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Mostly Cloudy Schmitt got it right, and Obama should follow suit
Peter Schmitt, presiding officer of the Nassau County Legislature, got off on the wrong foot this year when he announced a 47 percent pay increase for himself and similar raises for the two other top members of the Legislature.
People were upset, and rightfully so. Now is not the time for pay increases, especially given that people are being laid off and the economy is still in turmoil.
Congratulations, Legislator Schmitt, for having the courage to change course and rescind the raises. You listened to your constituents and recognized that this was not in their best interests.
President Obama should take a lesson from Schmitt. In his first State of the Union address, the president attempted to revive his flailing presidency by focusing on the economy and job creation. Among other populist ideas he pushed, Obama strongly urged Congress to pass regulatory reform and institute a new bank tax.
He then jokingly compared the 2008 government bank bailout to a root canal. Mr. President, believe it or not, for some of us, it was even more painful.
Now is not the time for rhetoric. Like Schmitt, Obama should reverse course and listen to the citizens of our nation who want reform.
Last week, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner again was on the defensive in front of the House Oversight Committee regarding the government’s decision to bail out financial giant AIG. Big deal, you say. We’ve all seen Geithner on C-SPAN defending the bailout, except this time was different.
This time, Republican Congressman John Mica of Florida boldly told Geithner, “We’re getting a lame story.”
The current scrutiny of the AIG bailout deal and the benefits received by certain banks centers on the activities of the Federal Reserve Board and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The scandal presents a particularly embarrassing situation for federal bank regulators and state insurance regulators. The question is, What did those regulators know, when did they know it, and why haven’t they said anything up to this point?
