Letters to the Editor (Continued 2)

On April 29th I posted a commentary: Letters to the Editor (Continued) which I expected would exhaust this subject.

Since then, however, events have prompted me to write another letter to the New York Times, which I think I should share with you. It was written in response to an article on the front page of the May 2 Week in Review entitled: "The Spill vs. a Need to Drill."

My letter is set forth below:

"I am deeply disappointed at the lack of balance in the article “The Spill vs. a Need to Drill." The conclusion that we must drill is supported by, of all places, a quote from the Right wing “American Enterprise Institute” and in the graph by the figure that off shore drilling amounts to 30% of total domestic oil production. It somehow neglects to tell us that this is less than 7% of total consumption, a sum that could be made up by conservation."

While I did not mention the lies that have already entered the discussion on off shore drilling, I was rather shocked to hear Lamar Alexander R-TN and Chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, talk on Meet the Press about $14 a gallon gasoline if we don't do off shore drilling . While a reduction of 7% in oil supply might push the price of gasoline up by 25¢, a suggestion of $14 is so ridiculous as to be ludicrous, yet neither the moderator nor anyone else on the panel so fit to point that out.

While doing letters to the editor allow me to also share with you a letter written by one of my subscribers,  Patricia Burns of Edgewater, NJ to the New York Times and was written in response to David Brooks column entitled "The Geezers’ Crusade."

She wrote:

"As an octogenarian, I obviously qualify as a member of the Geezer Generation described in David Brooks' column.

From the Greatest Generation to the Geezers Who Take from the Young? I don't think so! Rather, I would place the blame for this sorry situation noted by Mr. Brooks on the manipulation and dishonest distortion of facts by politicians and ratings driven media. Geezers may be faring far better in their later years than ever before - but they, and everyone, need access to honest, factual proposals, clearly presented and free of super hyped scare tactics, to come to sane, honorable and, yes, unselfish responses to pressing problems of today and the future. This we have always done through the tough years of Depression, World War, Civil Rights and Antiwar stands. The Geezers of today are the same people. They have not all become by choice the "reverse generativity" culprits, nor can they alone straighten out the deliberate, dishonest attempt to paralyze thought and government by those who put money, greed and self-serving politics ahead of integrity, statesmanship and social priorities.

"Geezers Unite, yes! Unselfish leadership is necessary. But start in the present, with demanding that truth and honest facts prevail in the battle for the future. Those have always been the ground rules. They don't change and I would think neither do we."

And finally one of my subscribers Barbara Valentino of Port St. Lucie, Florida has been inspired to create her own blog entitled Welcome To Barbara’s World where she writes:

"Even before the 2008 crisis, the four biggest banks were "too big to fail." Since then, Wells Fargo has grown 43% bigger; JP Morgan Chase has grown 51% bigger; and Bank of America is now 138% bigger than before crisis. America's four largest banks - Citibank, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells-Fargo - have assets of $7.4 trillion, equal to 52% of our entire GDP.

The collapse of any one would endanger the American economy, even the world economy. They are truly "too big to fail." They also have too much economic and political power because of their enormous size.

As one would "think," banks are not the victims losing money because of the foreclosure nightmare. NO, they have turned it into BIG BUSINESS (some even argue that it was all a set up), making huge profits from the foreclosure crisis, hoarding immense wealth....they are the "honestiores," the honored; those suffering from the millions of foreclosures, are the humiliores, literally the humble.

According to the New York Times, "The [SAFE Banking Act] would reinforce a 1994 law that bars any single bank from holding more than 10% of the nation’s total deposits, or about $750 billion. In the years since then, large firms have obtained waivers or used loopholes in the law to exceed that ceiling." It would also limit total bank borrowing to 2% of GDP.

The bill has broad progressive support, including Dean Baker of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, Chris Hayes of The Nation, Prof. Lawrence Lessig, Heather Booth of Americans for Financial Reform, Adam Quinn of Credo, David Arkush of Public Citizen, and Jan Frel of Alternet. Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Ted Kaufman (D-Del.) plan to file an amendment they say will end banks that become “too big to fail” and prevent future bailouts.

The language, titled the SAFE Banking Act, would limit the size of big financial firms and would ensure that banks have adequate resources to cover losses they incur.

This bill would not only prevent bailouts and protect against economic collapse, it will help boost lending to small businesses. 

Due to the length of the post of I am not reproducing all of it. but those who want to read the rest can go directly to the blog Welcome To Barbara’s World.