To viewers that have been with us since 2008, you will recall that The New Agenda was the only national women’s rights group to speak out loudly and boldly when President Obama was considering Larry Summers for the post of Treasury Secretary. We issued a press release saying that Summers would put our economy in peril. Dr. Nancy Hopkins, who is a co-founder of The New Agenda was actually in the room at Harvard when Larry gave his famous speech about girls’ lower aptitude in mathematics and science. The New Agenda was joined by a prominent group of women in academia in which Dr. Hopkins is also a member, The Rosalind Franklin Society, in calling for Larry Summer to not be selected.
We won the battle, but lost the war. President Obama instead put Larry as director of the National Economic Council. This position did not require Senate confirmation, but gave Larry as much power as Secretary Timothy Geithner. We got the ole end around.
Now the chickens are coming home to roost.
The fox guarding the henhouse.
Now we learn that the same Larry Summers, the one who was outraged two weeks ago about some AIG executives who earned $1 million in bonuses, himself earned $8 million in bonuses from the same hedge funds and financial institutions that Larry was appointed to oversee and regulate. Is there a conflict of interest here? You better believe it!
For 2008, Larry was paid over $5 million from DE Shaw, one of the largest hedge funds in the world. DE Shaw has multiple strategies that they run – and many of these strategies intersect with markets in which Larry can have major impact. For example, the derivatives market which Larry and gang are seeking to regulate.
Larry also received $2.7 million from Wall Street banks during 2008 that were recipients of government bailout money. For one speech alone, Larry Summers was paid $135,000 by Goldman Sachs! Now, does Goldman Sachs ring a bell for anyone? Yes, not only has Goldman received billions of dollars of TARP funds, Goldman was also the single biggest beneficiary of money that was drained out of AIG. The New York Times recently reported that:
Goldman Sachs was paid $14 billion for securities that had a market value of $8 billion, equating to a $6 billion windfall. Add that to the $10 billion Goldman already received from the government, and its total bailout jumps to $16 billion.
Yes, Larry who gets to be a major voice in where our taxpayer dollars are allocated, has been collecting speaking fees from these same Wall Street firms!
Larry Summers needs to do one of the following: donate the $8 million he earned to charities that can help the millions of Americans struggling to put food on the table right now. And/or, he should step down from his post as the director of the National Economic Council immediately.
You made good and valid points Amy. The more discouraging item was that these high-end firms have been paying large sums of money to hear him speak. My observation is that he is truly a lousy speaker with nothing meaningful to say.
Meanwhile, last night I listened to Mark Shields on the News Hour whine that this recession is disproportionately affecting men. As bad as Larry Summers is, in terms of the Democratic Party and gender equity, he is just the tip of the iceberg.
Good article, Amy.
Good comments, John.
Maybe this iceberg is starting to melt(down)? Larry the oinker is getting lots of exposure now, and so is Dodd. As an aside, the growing tea party protests are fascinating–growing exponentially.
our President was elected on the position that what Summers has done wasn’t going to happen in an Obama administration.
I am so tired of “businesses that are too big to fail” and “people who are too important” who keep getting passes for their bad behavior. I’m also tired of people who think that “well we had to do something” and are giving a pass to people who are “doing something” without giving a thought to that “something” that is being done.
If Summers is given a pass too, we deserve what we get. Americans are morons!!!!
Thank you, Amy, for updating us.
Outrageous! It is time for Larry Summers to go. Larry Summers needs to do both of the following:
1. Donate the $8 million he earned to charities to help the millions of Americans struggling to put food on the table right now, AND
2. He must step down from his post as the director of the National Economic Council immediately. He should be fired for his dishonesty, lack of integrity, huge conflict of interest, and lack of moral fiber. Is this who should be advising Obama on financial issues and the economy?
There’s a lot more:
1. Larry Summers fired Iris Mack, PhD, for blowing the whistle:
”A former quantitative analyst at Harvard Management Company, the university’s once-vaunted endowment manager, tells the Harvard Crimson she was fired for voicing concern to then-university president Larry Summers’ chief of staff about the money manager’s risky use of derivatives the traders didn’t understand.
“The episode dates back to 2002, when analyst Iris Mack, . . .the second African American woman to earn a Harvard PhD. in applied math . . . joined the much-venerated Harvard Management Company, which invests the university’s then $18 billion endowment, to find what she termed a “frightening” state of affairs.”
Check out the whole story here: http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpoi.....actice.php
2. Conflict of interest: Summers is a managing director of the hedge fund D. E. Shaw & Co. Did he try to help his friends and himself by continuing to bail out businesses? You bet.
