CA Dems Always Blame Wall Street

Steven Greenhut: What’s wrong with California? The answer is pretty obvious to any sane person. It’s a gorgeous state, great people, magnificent attractions, big cities, great weather, lovely beaches, etc. The state’s problem is its government, which is always nearly insolvent because the Legislature always spends more money than comes in. Our tax rates are among the highest in the nation, but it’s never enough. California has a governmental problem. Its services are pitiful compared to those offered in other states thanks to union dominance and a political philosophy that is socialistic at its core.

Yet the dominant Democrats always blame Wall Street. Read the arguments they make about the pension crisis. Oh no, this has nothing to do with the Legislature expanding benefits beyond the ability for the state to pay for them or using rates or return that are ridiculously optimistic. The reason, in their view, is evil Wall Street. Now, I have my issues with Wall Street, especially with those rent-seeking companies that have allied themselves with government to gain privilege and power. But Wall Street isn’t the cause of California’s mess. The Democrats blame the housing crisis on Wall Street, too, not on the government policies that forced banks to make loans to people who had little chance of repaying them.

State Democrats are always busy berating and investigating the private sector. It’s like we live in some tin pot dictatorship where the supreme leader is always pointing to some evil outside source for the nation’s enduring problems. Typical of this, I just got a press release from Sen. Ted Lieu, who I blasted yesterday for his attack on the credit-ranking agency Standard & Poor’s. Today’s leftist diatribe from Lieu hails a federal investigation of a bank for its role in the financial crisis.

Here’s the statement from Lieu:

Sen. Ted W. Lieu, D-Torrance,  released the following statement after news today that the federal government is seeking more than $1 billion from Deutsche Bank for its role in the U.S. financial crisis.

“It is about time,” Lieu said. “The lawsuit by the federal government against Deutsche Bank sends the message to Wall Street institutions that engaged in fraud and reckless behavior that they finally are going to be held accountable.”

The bipartisan US Senate Investigation into what caused the financial crisis concluded that Deutsche Bank made mortgage loans knowing they were going to fail, misled investors about the quality of the loans and lied to the federal government.

“While I want Wall Street and all businesses to prosper, because that is how we turn our economy around, we cannot turn a blind eye to fraudulent, reckless and potentially criminal behavior,” Lieu said. “Greed and insane bonuses are not a defense to violating the law.”

Lieu, who authored several measures signed into that prohibit certain sub-prime loan practices, added: “The free market already took care of several Wall Street firms that lied and engaged in unconscionable behavior, such as Washington Mutual and Lehman Brothers.  Those financial institutions no longer exist, and for good reason.

“There are some existing financial institutions that engaged in fraud, cheating and lying during the mortgage boom years,” Lieu said. “The government is sending the message that we are coming after you.  Justice will be done.”

How about this? Why doesn’t Lieu and his fellow legislators try to fix the enormous problems in the state government rather than spend their time bloviating about Wall Street? Then again, I’m guessing the goal is to divert attention from the mismanagement at the state Capitol.

MAY 20