News & Comment
Blogs and Opinion
The Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission: Meaningful or Milquetoast? by Les Leopold, OurFuture.org | January 11, 2010
Every once in a long while a commission can change America. The 1954 Army-McCarthy hearings destroyed Senator Joe McCarthy by revealing his out-right viciousness and insincerity through the new media of television. The Watergate hearings helped to bring down a president. And the Pecora hearings in 1933 uncovered Wall Street scam after scam that enriched the bankers who crashed the financial system. read more »Bernanke: Time's Man of the Year by Robert Borosage , OurFuture.org | December 16, 2009
Time Magazine's naming Ben Bernanke "Man of the Year" is a little bit like celebrating an arsonist for his heroics in putting out a fire that he set. Bernanke has done creative and bold work in staving off a fianancial free fall. But he would also be on any list of the 10 people most responsible for creating the free fall. read more »Bernanke: 'The Definition Of Moral Hazard' by Isaiah J. Poole, OurFuture.org | December 3, 2009
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke employed his characteristic smoothness and conciliatory nature as he navigated the questioning at today's confirmation hearing before the Senate Banking Committee, helped by the largely gentle questioning by Democrats on the committee. Ironically, the most pointed progressive critique of Bernanke's stewardship of the Fed did not come from any of the Democrats but from the far right. read more »Sanders Puts Hold on Bernanke Nomination by Robert Borosage , OurFuture.org | December 2, 2009
Senator Bernie Sanders has announced he will put a hold on the Bernanke nomination. Sanders wants the Finance Committee to hold serious hearings probing Bernanke's actions leading up to the financial collapse, and the emergency measures he took, committing literally trillions to bolster private financial institutions without a vote of Congress. read more »Before You Appoint Ben, Audit Ben by Robert Borosage , OurFuture.org | December 2, 2009
In this video, Robert Borosage lists the questions that members of the Senate must get answers from Ben Bernanke on if he is to earn re-appointment to chair the Federal Reserve. A related action campaign emailed to Campaign for America's Future supporters calls on them to tell their senators: "Before You Appoint Ben, Audit Ben." read more »Bernanke Breaks the Law. His Own. by Eric Lotke, OurFuture.org | November 30, 2009
Thursday December 3 is the date of both the President’s Jobs Summit and the reconfirmation hearing of Federal Reserve Chairman, Ben Bernanke. We should seize the opportunity to examine the statute that creates the Federal Reserve: read more »Obama’s Jobs Summit and Bernanke’s Reappointment: Connect The Dots by Eric Lotke, OurFuture.org | November 30, 2009
How ironic that President Obama’s jobs summit should be scheduled on the same date (Thursday, December 3) that the Senate Banking Committee has scheduled the reconfirmation hearing of Federal Reserve Chairman, Ben Bernanke. read more »The Independence of the Fed by Dave Johnson, OurFuture.org | November 27, 2009
Reps. Ron Paul and Alan Grayson are trying to get the Federal Reserve audited. Last week the House Financial Services Committee passed an amendment to their financial regulatory reform bill that would mandate an audit. read more »In The Fed We Trust? Will The Senate Reward The Architect Of The Wall Street Bailout? by Robert Borosage , OurFuture.org | November 25, 2009
Will the Senate vote another term for Ben Bernanke as head of the Federal Reserve? Should it? read more »Watchdogs And Lapdogs On Financial Reform by Isaiah J. Poole, OurFuture.org | November 20, 2009
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. read more »
The Latest
Goldman Sachs 'Most Aggressive' In Demanding Cash From AIG, Huffington Post | July 9, 2010
Goldman Sachs was the "most aggressive" financial firm to demand cash from AIG on what it viewed as souring deals during the financial crisis, the head of a federal investigative panel said Wednesday. more »
N.Y. Challenger Saujani Embraces Wall Street in Bid to Enseat Rep. Maloney, The Washington Post | July 8, 2010
They did not always feel this way about Maloney. The 64-year-old Democratic representative hasn't faced a serious challenge to her seat since she was first elected in 1992. For nearly two decades, they have viewed her as a solid, if unremarkable, member of Congress. more »
Lobbyist Urges Community Banks to Back Regulatory Reform, Not Wall Street, bloomberg.com | July 7, 2010
A lobbyist for community banks privately urged his industry not to oppose the U.S. regulatory overhaul, warning that smaller lenders are being used by Wall Street to derail the legislation. more »
Sen. Brown: 'I'm Liking What I See' on Financial Reform Legislation, thehill.com | July 6, 2010
Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) offered a hint that he may support the financial reform bill when it comes to a final vote later this month.
“I’m going to be making a decision soon, but I’m liking what I see,” Brown told WHDH television station in Plymouth, Mass., on Sunday. more »
Wall St. Plans Payback for Reg Reform, Politico | July 6, 2010
That compromise hasn’t stopped the financial community from singling out Lincoln for scorn.
"She told us she knew Congress had to be sensible in its approach to dealing with derivatives, and then she went and hit us with her amendment,” a financial executive said. “It was pretty amazing.”
Lincoln says she’s not worried, despite facing a difficult reelection fight this fall.
Democratic Campaign Committees Losing Big Wall Street Donors, The Washington Post | July 6, 2010
The drop in support comes from many of the same bankers, hedge fund executives and financial services chief executives who are most upset about the financial regulatory reform bill that House Democrats passed last week with almost no Republican support. The Senate expects to take up the measure this month.
Senate Dems Closer to Wall St. Overhaul as Cantwell Voices Support, blogs.abcnews.com | July 2, 2010
Senate Democrats took a big step towards passing the Wall Street reform bill tonight as Maria Cantwell, D-Washington, announced that she will vote for the measure.
Cantwell had opposed the bill when it first passed the Senate in May, but she now will support the version that emerged from the conference committee.
Regulators Made Sure Goldman Sachs Got All Of Its Bailout Money, truthdig.com | June 30, 2010
A devastating report in The New York Times documents how Timothy Geithner’s New York Fed worked tirelessly to make sure that AIG was forced to pay banks such as Goldman Sachs 100 percent on dubious contracts that might otherwise have been slashed or subjected to lawsuits. For his efforts, Geithner was promoted to run the rest of the nation’s economy. more »
Kagan Hearing Day One: The Battle To Define ‘Judicial Activism’ , wonkroom.thinkprogress.org | June 29, 2010
If someone does a word cloud of today’s opening statements in the Kagan hearing, the word “activism” will dominate the screen. And this is nothing new. Conservative senators figured out a long time ago that if they label anyone to the left of Samuel Alito a “judicial activist” then their more progressive colleagues will put their tail between their legs and cower.
Knocking Kagan's Experience, GOP Attack May Backfire , Huffington Post | June 28, 2010
As the Senate begins hearings for Elena Kagan’s Supreme Court nomination, Republicans are returning to a critique that separates Kagan from every sitting Justice. She has no judicial experience. more »
