Curb the Wall Street Casino

In the dead of night last night, the movement to hold big banks accountable for their crimes took two major hits. Occupy Wall Street activists were swept from Zuccotti Park as radical members of Congress moved to gut funding for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and advance a series of shocking proposals to roll back financial reform.

Midnight Madness

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It's a wet, rainy day in Washington D.C. Enough to soak anyone who stands outside long enough. But it wasn't enough to put out the fiery anger of hundreds of activists who took to the streets of the capitol today, to deliver a message to Wall Street's K Street lobbyists: Stop standing in the way of financial reform, and start taking responsibility for your failure.

The "Main Street lobbyists," as AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Liz Schuler dubbed them, crowded Franklin Square in numbers greater than the Wall Street lobbyists who are the focus of the new Campaign for America's Future report "Big Bank Takover: How Too-Big-Too-Fail's Army of Lobbyists Has Captured Washington." The report's findings include:

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Like an cat burglar, Goldman Sachs leaves its fingerprints in the most unusual places. The news of Goldman's role in the Greek financial crisis isn't just a black eye for Wall Street. It's also a diplomatic disaster for the United States, whose government has become so intertwined with Goldman that this incident could endanger our relationship with the European Union. more »

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Let's have a frank talk about an uncomfortable subject: Progressives need to raise campaign money in order to get elected and stay in office. Sometimes that money has to come from places that progressives aren't comfortable talking about. This gritty reality has too often led to the conclusion that the Left needs to bow down to Wall Street in order to succeed. more »

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There was a major victory for accountability this week in the financial reform fight, but there was also a demonstration that when it comes to protecting the profits of bankers at the expense of ordinary people, no institution does it better than the Party of No. more »

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Even as the health insurance companies draw down on health care reform, another showdown is just beginning in Washington. On Wednesday, the House Financial Services Committee will begin marking up the first legislation to try to curb Wall Street's casino. more »

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House members should beware when bank lobbyists come calling: Ceding to their wishes might get you campaign cash but it will likely cost you the next election. more »

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In the last several years we have all been fleeced, looted, robbed, swindled, thieved, tricked, cheated, scammed, exploited, ponzied, stung, conned, extorted, ripped off and bankrupted by the banks and other big financial companies. Finally the Congress is working on reining them in. more »

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