Obamas 2008 Cooper Union Speech Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Obamas 2008 Cooper Union Speech - Essay Example Obama, in 2008, had a plan to renew America by forcing penalties on poor and greedy corporate leaders, giving consumers housing-related tax credits, and create new regulations that make sure financial institutions do not take on high levels of risk, however, this renewal strategy has not been fully effective. Â  Obama saw that tighter regulation would prevent financial institutions from taking opportunities away from regular, middle-class citizens. He felt that a deregulated environment had been a reason to why investment companies and commercial banks took on far too much debt and there was no system in place to make sure they had enough capital reserves. This is because risky asset-backed securities and derivatives were off-balance sheet transactions. He wanted a crackdown on market manipulation that was causing many companies to experience fast drops in their stock values when short-sellers were using unethical methods to drive down stock prices for their own gain. Â  Obama also saw that building a type of best practice risk management system for banks and for the general economy would renew America. He sees that this change in risk management and a change of corporate leadership attitudes would reshape the economy for the 21st Century and give middle-class consumers more protection against another financial crisis. Many regular citizens lost their jobs and lost their wealth as a result of unregulated investment institutions and Obama saw renewal as a means of putting these stakeholders first. Â  He seems to see that the division between the wealthy and the less-advantaged is taking away the American dream. Therefore, by making sure that corporations and investment firms are held accountable for their actions, it will make sure that middle-class consumers can again seek the American dream without being victimized by an economy damaged by greed and poor government oversight.