AP/ August 22, 2012, 2:47 AM

Biden: Wall Street reform foes were like "squealing pigs"

Vice President Joe Biden greets supporters as one hands him copy of the book, "Joe Biden," after he addressed grassroots rally, Tuesday ini Minneapolis

Vice President Joe Biden greets supporters as one hands him copy of the book, "Joe Biden," after he addressed grassroots rally, Tuesday ini Minneapolis / AP Photo/Jim Mone

(AP)MINNEAPOLIS — Vice President Joe Biden, who will be in Florida as Republicans gather to nominate their presidential ticket, on Tuesday compared GOP critics of the Obama administration's Wall Street reforms to "squealing pigs."

Biden's comments showed he has no intention of softening his attack-dog rhetoric, despite widespread criticism of remarks he made last week in which he said presumptive GOP nominee Mitt Romney and other Republicans would put Americans "back in chains" in order to unshackle Wall Street.

Appearing before a raucous crowd in downtown Minneapolis, Biden said a Democratic-led Congress had approved a law reining in the Wall Street excesses that contributed to the nation's economic collapse four years ago. The Dodd-Frank law, which toughened financial-industry regulations after the 2008 meltdown, was approved despite strong objections from Republicans, including Romney, Biden said.

"Over the objections — where they sound like squealing pigs — over the objections of Romney and all of his allies, we passed some of the toughest Wall Street regulations in history," Biden said.

Although the economy remains sluggish and unemployment persistently high, Biden said progress was being made under President Obama.

"Folks, the middle class has started to come back. They have been ravaged," he said.

That assertion led Romney spokesman Ryan Williams to retort, "Vice President Biden's claim that the middle class is 'coming back' couldn't be more out of touch with the reality. Whether it's high unemployment, falling incomes, soaring tuition costs, or rising prices, middle-class families are struggling in the worst economic recovery America has ever had."

Biden also said a budget plan offered by Romney and his running mate, Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., was neither new nor courageous.

"What's bold about gutting Medicare and education to pay for tax cuts" for the rich? Biden asked. "We've seen this movie before, we know how it ends. It ends with the Great Recession of 2008. It ends with catastrophe."

Biden said Romney had flip-flopped on trade sanctions against China by once denouncing them as protectionism but now supporting them. The vice president pointed to Romney's former firm, Bain Capital, to criticize the Republican further on China policy.

"I wish he'd been that tough when companies owned by Bain were outsourcing thousands of jobs to China," he said.

The Obama campaign announced that Biden will be attending events in Florida on Monday and Tuesday, including a stop in Tampa on the convention's opening day. Obama won Florida four years ago, but Republicans are hoping the weeklong convention will help them recapture the key battleground.

After his speech in Minneapolis, Biden asked reporters, "Any of you going to Florida?" He added, "I'm going to be the speaker at the convention."

© 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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kevcl6750 says:
Biden must think we are as stupid as he is ! The DEMOCRATS turned Wall street into a casino when Clinton signed repeal of Glas Steagal and Signed TOTAL DEREGULATION of Credit Default Swaps and derivatives in general. Dodd Frank should be repealed and replaced with reinstatement of Glass Steagal and TOTAL REGULATIONs of derivatives ! In case anyone is intereted in knowing the facts, Paul Volker, a Carter appointment to the FED has stated that two sentences in Glass Steagal managed to regulate the finance sector for over 60 years ! Now we have Dodd Frank, a 2000 page piece of garbabge that is making it almost impossible to get a small biz loan. Way to go barry, you have managed to make things worse if that is even possible !
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Swift29 replies:
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Right, tell me another of your pipe dreams moron. Who pushes deregulation? Who has pushed more deregulation thru since Ronnie Raygun? Who sponsored the bill they got Clinton to sign? Republicans! THEY passed it. Democrats were against Glas Steagall you idiot!! Took 5 years for ass-kiss Gramm and his crooks to pass it but it WAS NOT the Democrats. You swine. Otherwise I agree wholehearted ly w/your prescriptions but read up on your history just a little please kev.
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chevyhotrod says:
No justice in Corzine case
Cronyism is preventing prosecution

By Peter Schweizer

As the march to the November elections heats up, voters can expect to find fewer and fewer issues that unite Democrats and Republicans.

