Millions of Americans are struggling to survive in the ruins of a once-healthy economy. A bipartisan frenzy of bank deregulation led to this catastrophe, and the financial reform bill passed this year is only a first step toward repairing the damage. We should be talking about the additional actions needed to prevent future disasters. But the "solution" being proposed by the Republican Party isn't just incomplete, or inadequate, or even incorrect.
Of all the accomplishments Elizabeth Warren has amassed during her lifetime, one of the most impressive is also one of the least well-known to the general public. Warren was a co-founder of Credit Slips, a very technical, influential blog on banking and bankruptcy. more »
No reformers question whether Elizabeth Warren is the best candidate to head the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. She's a lauded scholar, an inspiring advocate who will draw talented and dedicated reformers to the new agency and she came up with the whole idea for creating the CFPB in the first place. more »
Today, President Barack Obama will sign into law the first serious effort to regulate Wall Street in decades. The bill has much to be said for it, but the unfortunate truth is that it ducks several of the most critical reforms needed to protect our economy from banker abuse. more »
huffingtonpost.com — Ultimately, given the make-up of the Senate and the requirement of 60 votes, this was the best bill that could pass. For those who wish the bill was stronger, let there be no confusion about where the blame lies. It is because almost every Senator on the other side of the aisle did everything they could to stall, delay and oppose Wall Street reform.
Wall Street reform passed Congress today, with three Republicans voting "yes," among them Scott Brown of Massachusetts. But Brown's vote came with a high price tag: he insisted on both hammering ordinary citizens with new taxes, instead of imposing them on the financial behemoths that jeopardize our economic stability. more »
Good news: The Senate just secured 60 votes to proceed on Wall Street reform, clearing the way for the legislation's final passage today or Saturday. more »
The United States Chamber of Commerce has released an "open letter" to the President, Congress, and the American people which lays out its blueprint for our political future. It lays out the current Republican playbook in stark terms, and it reads like the battle plan for those alien spaceships from Independence Day: Drain the resources, take everything from the population, strip the land to a husk ... and then presumably sail away in mile-long spaceships toward the next targeted planet. more »
Too-big-to-fail is a much bigger problem than you thought. We've all read damning accounts of the government saving banks from their risky subprime bets, but it turns out that the Wall Street privilege problem is far more deeply ingrained in the U.S. legal system than the simple bailouts witnessed in 2008. more »
President Obama gave a major talk on the economic crisis today. While the choice of Las Vegas for its location might be considered ironic, given the fact that Big Bank gambling created the crisis, there's good news: The President's speech could serve as a blueprint for an improved economic and political outlook - if the President and his party back it up with action. more »
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