Obama Wants Wall Street to Take Responsibility for the Economy
Written by
Stacey Bumpus
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President Obama spoke at New York’s Federal Hall on Monday, where the topic of discussion was how Wall Street needs to take responsibility for the downfall of the economy, as well as its future. One year after Lehman’s downfall that intensified the financial meltdown, the president spoke on the state of the economy, as well as what the White House’s plans are to wind down government involvement in the banking sector.
Wall Street’s Role:
Since Wall Street was largely responsible for the downfall of the economy last year, Obama is said to want to urge the financial community to take responsibility for past, current and future actions in a number of ways. For one, he wants the financial community to support reforming the regulatory system. He also wants the community to avoid a return to the practices on Wall Street that led the economy to the financial crisis we’re still reeling from and to recognize its obligation to produce wider recovery overall.
The Government’s Role:
While Obama calls on Wall Street to heighten responsibility to the economy, he hopes to lessen the government’s role. Slowly, but surely, he wants to shut down emergency bank lending programs and allow the financial community to take over. According to the Treasury, the process of exit will not be a hasty one since time will be needed to make a proper transition.
The good news is that the slow transition from government involvement back to the financial community may mean more emergency fund availability for those in need. However, since taxpayers are likely going to have to foot the bill for the assistance at some point, is the slow transition actually a win-win situation for us?
