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Time to shore up financial regulations

21 Jun 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

This Sunday's psalm evokes images of distressed mariners crying out for rescue as they sink to the depths. President Barack Obama Wednesday unveiled a plan to bolster the U.S. financial regulatory system so that in the future the government will not be forced to choose between rescuing sinking institutions and financial collapse. Obama said his plan to refashion supervision of the U.S. financial system is needed to fix excessive risk-taking and lapses in oversight that helped push the economy into a prolonged recession. The president blamed the turmoil on a "culture of irresponsibility" that he said had taken root from Wall Street to Washington. The president will push Congress to grant new powers to the Federal Reserve to oversee the economy. The proposal sets out the biggest overhaul of market rules in more than seven decades, adding an additional layer of regulation for the biggest firms. A new Consumer Financial Protection Agency would oversee products from mortgages to credit cards. It would have authority to ban "unfair terms and practices," punish companies for violations with fines and penalties, and write rules to set higher standards for banks and non-bank companies. "We are called upon to recognize that the free market is the most powerful generative force for our prosperity--but it is not a free license to ignore the consequences of our actions," Obama said. But moving his plans through Congress as they are currently written is far from assured, given turf battles among lawmakers and what is sure to be heavy resistance from the financial sector. Obama acknowledged earlier this week that his revamp will be a "heavy lift." Source: Articles by Henry J. Pulizzi and Damian Paletta for the Wall Street Journal and Robert Schmidt and Hans Nichols for Bloomberg

barack obama financial system federal reserve regulation market
Japan’s nuclear nightmare continues

25 Aug 2013 - Preaching the News for Sunday

“Endure your trials as ‘discipline,’ ” encourages the second reading this Sunday. Japan has endured its share of trials since a massive earthquake and tsunami crippled a nuclear reactor two years ago, and the crisis appears to be escalating. The country’s nuclear watchdog now fears more storage tanks are leaking contaminated water.Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga called the situation "deplorable," and the Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) said it feared the disaster—the worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl a quarter of a century earlier—was "in some respects" beyond the plant operator's ability to cope.Tokyo Electric Power Co., or Tepco, the plant's operator, has been criticized for its failure to prepare for the disaster and has since been accused of covering up the extent of the problems at the plant. After months of denial, Tepco recently admitted that the plant was leaking contaminated water into the Pacific Ocean from trenches between the reactor buildings and the shoreline.It said on Tuesday that water with dangerously high levels of radiation also was leaking from a storage tank—the most serious problem in a series of recent mishaps, including power outages, contaminated workers, and other leaks.Japan’s NRA Chairman Shunichi Tanaka likened the stricken nuclear plant to a house of horrors at an amusement park. "I don't know if describing it this way is appropriate, but it's like a haunted house and, as I've said, mishaps keep happening one after the other," he told reporters. "We have to look into how we can reduce the risks and how to prevent it from becoming a fatal or serious incident."South Korea's Asiana Airlines said it would cancel charter flights between Seoul and Fukushima city in October due to public concerns over the radioactive water leaks. The city, around 37 miles from the nuclear facility and with a population of some 284,000, is a popular destination for golfers and tourists visiting nearby local hot springs and lakes.Homily hint: The debates for and against nuclear energy often come down to how confident we can be that humanity can build structures that can withstand nature’s destructive capacity. Our faith calls for responsible stewardship of the earth and its resources. With safe, clean, renewable energy resources gaining momentum every year, may the day soon arrive when taking the high stakes gamble on nuclear energy is no longer necessary. Source: An article by Kiyoshi Takenaka and James Topham for Reuters

nuclear power nuclear reactors shunichi tanaka nuclear regulation authority tepco tokyo electric power co fukushima yoshihide suga
Concern mounts over air-bag safety

