President Obama nominated Antonio Weiss, a Wall Street investment banker, to be Treasury Undersecretary for Domestic Finance, and my senator, Elizabeth Warren, is not happy.
I recently saw her speak on Cape Cod. I had a real good, almost next to her seat, and she was impressive. She was impressive not only because of what she said and how she said it, but also because she reiterated she was for the middle class and the working poor whom she represents, and not for those who can buy what they want from the crowd in Washington, or for the crowd in Washington itself.
In true form, Warren objects to Obama’s appointee because, among other things, he is the guy who advised Burger King on that Tax inversion business when it decided to become a Canadian company to avoid U.S. taxes while it pays its employees at a rate that requires that many get public assistance to make ends meet.
Like with Walmart, even if you don’t use BK’s products, they still make money off you as a taxpayer as you are paying the difference between what their employees make and what they need to actually have a life while the corporation just scoops up profits from that arrangement.
According to a member of her staff, “She is a no on Antonio Weiss. She was a Treasury official herself, she cares a lot about who is in the domestic finance role. It oversees Dodd-Frank implementation and other core economic policy-making.”
And, oddly, her objection to handing the keys to the drug cabinet to the addict has put her on the same side of things as Senator Grassley who also finds it unacceptable that Obama seems to have a penchant for appointing people from Wall Street who obviously have their own motivation for doing things and their own view what this country is about, and it’s not the middle class, or what’s left of it.
In contrast to Warren’s objections Wall Street executives were thrilled with Weiss’ nomination.
I wonder why.