hkHog Posted November 9, 2008 Share Posted November 9, 2008 Have you heard of the little talked about OFHEO?Warren Buffet had some interesting things to say about them on CNBC in August. (source: http://www.clusterstock.com/2008/8/that-awesome-warren-buffett-cnbc-interview) Mr. BUFFETT: Well, it's really an incredible case study in regulation because something called OFHEO was set up in 1992 by Congress, and the sole job of OFHEO was to watch over Fannie and Freddie, someone to watch over them. And they were there to evaluate the soundness and the accounting and all of that. Two companies were all they had to regulate. OFHEO has over 200 employees now. They have a budget now that's $65 million a year, and all they have to do is look at two companies. I mean, you know, I look at more than two companies. QUICK: Mm-hmm. Mr. BUFFETT: And they sat there, made reports to the Congress, you can get them on the Internet, every year. And, in fact, they reported to Sarbanes and Oxley every year. And they went--wrote 100 page reports, and they said, `We've looked at these people and their standards are fine and their directors are fine and everything was fine.' And then all of a sudden you had two of the greatest accounting misstatements in history. You had all kinds of management malfeasance, and it all came out. And, of course, the classic thing was that after it all came out, OFHEO wrote a 350--340 page report examining what went wrong, and they blamed the management, they blamed the directors, they blamed the audit committee. They didn't have a word in there about themselves, and they're the ones that 200 people were going to work every day with just two companies to think about. It just shows the problems of regulation. Exactly right, regulation agencies never work as they should. The only way to fix the financial mess is to align the banks' incentives with the regulations we desire and let the market take care of it because regulatory agencies will ALWAYS drop the ball. My suggestion is enforce strict new antitrust laws that limit the maximum size a bank can be so that the health of any individual bank cannot negatively effect the entire economy. Then let banks do whatever they want and take on whatever risks they want to but assure them that if they screw up no federal aid is coming their way. You'll see the banks start to regulate themselves because then if they make mistakes they will be out of business and not be getting bailed out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twa Posted November 9, 2008 Share Posted November 9, 2008 No, I hadn't heard of OFHEO and I agree with you. So, add to my request for enforcement and proper funding/staffing, mechanisms to check the competency of the oversight mechanisms because clearly whether it was done innocently, intentionally, or with malice our government's ability and many corporations ability to self-check needs to be looked at. So the watcher's (OFHEO) watcher's(regulatory commission)watcher's(Executive branch) watcher's(Congress)watcher's(voting public) need some more watching? Along with more funding?...sounds like you work for the Fed;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burgold Posted November 9, 2008 Share Posted November 9, 2008 Well, I never said it wasn't a mess. Part me hopes that some of the lack of oversight was due to instruction from above that government interference was a no no and that simply with leaders more amenable to enforcing regulations some of this incompetence will magically drift away. Part of me believes that's believing in the tooth fairy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MurrayH81 Posted November 9, 2008 Share Posted November 9, 2008 Perhaps the watching organization's employees can be held personally accountable for failure to do their job's correctly (financially and legally). You don't need multiple watcher organizations, you need accountable people doing the work, and a ban on people/families going to work for 6 years for the organization they were watch-dogging. Of course, the same can equally be true for Congress (the People's watchdog), and the Administration. (Toss in either a no campaign contribution rule for lobbyists, or make all elections publicly funded period). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ax Posted November 9, 2008 Share Posted November 9, 2008 Ban all-white, and all burgundy uniforms for the Redskins. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spaceman Spiff Posted November 9, 2008 Share Posted November 9, 2008 Give Burgold his own AM radio station. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcnativenerd Posted November 9, 2008 Share Posted November 9, 2008 Here's what I wrote: Dear Mr. President-Elect, My name is Christopher. Unfortunately, I was not able to vote in this past election since I am only 17 years old. Furthermore, I'm afraid if I did go to the polls, I don't believe you would have received my vote. You see, I'm a libertarian; and parts of your platform contradict my personal beliefs. My basic vision for this nation is a micro-sized federal government with a shrunken executive branch. The federal government is far too powerful for my liking and I believe this nation must return to it's civic roots. President-Elect Obama, your speeches have inspired me to become a better person and to demand more from my nation. It's just a shame you and I don't share the same beliefs on the issues. I hope, though, that you can do this country some good and pave the way for a brighter future. Though I didn't support you when you were Senator Obama, you can bet I will support you when you are President Obama. You've inherited a broken nation. Be careful with it. Godspeed, Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spaceman Spiff Posted November 9, 2008 Share Posted November 9, 2008 Here's what I wrote:Dear Mr. President-Elect, My name is Christopher. Unfortunately, I was not able to vote in this past election since I am only 17 years old. Furthermore, I'm afraid if I did go to the polls, I don't believe you would have received my vote. You see, I'm a libertarian; and parts of your platform contradict my personal beliefs. My basic vision for this nation is a micro-sized federal government with a shrunken executive branch. The federal government is far too powerful for my liking and I believe this nation must return to it's civic roots. President-Elect Obama, your speeches have inspired me to become a better person and to demand more from my nation. It's just a shame you and I don't share the same beliefs on the issues. I hope, though, that you can do this country some good and pave the way for a brighter future. Though I didn't support you when you were Senator Obama, you can bet I will support you when you are President Obama. You've inherited a broken nation. Be careful with it. Godspeed, Chris :applause::applause: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnyderShrugged Posted November 9, 2008 Share Posted November 9, 2008 I really like that he's doing this. Now I just have to hope that he listens to some folks that didnt vote for him as well as those who did. I honestly and truly hope that he will be as great a President as many hoped he would. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnyderShrugged Posted November 9, 2008 Share Posted November 9, 2008 Here's what I wrote:Dear Mr. President-Elect, My name is Christopher. Unfortunately, I was not able to vote in this past election since I am only 17 years old. Furthermore, I'm afraid if I did go to the polls, I don't believe you would have received my vote. You see, I'm a libertarian; and parts of your platform contradict my personal beliefs. My basic vision for this nation is a micro-sized federal government with a shrunken executive branch. The federal government is far too powerful for my liking and I believe this nation must return to it's civic roots. President-Elect Obama, your speeches have inspired me to become a better person and to demand more from my nation. It's just a shame you and I don't share the same beliefs on the issues. I hope, though, that you can do this country some good and pave the way for a brighter future. Though I didn't support you when you were Senator Obama, you can bet I will support you when you are President Obama. You've inherited a broken nation. Be careful with it. Godspeed, Chris I shed a lil tear at that!:notworthy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ldysknzfn1 Posted November 9, 2008 Share Posted November 9, 2008 20/400. I'm blind as a bat w/o my glasses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnyderShrugged Posted November 9, 2008 Share Posted November 9, 2008 20/400. I'm blind as a bat w/o my glasses. well played!!!:applause::applause: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burgold Posted November 10, 2008 Share Posted November 10, 2008 Give Burgold his own AM radio station. AM? lol Oh all right, I'll take it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcnativenerd Posted November 10, 2008 Share Posted November 10, 2008 AM? lol Oh all right, I'll take it. Wait, what was that? You're breaking up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burgold Posted November 10, 2008 Share Posted November 10, 2008 Wait, what was that? You're breaking up Hey, the range of our station can be measured in thousands of inches. Thousands! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.