3. Andrei Shleifer, a close friend of Summers cost Harvard a $26 million settlement with the U.S. government. A federal court found Shleifer liable for conspiracy to defraud the U.S. Government, after Shleifer violated conflict-of-interest rules by making secret investments in Russia at the same time he was working for a Harvard group contracted by the U.S. Government to advise the Russian government. While Shleifer was being investigated, Summers pushed to have Shleifer promoted to a prominent chair at Harvard. http://www.opednews.com/articl.....6-709.html
4. Summers was a main player in financial deregulation, a primary cause of the present economic crisis. Summers sought to silence Brooksley Born, head of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, who correctly foresaw that unregulated derivatives trading could put other financial markets at risk. While Born attempted to draft regulations to address this risk, Summers and his cronies accused her of fostering a financial crisis. Congress, apparently under pressure from Summers et al, suspended Born’s Commissions’ regulatory authority. Born then left her position as head of the Commission. “It was Larry Summers who called her up and screamed at her,” according to Siskind, who notes that the financial meltdown might have been averted if Summers had listened to Born (a woman).?? http://thenewagenda.net/2008/1.....ew-agenda/
5. While at the World Bank, Summers signed a memo that declared: “Just between you and me, shouldn’t the World Bank be encouraging MORE migration of the dirty industries to the LDCs [Least Developed Countries]?” The memo noted, “I think the economic logic behind dumping a load of toxic waste in the lowest wage country is impeccable and we should face up to that.” http://www.whirledbank.org/ourwords/summers.html
The guy has got to go.
Thanks ER. We are contemplating a press release.
Quote above:
“5. While at the World Bank, Summers signed a memo that declared: “Just between you and me, shouldn’t the World Bank be encouraging MORE migration of the dirty industries to the LDCs [Least Developed Countries]?” The memo noted, “I think the economic logic behind dumping a load of toxic waste in the lowest wage country is impeccable and we should face up to that.” http://www.whirledbank.org/ourwords/summers.html
The guy has got to go.”
Holy Crappola, this is robber baron- and- screw -them at its best. I’d never seen this before, and thank ER .
I agree that this is a conflict of interest that should not be allowed to stand. On the other hand, I don’t grasp the connection between the current news and women’s rights.
I say have congress vote to tax him at 90%!
Hi Judy—–The connection is this—–if Summers had said about African-Americans what he said about women., he would have been immediately disqualified for any high level appointment. However, he said it about women (not African-Americans) so that made it ok. He’s become a symbol of derision. It is not exactly the most intellectually rigorous argument, but it was wrong for him to be appointed to anything under this double standard. We have a point to make, and for many of us, he’s as good a symbol as Chris Matthews. Why should anyone get away with insulting women in the most heinous fashion from a position of high responsibility and then get away with the kind of bad behavior described above. It all adds up to the definition of a poor leader. But of course, he’s too important to let bad behavior get in the way. A gross insult here, major hypocrisy there. We must demand better from our leaders.
Thanks Amy! I agree with a Press Release, and think it’s important. We need to get the word out!
ACTION PLAN:
1. TNA Press Release –some ideas for points:
• Larry Summers has demonstrated serious conflicts of interest, he is corrupt, dishonest, unethical,and should be fired.. Summers’ has repeatedly demonstrated unethical behavior over many years and in many situations (see post above for some details and citations).
• Larry Summers, and others, were repeatedly warned by women of impending financial disaster because of financial management under his direction. Not only did he ignore these women, he berated them and fired them when he could.
Examples:
Brooksley Born—here’s a great article, ”Prophet and Loss: Brooksley Born warned that unchecked trading in the credit market could lead to disaster, but power brokers in Washington ignored her. Now we’re all paying the price”, from the Stanford Alumni Magazine. http://www.stanfordalumni.org/...../born.html
Iris Mack—article”Harvard Derivatives Whiz Fired For Emailing Larry Summers About “Frightening” Trades?”http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/04/larry_summers_ignored_frightening_trading_practice.php and another article here: http://www.boston.com/business.....sky_moves/
• President Obama has a moral responsibility to fire Summers.
2. Here are 3 additional pertinent articles:
a. ” The Enemy Within: President Obama Must Dump Summers?To Save His Presidency” by Debra Hanania-Freeman, ”http://www.larouchepub.com/other/2009/3613must_dump_summers.html
b. ”Eight reasons to dump Larry Summers”,
http://www.larouchepub.com/oth.....mmers.html
c. ”Larry Summers, Tim Geithner and Wall Street’s ownership of government”http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2009/04/04/summers/
3. You can let President Obama know what you think here: http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/ or FAX him here: 202-456-2461
Additional Strategy:
Michael Moore’s next documentary will be about Wall Street and the financial industry. His films reach a large audience. He has requested help and contacts.
You can email him to let him know:
1. Women warned and tried to have a voice to prevent the economic crisis but were ignored (article citations above). Larry Summers and other men discriminated against, and, in some cases, fired the very women who may have saved the country had they been listened to.
2. It should be mandated / legislated / required that a certain percentage of women should hold positions at the very top levels of every corporation and institution in this country, including the government. It is time now for parity / equal rights / affirmative action for women in the US. And it’s clearly dangerous for us all when the men run our financial and other institutions and women have little or no voice or power!
