2nd District Amnesia

5/14/2011 Stein for Congress: Utilizing the 2nd District's excellent library system presents...

                                    "A Look Back"
Republican congressional candidate Frank LoBiondo will take to the steps of Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. today to make his pledge to reform Congress.

 

Joining some 300 candidates from throughout the nation, LoBiondo , who is running in the 2nd District, says that if elected, he will support term limits, a balanced budget amendment, line item veto power for the president and a reduction in the number of committees.

"Congress spends too much, giving us mountains of debt," said the Assemblyman who represents Cumberland, Cape May and Atlantic counties. "Congress exempts itself from many of the laws that they pass.

"It's simple," he said. "There are too many politicians who have been in Washington too long. It is time to make them accountable."

The 300 candidates intend to stand up to the career politicians in Congress and bring change to government, LoBiondo said.

LoBiondo has devised a 10-point plan for congressional reform, which includes the following proposals:

*Enact term limits, limiting the number of years of service to 12.

*Eliminate taxpayer-funded perks, such as free cars.

*Eliminate taxpayer-funded newsletters and mass mailings.

*Apply the laws of the land to Congress.

*Make Congress accountable for junkets by requiring a vote before the trip and make public in advance all trip itinerary and costs.

*Cut the number of congressional committees, end seniority, and require members to attend meetings.

*Get rid of the House speaker's slush fund. This expense account is not made public.

*Stop automatic pay raises for Congress.

*Enact a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

*Provide the president with line item veto power.

"After 40 years the Democrats who control Congress have given failed policies, wasteful spending, scandal and just plain nonsense," LoBiondo said.

"... These reforms are essential to bringing Congress back into the real world," LoBiondo said. "Without them, we will just get business as usual in Washington."
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g Stock photo;  Democrat Candidate w/book (Ronald Reagan-good Republican-the best) visiting friends in Mexico, 2008.  2010's newly minted Democrat- Stein,  says, " I'm not raising any money, I'll never raise any money.  If I'm fortunate enough to win, .no money in 2012.  We'll throw the whole damn thing open to anybody and everyone!  The more I read about my Congressman's death grip on the 2nd District, the more I'm disgusted.  I voted "Lobiondo" 6 times.  I helped contribute to these one sided elections.  Partly my fault...... .............this death grip he has?  It really is.  Frank (Death Grip) LoBiondo

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Candidate Debate, Atlantic Community College 1994
 
In his introductory statement, LoBiondo said he offered the voters "real world experience," as he has been in the family trucking business for 25 years. He stressed the need for 12-year term limits and promised to follow the same rule himself whether he is elected or remains in the state Assembly.

"Twelve years is long enough to serve in any office," LoBiondo said.

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Stein's reaction to 2010's campaign research ( what we're calling "a look back"), "Hummanna, hummanna, hummanna...6 elections, 6 endorsements-I voted for this man....."MY FAULT, wasn't paying attention," sincerely "Ralph"
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more...................



Frank? 60+ per cent of the vote every two years!  For what? A chance to shine, as well as support your President; what's known as a Profiles in Courage Moment......BLOWN

The bipartisan bill to bail out U.S. financial institutions divided two local legislators of the same party.

U.S. Rep. Jim Saxton, R-3rd, backed the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act, while U.S. Rep. Frank LoBiondo , R-2nd, was one of 228 votes that led to the legislation's defeat Monday.

"In my eyes, and those of many South Jersey residents, there is no justification to support this bill with its $700 billion price tag, when a return on the taxpayers' investment is far from certain," LoBiondo said in a statement. "Corporate fraud and mismanagement have created today's financial instability. Forcing taxpayers to pony up hundreds of billions of dollars to bail out Wall Street's misconduct will not fix the underlying problems and is undeniably unfair to hardworking Americans." .....

But LoBiondo said that, in rejecting the bill, the House of Representatives "stood up for taxpayers' interests in a bipartisan showing."

"Congress must now roll up its sleeves and work in a true bipartisan and cooperative manner, examining the views of economic experts and engaging in an honest conversation with the American people," he said. "Despite the impending election, I strongly believe Congress should not adjourn until the reforms of Wall Street and interests of Main Street are addressed."
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                                           2009: A chance for bi-partisan reform and Frank to shine?

HR 4173

Date: 12/11/2009
Sponsor: Rep. Frank, Barney (D-MA)


A vote to pass a bill that amends and creates various statutes relating to regulation and oversight of activities within the United States financial system.

