by Richard Eskow | Feb 14, 2011 | Blog, Financial Reform
The President's budget has just been released, and so has a Republican alternative from the House Appropriations Committee. Reading them is like watching two people play a video game and confusing it for the real world. These budgets don't reflect competing visions so...
by Richard Eskow | Feb 11, 2011 | Blog, Financial Reform
Slasher-Movie Economics A vicious, savage, axe-wielding killer stalks the political landscape, yearning to draw blood, slash victims, and amputate limbs. That's not my description of austerity economics - that's how its fans talk about it. "Austerity" is defined as...
by Richard Eskow | Feb 11, 2011 | Blog, Financial Reform
Can a crime be committed if there is no criminal to commit it? According to the Securities and Exchange Commission, the answer to that Zen koan is apparently "yes." The SEC collected a $50 million settlement from GE Capital after concluding that the corporation...
by Richard Eskow | Feb 9, 2011 | Blog, Financial Reform
Here's an idea: Let's give hundreds of billions of dollars in government-backed guarantees to private banks so they can make a fortune writing mortgages without any risk to themselves. Hey, what could go wrong? The FCIC's recent report illustrated an important lesson...
by Richard Eskow | Feb 8, 2011 | Blog, Financial Reform
Why don't the CEOs of AIG and JPMorgan Chase give a damn what you think? Because they don't have to. The Third Chamber of government, that unelected body of lobbyists and wealthy executives symbolized by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, has insulated them from public...
