In Major Speech, Obama Calls for Modernizing Our Regulation of Financial Markets
NEW YORK, NY—In a major economic address at Cooper Union today, Senator Barack Obama called for immediate relief for homeowners hit by the housing crisis, modernization of our regulatory framework, and an additional $30 billion stimulus package to jumpstart the economy and help protect families from the economic slowdown. As confidence in our financial markets wanes and Americans struggle in the face of a mortgage crisis, Obama stressed the importance of pushing back on the special interests and honoring our obligation to one another—and that doing so is not just a matter of altruism but a matter of self-interest.
“Under Republican and Democratic Administrations, we failed to guard against practices that all too often rewarded financial manipulation instead of productivity and sound business practices,” Senator Obama said. “We let the special interests put their thumbs on the economic scales. The result has been a distorted market that creates bubbles instead of steady, sustainable growth; a market that favors Wall Street over Main Street, but ends up hurting both.”
Obama was introduced at Cooper Union by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a legendary business executive who has shown deep commitment to community and family prosperity as mayor of America’s largest city.
In his speech today, Obama made the case that while markets are the engine of American progress, the government’s role as umpire and steward is critical to the function of the free market. For too long, he said, special interests have been able to bend the rules to maximize their profits on the backs of hardworking Americans.
Obama pledged to restore confidence in the markets, tackle the housing crisis and protect families from the economic slowdown by:
Ø Creating 21st century standards for transparency and oversight of the financial system in order to prevent future abuses and crises.
Ø Providing immediate relief to homeowners hit by the housing crisis.
Ø Enacting a second stimulus package to stabilize and strengthen the economy, provide aid to homeowners and states hardest-hit by the housing crisis, and extend and expand unemployment insurance.
A fact sheet detailing these steps, as well as Obama’s principles for modernizing the regulatory framework for our financial markets, can be found HERE.
A document containing statements of support from leading finance experts can be found HERE.
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