Here is a press release from David Krikorian:
Jean Schmidt finally shared her thoughts on the financial crisis and while I certainly agree that Congress must act swiftly and decisively, sadly Ms. Schmidt's proposal as reported in the Cincinnati Enquirer amounts to accounting shenanigans and flawed logic that will in the end only make the problem worse.
Ms. Schmidt's proposal centers on removing fair accounting rules that require financial institutions to reveal the true market value of the securities that they hold. This would allow financial institutions to continue misrepresenting their solvency. Representative Schmidt, with all due respect, how does trying to hide the problem help solve the crisis we are in? The problem is not mark-to-market accounting. The problem is the excessive use of leverage enabled by the Democrats and Republicans who traded responsible oversight for tens of millions of dollars in campaign contributions from PACs. The people of the second district should not stand for any more charades and Congress should stop trying to find ways to prop-up insolvent institutions.
Like many citizens, I am stunned by our leaders' inability to join together, honestly assess the situation, and take action on behalf of the American people. Last week, I issued a 14-point plan (Statement on Financial Crisis) to address the current market crisis honestly and effectively.
Today, I am adding four additional steps to that plan which should be incorporated into a comprehensive Economic Security Act including:
Ending the capital gains tax on long-term investments encouraging capital to return to the United States.
Eliminating the tax on savings encouraging citizens to put their money back into banking institutions so those banking institutions have the capital to provide liquidity to our financial system.
Substantially reducing our country's foreign intervention saving billions per week in badly needed capital to use in shoring up our country's balance sheet.
Ending the Community Reinvestment Act which essentially pressures banks into making home loans to people who cannot afford them.
The economic issues our country faces require leadership that understands sound financial policies. If the people of the second congressional district want an Independent representative who has been out in front of this economic crisis, they will vote for me this November instead of propping up the current partisan officials who are operating well behind the financial learning curve.
Don't get me wrong...David clearly has got some game on this issue, but
look at what the SEC did yesterday (Source: BizJournals.com) :
The U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission Tuesday decided to ease “mark to market” accounting rules which have hurt banks, mortgage lenders and the housing sector during the downturn.
Mark to market is a Sarbanes Oxley accounting rule that requires holdings, assets, and loans be valued at their current value. It was aimed at keeping company’s books on the up and up but it has devastated banks and mortgage lenders in the housing slump.
NOTE: I was unable to locate the Enquirer article that Krikorian references in his release. If anybody comes across it, please email me the link or leave it in the comments.
