Wall Street

It’s illegal in America now to buy or sell a human being, but a recorded telephone conversation between a Republican governor and a guy he thought was a billionaire benefactor shows that it’s still possible to own a politician.

Wisconsin’s Republican Gov. Scott Walker didn’t have time to talk to Democratic leaders or union officials about his anti-union legislation – a proposal that has incited protests by tens of thousands for more than a week in Madison. But he jumped on the phone for 20 minutes this week when told the caller was billionaire David Koch, who was Walker’s second largest campaign contributor, who provided $1 million to a GOP fund to attack Walker’s opponent and who bankrolls radical libertarian organizations and the Tea Party.

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The Democratic Leadership Council, according to press reports, is broke and closing its doors. For anyone who cares about working and poor people, this is a demise that should have come much sooner. more »

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Earnings and bonus reports are rolling in and the big, bailed-out banks are back in the black. In 2010, total compensation and benefits at publicly traded Wall Street banks and securities firms hit a record of $135 billion -- up almost six percent from 2009 according to the Wall Street Journal. more »

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Wall Streeters made fortunes, the new official report on America's 2008 economic meltdown charges, defrauding the American public. They're still making fortunes — and this new official report is already sinking out of sight.

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In a response to the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission releasing its final report on the financial crisis today, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce pitched a hissy fit calling the report an "abuse of the process" that would create "job-killing lawsuits." (So much for the new tone in Washington.)

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Two years after a catastrophic financial collapse and six months after the passage of a Wall Street reform bill, astonishing tales of volatility in the market are all too common. If you think inexplicable flash crashes are worrisome, brace yourself for the next big financial “innovation” – Twitter Trading. more »

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Wall Street is widely despised by an American public that lives with the consequences of bank behavior every day. The President and the party were once widely trusted by the public to rein in the banks and save the economy, but that reputation's been tarnished by the fact that they're now seen as overly cozy with the big financial players. And who can forget those visitor logs that showed just how entwined the Administration and big business have always been?

With all the traffic between this Administration and Wall Street, maybe this week's Presidential appointees should be sworn in on a round -trip ticket for the Acela Express.

The choice of a JPMorgan Chase exec to run the White House operation seems like a bad move under the circumstances, and it probably is. But if Bill Daley took three simple words to heart, and had the President's blessing to act on them, it could change everything. more »

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What's the worst thing about Darrell Issa's debut as Chairman of the House Oversight Committee? It could be his relentless, Gloria Swansonish, "I'm ready for my close up, Mr. DeMille" self promotion. It might be his manic insistence that he'll conduct "hundreds" of investigations,or his letters to lobbyists offering to put his new powers at their disposal. Or maybe it's his "hang 'em first and try 'em later" attitude toward the Administration. It's certainly ironic that his first act as head of the committee that investigates misuse of government funds seems to have been ... to misuse government funds.

Sure, they're all bad. But the worst of all may be this: Issa's making it clear that he'll use his position to cover up Wall Street's role in destroying the economy, and that he'll resist any attempts to rein in the corporate misbehavior that puts us all at risk. That's a shame: Issa once seemed like a fair-minded, independent voice, and he could have made an important contribution in his new position. Instead he's bent on becoming a tinpot Torquemada bent on harrassing and punishing anyone who tries to thwart corporate America's will. more »

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Blame the unions, blame the unemployed, blame loans to the poor, blame the government... As income and wealth increasingly go to a few at the top public anger is directed at the economy's victims. more »

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