Frank (the phones were ringing off the hook) LoBiondo  voted No    Bill passed 223-202

                                                                 "Frank, Bi-Partisan? ...no, he's the ultimate survivor!" says Gary Stein
                                                                                                                             

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                                                                                       My Turn

TARP eventually passed with a large majority.  Frank voted "no" twice and against reform the next year.  That's TARP, as distinct from two stimulus packages, mostly public sector jobs programs, that have wasted a trillion dollars.  TARP on the other hand is well on the way to being payed back in full.

In the ensuing two years, countless Conservative columnists and economists, including my favorites, Charles Krauthammer, Stuart Varney, and David Brooks have defended the bailout of the hard to defend Wall Street Banks as a necessary evil.  Truly amazing, is the fact that in 1999, Frank LoBiondo voted to repeal the old Glass-Steagall act, a vote that helped enable Wall Street raiders, over the next ten years, to take over Main Street banks and get their greedy hands on private savings.   The rest is history.  No doc loans, variable rate loans, collateralized debt obligations, derivatives, double dealing (yes,betting against your own firms bond issues), phony AAA bond ratings, multi-million dollar salaries and bonuses......and the inevitable housing bubble! 

Frank (60+ per cent of the vote) LoBiondo failed the courage test when he voted no 2x to fix the mess he helped create.  Yes he did.  But worse, acting as if he was entirely blameless, he rubs salt in the wound with numerous, sanctimonious, dressing downs of Wall Street every chance he gets. Sort of like standing behind the teacher, pointing fingers at your friends, when you were up to your eyeballs and bad behavior yourself!    
Frank, it's time maybe "you to live with the laws you helped create"    I say this despite what happened in the Republican primary in Utah last week
  i.e., a Profile in Courage Senator, Robert Bennett losing in part, thanks to his vote 2 years ago for George Bush's TARP.  That's the way the ball bounces Mr. LoBiondo, sometimes you loose......so what!**



**  You'll still get your pension.
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from wikipedia

The banking industry had been seeking the repeal of Glass–Steagall since at least the 1980s. In 1987 the Congressional Research Service prepared a report which explored the cases for and against preserving the Glass–Steagall act.^[8]

The argument for preserving Glass–Steagall (as written in 1987):

1. Conflicts of interest characterize the granting of credit (that is to say, lending) and the use of credit (that is to say, investing) by the same entity, which led to abuses that originally produced the Act.

2. Depository institutions possess enormous financial power, by virtue of their control of other people’s money; its extent must be limited to ensure soundness and competition in the market for funds, whether loans or investments.

3. Securities activities can be risky, leading to enormous losses. Such losses could threaten the integrity of deposits. In turn, the Government insures deposits and could be required to pay large sums if depository institutions were to collapse as the result of securities losses.

4. Depository institutions are supposed to be managed to limit risk. Their managers thus may not be conditioned to operate prudently in more speculative securities businesses. An example is the crash of real estate investment trusts sponsored by bank holding companies (in the 1970s and 1980s).

The argument against preserving the Act (as written in 1987):

1. Depository institutions will now operate in “deregulated” financial markets in which distinctions between loans, securities, and deposits are not well drawn. They are losing market shares to securities firms that are not so strictly regulated, and to foreign financial institutions operating without much restriction from the Act.

2. Conflicts of interest can be prevented by enforcing legislation against them, and by separating the lending and credit functions through forming distinctly separate subsidiaries of financial firms.

3. The securities activities that depository institutions are seeking are both low-risk by their very nature, and would reduce the total risk of organizations offering them – by diversification.

4. In much of the rest of the world, depository institutions operate simultaneously and successfully in both banking and securities markets. Lessons learned from their experience can be applied to our national financial structure and regulation.^[8]

[edit] Events following repeal

The repeal enabled commercial lenders such as Citigroup, which was in 1999 the largest U.S. bank by assets, to underwrite and trade instruments such as mortgage-backed securities and collateralized debt obligations and establish so-called structured investment vehicles, or SIVs, that bought those securities.^[15] Elizabeth Warren,^[16] author and one of the five outside experts who constitute the Congressional Oversight Panel of the Troubled Asset Relief Program, has said that the repeal of this act contributed to the Global financial crisis of 2008–2009.^{[17] [18]}

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                                   Still Awake?  ........ so sorry
More un-frank, Franks @  http://www.steinforcongress2010.com/Evasive_8EKV.html