3. Studies show that gender parity on Wall Street (and everywhere else) might have averted some of the economic disaster. http://thenewagenda.net/2009/0.....ment-13749
We also know gender parity improves companies’ performances. http://www.catalyst.org/public.....-on-boards
Michael Moore’s email is: bailout@michaelmoore.com
Together we are strong!
Do we really trust that Michael Moore is going to do an honest and thorough expose of Wall Street and the financial industry given his repulsive support for Obama during the election season?
RealChange, I don’t know what Michael Moore will do. I think the most important focus is exposing the Larry Summers issue.
http://blogs.reuters.com/great.....orm-doubt/
“In a thoughtful article in the latest edition of The Atlantic magazine, former IMF chief economist Simon Johnson argues U.S. policy has been controlled for the past two decades by a “financial oligarchy” which exercises influence through campaign contributions and the regular exchange of top personnel between Wall Street firms and the White House, Treasury and other institutions meant to regulate them. It promotes an identity of views between the regulators and the regulated (http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200905/imf-advice).
The disclosure of Summers’ earnings simply fuels that impression, and the administration’s decision to publish the disclosure forms on a Friday afternoon shows awareness of the embarrassing appearance of business as usual for an administration that came to power promising “change we can believe in.”
No one is accusing Summers or other senior officials of impropriety. His deep involvement with Wall Street was known at the time of his appointment and the fees were all earned before he accepted a position. But with his highly quantitative approach, assumption the solution to most problems is a market-based one, plus instinctive hostility to most forms of regulation, Summers epitomizes the financial revolution that so visibly failed in 2008. He is a leading exponent of the ancien regime. It is hard to imagine he will really press for significant reform in the months and years ahead.
If the president wants more funding from Congress, and to demonstrate he is serious about changing the way Wall Street works, he needs to broaden his circle of advisers.
The president is not short of advice. But he needs to reach out beyond the tight circle of Summers-Geithner-Rubin-Gensler to consider alternative views, then have the courage to trust his reformist instincts rather than the status quo views of the Wall Street-Washington establishment.”
Time for a woman to be appointed! How about Laura Tyson?
Or, Elizabeth Warren?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/busi.....regulators
Warren also believes there are “dangers inherent” in the approach taken by treasury secretary Tim Geithner, who she says has offered “open-ended subsidies” to some of the world’s biggest financial institutions without adequately weighing potential pitfalls. “We want to ensure that the treasury gives the public an alternative approach,” she said, adding that she was worried that banks would not recover while they were being fed subsidies. “When are they going to say, enough?” she said.
She said she did not want to be too hard on Geithner but that he must address the issues in the report. “The very notion that anyone would infuse money into a financially troubled entity without demanding changes in management is preposterous.”
More on Elizabeth Warren:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/.....83291.html
“Elizabeth Warren’s the chief watchdog for the 700 billion TARP fund. Unfortunately, she has no real power, but it’s still nice to see a government official say not just some of the right things, but almost all of the right things.
She also calls for the resignation of the CEOs of the worst firms.
I don’t have much hope any of this will occur. Warren’s not part of the boys club of Summers, Geithner, Bernanke and Obama who’s making the decisions. But one can hope…”
No one is accusing Summers or other senior officials of impropriety. His deep involvement with Wall Street was known at the time of his appointment and the fees were all earned before he accepted a position.
Disagree. Appointing the fox to guard the chicken coop is always improper. That the guard is well known to be a fox means that 1) the offense is even more in-your-face outrageous, and 2) the people who had the means to stop it are both negligent and stupid.
Kudos to The New Agenda for its past and ongoing efforts to dislodge this scoundrel from positions of power.
I agree it’s time for women economists to be appointed, and at all levels of government!
Recently ran across some information on Nancy Folbre, PhD. She describes herself as a feminist economist. Has done some impressive things and written a number of books–The Invisible Heart: Economics and Family Values, Valuing Children: Rethinking the Economics of the Family, and others.
Sat next to a government person on a plane recently. Apparently there are many jobs available that haven’t been filled right below the top jobs (i.e., cabinet positions)in many government departments. What if we could mobilize women to fill these positions?
Women get the positions, then promptly get ignored…
“Elizabeth Warren, in charge of oversight of the financial industry bailout, told a congressional panel Tuesday that the Treasury Department has not been cooperating with her efforts to oversee the project.
“We do not seem to be a priority for the Treasury Department,” said Warren.
She added that the administration’s failure to ask for more accountability has led to a situation that is difficult to oversee. “This problem starts with Treasury,” she said.
Warren is testifying before the Senate Finance Committee.
Warren argued that “continuous subsidization without vigorous oversight is exactly what got us into this.” She complimented the administration’s oversight of the auto industry, but contrasted it with the lack of the same with regard to the banks.”
Amazing. . . here we go again with the women warning about serious financial problems and mismanagement, yet not being heard nor taken seriously. It’s happened with:
Elizabeth Warren
Brooksley Born
Sheila Bair
Iris Mack
and more.