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Cause For Hope: Robin Hood Tax Advances in Europe by Katrina vanden Heuvel, The Nation | October 16, 2012
Here’s a piece of unadulterated good news: At a meeting of European Union finance ministers last week, eleven European Countries agreed to support a financial transaction tax. It’s the latest step in the truly heartening rise of a much-needed common sense reform. It’s high time that U.S. progressives take heed, and draw inspiration. I’ve argued before that a financial transaction tax is a win-win: raising revenue to avert austerity, while discouraging speculation to avert the next Wall Street-induced disaster. On this issue, fortunately, the momentum is all on the good guys’ side. Last month, Congressman Keith Ellison introduced a great FTT bill for America. The news from Europe should strengthen its momentum, for reasons abstract and concrete. read more »It's Time to Debate Bain Capitalism by John Nichols, The Nation | October 16, 2012
Illinois Senator Dick Durbin was not planning to be at Obama’s side for today’s final round of debate preparation. Rather, Durban was headed back home to Illinois for a meeting with workers at the Sensata Technologies plant in Freeport, where 170 employees are slated to lose their jobs to outsourcing before the end of the year. Sensata is precisely the sort of high-tech operation that a country looking to compete in the global economy of the 21st century would want to maintain as a domestic manufacturer. So why are the jobs moving to China? Because Bain Capital owns the company, and Bain is committed to the industrial development of Chinese provinces – not to states like Illinois. That’s not what most Americans would identify as a smart choice for the nation’s future – let alone “economic patriotism.” But that is how Bain, which got its operating ethos from former CEO Mitt Romney, operates. read more »The National Debt and Our Children: How Dumb Does Washington Think We Are? by Dean Baker, Huffington Post | October 16, 2012
While much of the country is focused on the presidential race, the Wall Street gang is waging a different battle; they are preparing an assault on Social Security and Medicare. This attack is not exactly secret, but the drive is nonetheless taking place behind closed doors. The corporate honchos are not expecting to convince the public that we should support cuts to Social Security and Medicare. They know this is a hopeless task. Huge majorities of people across the political spectrum strongly support these programs. Instead they hope that they can use their power of persuasion, coupled with the power of campaign contributions and the power of high-paying jobs for defeated members of Congress, to get Congress to approve large cuts in Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and other key programs. This is the plan for a grand bargain that the corporate chieftains hope can be struck in the lame duck Congress. read more »Morgan Stanley: Please Allow Me to Introduce Myself ... by Richard (RJ) Eskow, OurFuture.org | October 15, 2012
"Please allow me to introduce myself, I'm a man of wealth and taste ..." read more »Morgan Stanley: Please Allow Me to Introduce Myself ... by Richard (RJ) Eskow, OurFuture.org | October 15, 2012
"Please allow me to introduce myself, I'm a man of wealth and taste ..." read more »Education Profiteering: Wall Street's Next Big Thing? by Jeff Faux, alternet.org | October 15, 2012
The end of the Chicago teachers' strike was but a temporary regional truce in the civil war that plagues the nation's public schools. There is no end in sight, in part because -- as often happens in wartime -- the conflict is increasingly being driven by profiteers. The familiar media narrative tells us that this is a fight over how to improve our schools. On the one side are the self-styled reformers, who argue that the central problem with American K-12 education is low-quality teachers protected by their unions. On the other side are teachers and their unions who are cast as villains. The conventional plot line is that they resist change, blame poverty for their schools' failings and protect their jobs and turf. It is well known, although rarely acknowledged in the press, that the reform movement has been financed and led by the corporate class. read more »"Town Hall" Debate: Will Voters Ask the Medicare and Social Security Questions Reporters Haven't? by Richard (RJ) Eskow, OurFuture.org | October 14, 2012
If you support strong and effective government, then the unfamiliar glow you felt after last Thursday's debate was the satisfaction of seeing your opinions forcefully defended by a national candidate. There hasn't been much of that going on lately. But a deceptive question was asked in the Vice Presidential debate, while other important ones still haven't been asked of any national candidate. read more »Diamond Jamie: Latest News On the JPMorgan Chase Crime Watch by Richard (RJ) Eskow, OurFuture.org | October 13, 2012
History will judge us, at least in part, by our willingness to defend our moral principles against the corrupting influence of the Wall Street capos. So far their campaign cash and lucrative revolving-door jobs have kept them above the law, while their PR firms and personal salesmanship have exempted them from moral judgement in the inner corridors of wealth and power. Al Capone's Chicago had nothing on today's Washington DC. read more »Diamond Jamie: Latest News On the JPMorgan Chase Crime Watch by Richard (RJ) Eskow, OurFuture.org | October 13, 2012
