Barney Frank has been appointed by the governor of Massachusetts to let serve as interim Senator after John Kerry is appointed as Secretary of State. According to The Hill, Frank says he doesn’t want to seem “coy” or “arrogant” but that his experience in Congress will serve the state well.
Frank has just retired from the House of Representatives.
Frank made particular reference to being qualified to help the Democrats in the upcoming fiscal cliff deliberations.
Frank was the prime mover in the legislation that forced lenders to dole out subprime loans to unqualified home buyers, the practice that ultimately led to millions of foreclosures and the 2009 financial meltdown.
Subprime loans continued to be AAA rated by all the securities agencies while they were bundled into “mortgage backed securities” and sold worldwide, ultimately playing a role in the problems experienced by Greece and the European Union.
Frank was also co author of the Frank-Dodd Wall Street Reform act which established the five Too Big To Fail Banks as de facto government agencies. These banks collectively hold derivatives valued at ten times the entire Gross Domestic Product of very nation on earth.
The Frank-Dodd bill spreads the risk of any future financial problems far beyond Wall Street and the TBTF banks, to include the more conservative regional banks in Dallas, Atlanta and elsewhere. Next time a TBTF bank is in trouble, it will take every bank in the nation with it.
Personally, I think Barney Frank should be burned and crucified, suffering hours even days in excruciating agony.
But alas, Barney Frank is gay.
He’s a hero.
