Prosecution?

Just in case it's slipped your mind, there's quite a bit of evidence in the public record of systematic fraud in the Rocket Scientists' of Finance creation of the home equity bubble. Neither the President or the elected members of th eDemocratic Party leadership on the Hill seem particularly concerned.

Dean Baker:

In its first three years the Obama administration did almost nothing to investigate criminal practices that contributed to the bubble and the subsequent meltdown. The attorneys general settlement on robo-signing in January called for a task force to be headed by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman.

Almost four months later there is little evidence that this task force is making much progress. For example, if someone wanted to contact the task force to report evidence of fraud, they would certainly have a difficult time surfing the web to find a phone number to call or an e-mail address.

With the statute of limitation for many possible offences being reached in the near future, if it has not already been reached, there should be a serious sense of urgency about this issue that is altogether lacking. If the Obama administration pursued Al Queda with the same vigor as it’s investigating financial fraud, Osama Bin Laden would be sunning himself on some beach in the Caribbean.

This is not just a question of holding the bad guys accountable as a matter of justice. The far more important point is to alter the incentives in the financial industry to change their future conduct. It should not be acceptable for people in the industry to commit fraud and there should be serious consequences for those who do. At the moment, fraud for profit looks like a bet that only has an upside.

Also, DDay.