Greece; ever since I moved to America and for years thereafter, I have been trying to find news, any news about Greece in the local and national US newspapers. But, after years of failing to do so, I came to the realization that Greece, is really too small – it does not matter. This of course was to change with 2010 rolling in…
It has been now about two months that, to my shocking surprise, we have been bombarded with news about Greece. Every single day, there is one or more stories in the front page of the Wall Street Journal and other newspapers, all analyzing the importance of Greece in the European Union in particular, and the world’s financial health in general. I have spent the last few days in Denmark and Germany and a day does not go by without seeing Greece in the front, middle and back pages of the Financial Times and other newspapers written in languages beyond the four I can personally speak. So the question is, what makes little-tiny Greece, all of a sudden the center of the universe again? Don’t get me wrong, I am thrilled that Greece is in the news daily, but the question is why does Greece matter?
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The debate about Social Security’s depleting fund has been going on for years. Recently, analysts have begun discussing possible solutions to ensure the availability of Social Security for future generations. The Administration’s 2005 trustees report predicted massive annual deficits starting by 2017. This means that by 2017, this Administration will be putting out more money than it’s collecting through taxes. What’s even more troubling is that there’s no definite plan of action to permanently fix this huge problem.
One idea was to increase the payroll taxes by 2% and over a 75 year period, the deficit problem was expected to be resolved. However, the future deficits are growing so large that this modest tax increase will still leave a large shortfall. Social Security’s impending crisis cannot be resolved with this small tax increase.
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In an attempt to overhaul the U.S financial system, Senator Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) has unveiled draft legislation that would bring major changes to the existing regulatory system. The proposal would create three new agencies while eliminating several others with the objective of monitoring bank practices and protecting consumers.
The 1,100 page draft bill offers more sweeping change than legislation that has recently been proposed by the White House and in the House of Representatives. Senator Dodd’s proposal removes most of the Federal Reserve’s banking oversight and consumer protection powers, leaving it the primarily in charge of monetary policy. Additionally, the bill calls for the establishment of a “Super Regulator” to oversee all banks. This new agency, called the Financial Institutions Regulatory Administration, would absorb the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Office of Thrift Supervision. It would also assume banking oversight powers currently held by the Federal Reserve and the Federal Deposit of Insurance Corp.
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