EXCLUSIVE: Vice President Biden Says US Banks Not Doing Enough for Americans
EmailVice President Biden said today said the nation’s large banks are not doing enough for the American people and the Obama Administration is trying to focus on small community banks to jumpstart the economy and allow small businesses to hire new workers.
From our interview:
TAPPER: Are the banks doing enough?
BIDEN: No.
TAPPER: And what do the banks owe the American people?
BIDEN: Well, I think the banks owe the American people the responsibility to give them a fighting chance, particularly small businesses. But, look, here's what's happened. The banks now are solvent. The big banks, they're solvent. And if you're a big company, if you are, you know, a major oil company or a major chemical company or a major medical company you have no problem getting money and expanding…So what we've that's why the president has said, we want to now take $30 billion of that money, which almost all of which is paid back and we're going to get it all back from the so-called TARP, the Troubled Asset fund that went to the big banks, and move it to main street. Give incentives to the medium sized small banks.
When you own a, when you own a hardware store in Claymont, Delaware, you don't go to Bank of America to get your loan. You go to the local bank. And the local bank is having trouble because a lot of those local banks have a lot of investment in real estates, in mortgages and the like. So you've got to give the banks, the small banks, the capital to be able to lend it to get themselves in the position where they feel secure they can lend to you.
That's the other reason why, Jake, we put in a, you know, a $5,000 tax credit for small businesses if they go out and hire a new employee. They're going to be hiring a new employee six months, eight months. You ask in the surveys, yes, we think we're going to be in a year. And we've got to move that up. We've got to jump-start the economy. And but, you know, it's hard. When you don't have a job, man, when you don't have a job, it's a depression.
For a full read-out of our conversation, click HERE.
-jpt
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Funny how this works out. Bush whined about how the banks needed to be bailed out or lending would dry up. He bailed out the banks, and 18 months later, they still aren’t lending. Yet the Chamber of Commerce (white citizens council) tells us that financial regulation would kill small business.
Wha?
Posted by: Flash Override | March 18, 2010, 9:33 pm 9:33 pm
- everyone complains when oil speculators drive up the price of gas and heating oil, but nobody wants a solution, regulations to prevent ‘capitalists’ from bleeding the citizens dry for no other reason then cash, and because they can….
Banks and other financial institutions collapse the economy, bring the US to it’s knees, get ‘bailed out’ at virtually zero interest loans from the taxpayers, everyone complains that the ‘bailout’ is a fraud, and that the banks are still doing what got them and us in trouble in the first place.. but there are many who balk at regulation to prevent a recurrence.. and , insult to injury the banks who got free money from us, now bleed us with rate increases, foreclosures etc.
anyone who doesn’t believe that left to their own devices, the big ‘capitalists’ will use whatever means necessary to make another buck..to ‘our’ detriment, and, at our expense is dreaming.
we can argue about what may be fair regulation wise, but recent history shows clearly what happens when regulations are relaxed, and loopholes are left to those who are to ‘big to fail’
recently many cry about ‘socialism’ with regard to HCR legislation….. I would suggest that the ‘socialism’ is insuring profits for corporations banks,and CEO’s.. and leaving the catastrophic losses for the american people to pay… aka corporate welfare which has been going on forever.
Posted by: PO'd | March 18, 2010, 11:22 pm 11:22 pm
Poor Mr. Biden. There he goes again.
The reason for banks not lending to
main street, who needs it the most, is
that they know that another bubble will
soon burst, so in good business practice
they are hoarding their capital in order
to protect themselves and their stock
holders. We, the American people bailed
them out, but clearly, sharing the wealth is not part of their agenda.
Good luck,America.
Posted by: Christopher Popham Smith | March 19, 2010, 6:07 am 6:07 am