Yet one emerging issue appears to be gathering enough steam to produce a rare point of bipartisan agreement: the Justice Department's unwillingness or inability to charge, prosecute and seek conviction of a single Wall Street executive in the wake of the largest financial collapse in U.S. history.

One of the most glaring examples of the cronyism that has ground the process to a halt can be seen in the lack of any real action against former MF Global chief Jon Corzine.

Sixty-five members of Congress have signed a letter to Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. requesting that he appoint a special prosecutor to investigate MF Global's collapse and the loss of $1.6 billion in customer money. As the New York Times has noted, "Mr. Holder has the ultimate authority to decide whether a special counsel is necessary."

Some contend that the fact that Mr. Holder, Mr. Corzine and Associate Attorney General Tony West all previously served as fundraising "bundlers" for President Obama's presidential campaign is enough to warrant Mr. Holder's recusal and the appointment of a special prosecutor. Indeed, a letter signed by 65 members of Congress cites Mr. Corzine's $500,000 in fundraising for Mr. Obama as one of the reasons a special counsel is needed.

http://nation.foxnews.com/jon-corzine/2012/07/26/schweizer-no-justice-corzine-case

$1.6 Billion stolen from clients acounts and not a single prosecution by Eric Holder.

Is there no justice in America anymore?

Are we a nation of laws?

You can steal over a billion dollars and get away with it and rumor has it Jon Corzine is starting another hedge fund?

What is the so called media doing about it? Answer: NOTHING.
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chevyhotrod says:
by Mike239239 August 22, 2012 12:47 PM EDT
Dodd/Frank was gutted by republicans to protect their bosses on wall street. Only about 30 percent was left intact and that 30 percent was watered down.

____________________

Come on Mike, do you think you can actually post non sense like this?

Your lies and propaganda with be met with truth and reality.

Final Vote Results for House
Democrat 234 yeas 19 Nays
Republican 3 yeas 173 Nays

Vote Results for the Senate (On Passage of the Bill (H.R. 4173 As Amended )
Democrat 59 yeas 0 nays
Republican 0 yeas 39 nays
2 not voting


Dodd-Frank passed without a single Republican vote needed, the bi-partisan support was againt this bill.

Nobody gutted anything. The Bosses on Wall Street are all Democrats. See all my post below and educate yourself before you post non sense.

This so called Financial reform bill was writting by two (Dodd-Frank) of the most corrupt people that had close ties to the financial wall street fat cats.
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chevyhotrod replies:
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The Jew Hater continues to speak.....

House passed the Small Business Tax Cut Act. The measure would give small businesses with fewer than 500 employees a one-time 20 percent tax deduction.


Sounds like a good bill, considering 70% of all jobs created are from these small businesses with fewer than 500 employees.

Do you want a pay check or do you want welfare check?

We all know what he Jew Hater would prefer a welfare check.
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venusvegasvada says:
Wall Street live tested on lab animals:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=g8mynrRd7Ak
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chevyhotrod says:
Criminal Charges Against Corzine, MF Global Execs Unlikely
Thursday, August 16, 2012

Ex-MF Global CEO and former (Senate Democrat and good friends of Joe Biden, President Obama's fundraiser and #1 financial advisor) New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine will reportedly not face criminal charges stemming from the collapse of the brokerage firm that he helmed.

The New York-based commodities broker filed for bankruptcy last October and caused chaos for tens of thousands of account holders who lost access to their money. More than a billion dollars belonging to their customers is still considered missing. In the days before the company filed for bankruptcy, $200 million was transferred from customer accounts to the firm's accounts to cover an overdraft.

The high profile of the case makes the decision not to prosecute more symbolic than substantive. "It's a case that has attracted the public's attention," he explained, "and in the end if criminal charges are not brought against anybody in connection with the failure of MF Global, no doubt it will feed the public's frustration with the perceived lack of individual accountability."

The trustee overseeing the liquidation of the firm said MF Global under Corzine was changed from a commodity firm to a global investment bank without installing the proper controls.

The paper, citing people familiar with Corzine's plans, says the former Garden State politician is considering starting a hedge fund.

http://www.wnyc.org/blogs/wnyc-news-blog/2012/aug/16/criminal-charges-against-corzine-mf-global-execs-unlikely-report/

Jon Stevens Corzine (born January 1, 1947) is the former CEO of Goldman Sachs and of MF Global, and a former American politician, who served as the 54th Governor of New Jersey from 2006 to 2010. A Democrat, Corzine served five years of a six-year U.S. Senate term representing New Jersey before being elected Governor in 2005. He was defeated for re-election in 2009 by Republican Chris Christie. In March 2010, Corzine was named chairman and CEO of MF Global Inc., a financial services firm specializing in futures brokerage. The company filed for bankruptcy protection in October 2011, and Corzine resigned on November 4, 2011.