26 Oct 2014 - Preaching the News for Sunday

In the reading from the Book of Exodus this Sunday, the Lord delivers fair warning that if we harm the most defenseless among us, there will be consequences. The makers of air bags with allegedly lethal flaws, as well as the automakers who use them, are feeling the consequences after a string of fatalities involving the air bags. Consumer confidence in automakers has plummeted, as has the business value of the air-bag manufacturer, Takata Corporation. Takata faces investigations into whether exploding shrapnel from its flawed parts are to blame for at least four deaths involving vehicles made by Honda, including a Florida crash that was initially investigated as a homicide because of deep gashes to the victim’s neck. Toyota Motor Corporation is advising U.S. owners to keep passengers out of front seats until defective air-bag parts are replaced. The growing number of air-bag recalls also raises doubts about whether carmakers have learned to address defects quickly and comprehensively after General Motors Co.’s bungled ignition switch recalls and Toyota’s failures in 2009 and 2010 involving unintended acceleration. Honda is under separate probes over whether it underreported fatalities and injuries in the U.S. “This undermines the credibility or confidence in driving, generally, and in cars,” Ashvin Chotai, managing director of researcher Intelligence Automotive Asia, said by phone. “There’s very little consumers can do about it. Of course they feel less confident about sitting in a car and they’ll be extra cautious, but beyond that, what can you do?” The latest developments of the air-bag crisis have led to a sharp drop in the market value of Takata as well as eroding confidence in major automakers. The recalls of at least 4.7 million vehicles in the U.S. tied to Takata air bags during the past two years also involves Nissan, Mazda, BMW, and GM. The others have yet to follow Toyota in issuing warnings against sitting in front-passenger seats, a step that the Japanese carmakers took in their domestic market in June. Homily hint: Those who claim there is too much government regulation of industry might pause to consider whether they would feel safe riding in an vehicle with a potentially lethal air bag. Our ultimate security resides only in God, but that does not mean we shouldn’t support intelligent oversight of businesses when public safety is at risk on a daily basis. Source: An article by Craig Trudell, Ma Jie, and Yuki Hagiwara for Bloomberg BusinessWeek

safety government regulation
Obama broadens debate on broadband internet

18 Jan 2015 - Preaching the News for Sunday

The Lord “put a new song” into the psalmist’s mouth, and, the psalmist says this Sunday, “I did not restrain my lips.” President Barack Obama is speaking out regularly these days on broadband issues as he tries to put his stamp on the nation’s internet policy—setting up more conflict with congressional Republicans and telecom giants that dominate the industry. When the president laid out his plans to boost community broadband networks in Cedar Falls, Iowa on Wednesday, it marked the second time in two months he’s put his administration at the forefront of the debate over the future of the Web. The president late last year called on the FCC to treat broadband like a public utility as part of new net neutrality rules. Obama’s speech Wednesday backing efforts to spur city-run broadband networks as an alternative to private-sector providers like Comcast and Verizon incensed Republicans who see it as an attempt to over-regulate the industry with a Washington power-grab. “Each day we see more policies coming out of this White House that attempt to wield greater power and control for the federal government,” Sen. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) said in a statement, describing the president’s stances as a “new federal takeover of state laws governing broadband and the internet.” The president, speaking at Cedar Falls Utilities, which runs a municipal network with some of the fastest internet in the country, called for the FCC to knock down state laws that restrict community-run broadband.He also unveiled plans to release about $50 million more in government funds for rural cities that want to expand broadband access for their citizens, as well as a new Commerce Department effort to share best practices with towns that want to boost broadband. Obama isn’t just pitching faster internet as a win for techies; he’s touting it as essential for the middle class. His remarks previewed proposals he’ll make during next week’s State of the Union address. “Today high-speed broadband is not a luxury; it’s a necessity,” he said. “This isn’t just about making it easier to stream Netflix or scroll though your Facebook newsfeed, although that’s fun. . . . This is about helping local businesses grow and prosper and compete in a global economy.” Homily hint: The internet has transformed our lives, and much of the change has been positive. However, electronic connectivity can never replace face-to-face human connection. We all need to balance time spent in the virtual world with time spend in the real, flesh-and-blood world of family, friendship, and community. Source: An article by Alex Byers and Brooks Boliek for Politico

internet business government regulation
Searching for the truth

19 Apr 2015 - Preaching the News for Sunday

In this Sunday’s gospel, Jesus appears soon after the Resurrection in the midst of a gathering of the disciples. After a five-year investigation, the European Union issued a complaint against the kinds of results that appear in Google searches, charging the internet giant with skewing results so that its own shopping service appears ahead of those of competitors. The ruling could change the rules for business online. Homily hint: It’s a fact of life that businesses large and small try to influence and sway our behavior with their messages. Fair enough, as long as the playing field is level. But without good government oversight, the level of manipulation could get out of hand. Support responsible regulation of business in the interests of fair play and ethical business. For more on the EU suit against Google, see: EU accuses Google of hurting consumers, competitors in Web search case; What Is at the Heart of Complaint Against Google?; EU accuses Google of abusing Internet search dominance

business ethics government regulation fair play