Late last night, the U.S. Senate rejected the single most important element of Wall Street reform by a vote of 33 to 61. The SAFE Banking Act would have forced the break-up of the nation's six largest banks, and dramatically reduced the political clout of America's financial elite. The 61 votes against the measure are votes in favor of Wall Street's stranglehold on our economy. more »
Harry Reid got it right when he said that the GOP is "making love to Wall Street" - and when politicians and bankers "make love" it's the public that gets screwed. Sen. Shelby's so-called "consumer protection amendment" failed, as expected.(!) But what happens next? Progressives have captured the public mood and are changing the dynamic in Washington. It's time to capitalize on the momentum and press for the best reform possible.
Progressives, take a bow. Then keep on fighting. more »
The Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission examines the collapse of Bear Stearns, the Wall Street brokerage firm that ended up being merged with JPMorgan Chase during the heart of the financial crisis. Bear Stearns argues that unsubstantiated rumors precipitated its collapse, but commissioners help make the case that it was Bear Stearns own business practices, forged in a deregulated environment, that laid it low.
J.P. Morgan Chase, America's largest warehouse of arrogant financial elites, has issued yet another deceptive lobbyist smear in the guise of an "analyst report." Yesterday, the megabank's Chief Economist James Glassman launched a broadside against Sen. more »
Despite all of the attention heaped on the Treasury Department and the Troubled Asset Relief Program, the Federal Reserve served as the chief bank bailout engine in the U.S. economy during the Great Financial Crash of 2008, and remains the government's top bailout agency today. more »
What we've been witnessing in Washington isn't just political positioning by one party looking to deny the other a victory, although it's certainly that. We're also seeing the death struggle of a dying ideology. This ideology provided intellectual cover to business and political elites for decades, but events have proved conclusively that it doesn't work. What's more, people are beginning to see that it's inconsistent with the country's traditional values of competition and free enterprise. more »
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