Chairman and CEO of the company in 1994 and successfully converted the investment firm from a private partnership to a publicly traded corporation. Corzine also chaired a presidential commission for Bill Clinton and served on the U.S. Treasury Department's borrowing committee. When Goldman Sachs went public after Corzine's departure, Corzine made $400 million.

Corzine has participated in meetings of the Bilderberg Group, a network of leaders in the fields of politics, business, and banking, from 1995-1997, 1999, 2003 and 2004
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chevyhotrod says:
by sandy 1027 August 22, 2012 11:03 AM EDT
The economy would be better if we didn't have obstructionists in Congress deliberately hindering its progress-not even willing to do the things that we have done in the past to boost the economy in economic times much better than these.As for incomes:The business sector has done well under President Obama, and many are sitting on record profits.

_________________________

Sandy, we need less debt and deficits in congress not more. If you are refering to congress limiting our debt and deficits from even more and more spending of money we do not have, then they are doing the job they were sent there to do by the people that voted them into office in 2010.

Companies are not doing well, that is just a standard talking point but has no basis in reality.

The USA GDP has continued to drop for the past year. A meager 1-2% growth will not create economic growth and prosperity. Are companies holding onto profits? Yes they are, because they are concerned and use future projections of growth and consumer spending to base their future on and it does not look pretty from where they are sitting and want to survive when the debt crisis hits hard, which it has not.
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nomorelibs says:
I love when Joe speaks. If he weren't so pathetic you would think he was a Republican plant trying to sabotage Obama.
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sandy 1027 says:
The economy would be better if we didn't have obstructionists in Congress deliberately hindering its progress-not even willing to do the things that we have done in the past to boost the economy in economic times much better than these.As for incomes:The business sector has done well under President Obama, and many are sitting on record profits.I have heard most of the arguments as to why they aren't hiring, and some have merit; but the bottom line in most cases isn't even about their survival or the prosperity of these companies , but greed . When G.W. Bush was president, thousands of corporations either closed their doors here altogether, or shipped hundreds of thousands of jobs abroad.This happened at a time when ,mind you,that in many ways, we had de facto deregulation.The Bush administration wasn't policing Wall St., nor the corporate sector period; and we have suffered the consequences of that.None of these sectors cared about the impact of their actions on the country, as a whole. [The GOP has fought all efforts to protect the public/consumers from financial abuses].Many complain about the corporate rate. The corporate tax rate is, on its face, high; but in reality, how many businesses actually pay anything close to the 35% rate ?Probably very few.Many are like GE, who paid "0" in taxes, either in 2010 or '11.In the past, it seemed that people were more patriotic.So were businesses. They seemed to have brought a "We're all in this together, and we rise or fall together' mindset to the table.There was a recognition by companies and their employees that they needed each other.Corporations understood that they needed good , loyal employees to make their businesses successful; and that it was in their best interests to give them their slice of the pie in good salaries and benefits.[ Also good for the economy because of purchasing power].Employees recognized that if they did their jobs well,thereby helping to make the company a success, that they would ( or should), benefit because of it.Both sides appeared to understand that working together was not only good for each other; but was also good for the overall economic health of the country.Not anymore.The dollar is too many people's god. America has been hurt by that; and the ideology and agenda that Romney-Ryan brings to the country only reinforces that.


Last point:It isn't a good idea for Joe Biden to break tradition , and go to Tampa next week.It will become a negative focal point and story.Out of respect , the GOP should be able to have the stage to themselves.At the rate that thy have been going, there's a good chance that they will self-destruct , anyway.
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wfw3536 says:
Why doesn't Gaffe Biden tell the folks how Timmy G, Obama main financial head was in charge of the New York fed when the big banks took folks to the cleaners. If you want to see incompetence just take a look at the Franks/Dodd banking bill which is a joke and leaves big banks off the hook because they know the Obama administration will not let them fail. We need a president who has a clue about big business and the financial world.
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Rocksman says:
Biden, what a light bulb.
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