History will judge us, at least in part, by our willingness to defend our moral principles against the corrupting influence of the Wall Street capos. So far their campaign cash and lucrative revolving-door jobs have kept them above the law, while their PR firms and personal salesmanship have exempted them from moral judgement in the inner corridors of wealth and power. Al Capone's Chicago had nothing on today's Washington DC. read more »Fast-Forward to 2013 by Marilyn Katz, inthesetimes.com | October 12, 2012
I'll give it to Mitt Romney. During the debate he looked and sounded pretty “presidential”: good haircut, power tie, in command (total control, really) of the debate. Romney’s performance had the intended effect. Virtually every poll across the nation had his numbers soaring in the past week. Many show him leading Obama both in the popular vote and in critical swing states. Presumably, that means many American are now ”looking at Romney in a new light.” While his running mate Paul Ryan didn't do as well, for those who were swayed by Romney's performance, it might be prudent to think past his style or what positions he chose to take that night. Based on Romney’s record—as well as the agendas of his party, his running mate and the Super PACs to which he would owe his victory—let’s take a moment to envision what life would be like under a Romney presidency. read more »
The Latest
Senators: Run Consumer Head by Us, Politico | July 23, 2010
The three Senate Republicans who broke with their party to support President Barack Obama’s Wall Street reform plan asked Obama Thursday not to make a recess appointment for the director of a controversial consumer protection agency. more »
Curbing Wall Street: The Next Stage, netrootsnation.org | July 22, 2010
The financial reform bill was but a first step. It created a consumer financial protection bureau, but left the big banks more concentrated than ever, with the financial casino open for gambling. The bankers are getting million dollar bonuses, but foreclosures continue at record levels, small businesses can't get loans, payday lenders are still gouging workers. more »
The 2010 Elections: Channeling the Power of Jobs, Populism and the Angry Voter, netrootsnation.org | July 22, 2010
The rising tide of populist anger in the face of Wall Street bailouts and continued high unemployment threatens to take an ugly reactionary turn unless it is channeled to more progressive policies of job growth. This panel will address current public attitudes and ideas for steering opinion and action more progressively.
Senate Democrats’ Plan to Aid Small Businesses Hits G.O.P. Resistance, The New York Times | July 22, 2010
Perhaps the last best hope of Democrats to pass legislation aimed at creating jobs before the November elections seemed to be crumbling in the Senate on Wednesday as Republicans signaled that they would block a bill to expand government lending programs and grant an array of tax breaks to small businesses. more »
Battle Brews Over Director for New Consumer Financial Protection Bureau , Los Angeles Times | July 22, 2010
President Obama reversed decades of lax oversight of the financial industry Wednesday by signing a landmark overhaul of regulations, but he still faces a major task — appointing a director for the powerful new agency charged with protecting consumers from unscrupulous deals. more »
Fight Over Consumer Agency Looms as Overhaul Is Signed , The Wall Street Journal | July 22, 2010
President Barack Obama on Wednesday signed into law the most sweeping financial overhaul since the Depression, putting the country on a course toward a more muscular regulatory framework. more »
10 Ways New Wall Street Reform Law Will Help You , Huffington Post | July 22, 2010
Today, President Obama signed into law the Restoring American Financial Stability Act - the most important regulatory overhaul of our nation's financial system since the reforms that led to 60 years of sustained growth after the Great Depression. more »
Goldman Settles Its Battle With SEC , The Wall Street Journal | July 16, 2010
In one of the largest penalties in Wall Street history, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. agreed to pay $550 million to settle civil charges that it duped clients by selling mortgage securities that were secretly designed by a hedge-fund firm to cash in on the housing market's collapse. more »
Public Unfamiliar with Wall Street Bill, Reuters | July 16, 2010
A big majority of Americans are unfamiliar with the sweeping overhaul of financial rules that was headed to final approval in Congress on Thursday, according to an Ipsos Public Affairs online poll. more »
Zombie K Street Project: The GOP Turns To Lobbyists To Draft Policy Agenda, tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com | July 9, 2010
John Boehner twisted himself into a pretzel this week when he told the Washington Post he had "no idea" whether Republicans would once again attempt to privatize Social Security if they retake the House in November. He couldn't just say "no" -- he followed up with the explanation that he couldn't say because he didn't want to prejudge the outcome of the GOP's voter survey. more »
