An Eye On Barney Frank

Let’s have a little fun as we get ready for what looks like a run of the table by the Democrats.
Without a doubt, one of the key players in the next four years is going to be Bill O’Reilly’s favorite troll congressman, Barney Frank.

The guy is going to be in the eye of the storm if he isn’t already. His outspoken antipathy towards the private sector combined with his penchant for centralized control of the economy have been much on display the past few months and we’re likely to see much more in the near future. He can probably be viewed as a great barometer of the direction of regulation and the extent of control the new administration and congress will exert. The amount of press, the length of his leash and the success of his proposals will tell us much about what we can expect.

In that vein, and just because the guy is so outrageous, I’m going to start compiling his statements. I’ll print what I have so far here and add to this list as I see new ones. I’ll keep in a category we’ll call BF’s. You can easily find it in the category list on the right hand side of the page. If any of you find anything send it along with a link and I’ll put it up.

Here’s what I have so far:

“I am deeply disappointed that a number of financial institutions are distorting
the legislation that Congress passed at the President’s request to respond to
the credit crisis by making funds available for increased lending,” Frank said.
“Any use of the funds for any purpose other than lending — for bonuses, for
severance pay, for dividends, for acquisitions of other institutions, etc. — is
a violation of the terms of the Act.”
“I appreciate the fact that the
secretary of the Treasury has re-emphasized that increased lending activity is
the only legitimate purpose for taxpayer funding of these institutions,” Frank
said. “He must make it absolutely clear to any participating entity that the
federal government will insist on compliance.” Housing
Wire, October 31, 2008

There should be a moratorium on bonuses,'' Frank, a Massachusetts Democrat, told
reporters yesterday in Washington. ``They have a negative incentive effect
because they are the ones that say if you take a risk and it pays off you
get a
big bonus,'' and if it causes losses ``you don't lose anything.'' Bloomberg,
October 22, 2008

Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Sheila
Bair should lead a ``government-wide effort'' to stem foreclosures and keep
struggling borrowers in their homes, House Financial
Services Committee Chairman Barney
Frank said.

Bair should supervise and coordinate the federal response to
``the foreclosure crisis that continues to undercut economic recovery,'' Frank,
of Massachusetts, and Representative Maxine
Waters of California, both Democrats, wrote in a letter to President George
W. Bush yesterday. The lawmakers said they have been ``very impressed'' with
Bair's loan-modification efforts. Bloomberg,
October 21, 2008

Under the buying up of assets, they could buy up automobile loans," said Barney
Frank, a Massachusetts Democrat who chairs the House Financial Services
Committee.

While Frank has been a critic of rating
agencies being too lax in the past, he said on Tuesday they now seem to be
leaning too far the other way.
"Now I think rating agencies in some cases
have been too tough," he said. He was speaking following a meeting of the Urban
Land Institute, a nonprofit research and education organization. Reuters
October 14, 2008

Frank said he expected lenders to help more borrowers or he would consider
changing the relationship between servicers and investors to remove contractual
barriers to modifying loans. Servicers have said they are sometimes constrained
from changing loans because by contract they must represent investors who own
the mortgage.
``If it is the case that the servicers cannot respond
appropriately, then that institution of a servicer acting on behalf of ultimate
investors'' can't continue, Frank said during the hearing. Bloomberg
July 25, 2008

You get the idea don't you.

Tom Lindmark

Welcome

Welcome to my new/old blog. Things look a little sparse right now but give me some time and hopefully it will look like a decent page. Design and tech are not my strong suits. A good techie could have probably finished all of this in 10 minutes. It took me all morning.

Anyway, a little background. I am still working in real estate and still with Metropolitan, the firm for whom I started writing a blog. They are in the middle of redesigning their website and it was an opportune time for me to start my own blog. Hopefully, I will be able to bring over most of my content next week, but in the meantime I’ll start creating some new stuff.

Metro asked me to start a blog for them back in March and frankly it was something I never thought about doing before. So take it from me, it was a big surprise personally when I found out I loved blogging. I owe them big time for getting me into this. I’m thrilled to be able to move over here and start my own.

You won’t find a lot different. I’ll probably still go at things from a financial and economic point of view. I’m involved in real estate so look for a fair amount of content here to be geared in that direction. By the same token, now that I have to answer only to myself, there will probably be a few more pointed articles and I’ll probably venture into politics a little more, particularly as it relates to the economy or certain industries. I also have a couple of new ideas I’ll be trying out.

I think this site has better comment capability than did the old one, so please feel to say anything and everything. I learn a lot from my readers. You will probably see a “Tip Jar” on the left. I debated long and hard about whether or not to include it. I routinely contribute to other blogs I read either by clicking on their advertising or leaving a couple of bucks when they have a similar feature. I figure that they work long and hard putting the stuff the benefits me together so why not throw a little money their way. I’m still queasy about doing it so let me know if it offends anyone. If a lot of you say yes then I’ll get rid of it.

As always, give me feedback. Tips, ideas for articles and even negative feedback are welcome. Oh, and by the way, be sure and subscribe to the feed on this site so you continue to get notices as new posts go up. The button is located in the right hand column.

Tom Lindmark

Oops, I forgot to tell you about the name of this blog. It comes from a column that George Will once wrote about the critical mistake of failing to ask what happens if I do so and so. Will used the example of Admiral Yamamoto, the chief of naval operations for the Japanese Imperial Fleet in World War ll. When asked if he could bomb the American Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor, he responded that yes he could lay waste to it given a few military assets. Then he looked at those who had raised the prospect and is reputed to have said "But then what?" You see Yamamoto had studied at Harvard and knew the American psyche well. He knew full well that waking the sleeping giant would eventually spell disaster and defeat for the Japanese.
It’s a question that I see glossed over or ignored more times than not. You are likely to hear me ask it frequently.