty regulatory intervention and distortion of the market. And so they should shut up too!

Does this mean I do not support the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau? Of course I support it! Only that I believe that one of that Bureau´s first responsibilities, is to see that those perceived as “risky”, are not also discriminated against by the regulators.

Albert Einstein dixit: “No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it