Times Leader Readers ‘Get the Joke’

Do not underestimate Americans navigating the economic landscape!!

Why?

A few weeks back I was interviewd by Sue Henry of WILK Newsradio in Wilkes-Barre, PA (Media Appearance on Sue Henry Show, UPDATED with AUDIO CLIP) regarding an investor education presentation by FINRA. The presentation held last evening had U.S. Rep Paul Kanjorski (D-PA) as the featured speaker. I am all for investor education. The very purpose of Sense on Cents is to help educate readers on all aspects of our economy, markets, and world of global finance.

The points I raised in the radio interview and subsequently with a local newspaper reporter, Bill O’ Boyle of the Times Leader, was that Rep. Kanjorski sits on two Congressional subcommittees which have received an extensive and detailed letter questioning the very validity of a self-regulatory organization, that being FINRA, for our financial industry. (Details of the letter are included here).

I pressed O’ Boyle specifically to highlight Kanjorski’s responsibility to his constituents in Pennsylvania and the national electorate to address the points highlighted in that letter from the Project on Government Oversight (POGO).

O’ Boyle regrettably but not surprisingly failed to deliver and provided a canned review of the presentation, which I had projected would be a ‘dog and pony’ show.

O’ Boyle wrote, Planning Trumps Politics at Fiscal Forum,

PLAINS TWP. – Except for the woman in the peanut suit and another Lou Barletta volunteer handing out bags of Planters Peanuts, the more than 300 people attending Thursday night’s FINRA forum were there for non-political reasons.

FINRA, which stands for the Financial Industry Regulatory Administration, held a free-to-the-public forum at The Woodlands Inn to offer advice to investors looking for help in today’s market.

U.S. Rep. Paul Kanjorski, D-Nanticoke, was the featured speaker at the event. He told the crowd how in 2008 the country and the world narrowly escaped financial ruin.

Kanjorski, 73, had been criticized by his opponent in the 11th Congressional District race – Republican Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta – for his appearance at the event. Barletta didn’t attend the forum, but two people – the woman in the peanut costume and the man handing out bags of peanuts – said they were volunteers for the Barletta campaign but would not give their names.

I enjoyed reading O’ Boyle’s article for the very simple reason that it provided a middle America view of issues and topics on which I focus very closely. As I read O’ Boyle’s article I was thinking that it was unfortunate that more people in the audience did not have a fuller appreciation of issues surrounding FINRA. While that may be the case, I should not underestimate the readers of the Times Leader or anybody else in America. Why?

Let’s check out the comments section of O’ Boyle’s article,

Old Timer said…
The Dodd-Frank bill is a joke, no reform of Fannie&Freddie,anybody that votes for any Dem,or any incumbent for that matter is nuts.Frank,Dodd,Kanjo are the ones that got us in this mess.all these bills do is make for bigger govt and bigger deficits.
July 9, 2010 at 6:32 AM

Chicken Little Kanjorski said…
Just remember…Kanjo was laughed at on CNBC for saying the DOW will drop by 2000 points if the flawed financial reform bill doesn’t pass the Senate. It’s pathetic how he’s still trying to defend his unpopular vote in favor of the bank bailouts by exaggerating the situation in order to scare voters. The truth is, we weren’t anywhere near world financial ruin. If you want sound financial and economic advice, seek a real professional and not a disingenuous politician.
July 9, 2010 at 6:38 AM

Rob said…
“Michael J. Byrne, chief counsel for the Pennsylvania Securities Commission, said he was there to thank Kanjorski for his diligent work in Congress.” Well, now we know who partied their way through Law School. Mr. Byrne is obviously a simpleton if he’s thanking Kanjo for ‘his hard work’. …i.e. corruption in congress
July 9, 2010 at 8:07 AM

SusanF said…
I suppose Mr Kanjorski needs to hold to his story that the end was near and that is the reason he championed bailing out the Wall St pirates instead of just letting things run their course and have the honest banks and financial institutions take over instead of saying “good job boys, there is no way you can ever loose…”. Just imagine the confidence folks would have in the banks now if those banks were actually made to be responsible for their gambling debts. What Mr Kanjorski did is no different than having one of their children wreck their car and you buying a new car and handing them the keys and then “discussing things” instead of your kid needing to walk a lot more for the next year.
July 9, 2010 at 8:29 AM

PhiloVance said…
Why did FINRA member firm Amerivet Securities submit a proxy proposal asking for an Independent Study of Current and/or Former FINRA Officer and/or Director Involvement with the Madoff Family. Larry Doyle, a Wall Street veteran, has a lot to say about FINRA. TL should interview him
July 9, 2010 at 1:39 PM

Hats off to Old Timer, Chicken Little, Rob, Susan F, and Philo Vance for actively navigating the economic landscape and providing meaningful sense on cents in these comments.

LD

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