Take Action in the Final Days of Bank Reform Fight

Submitted by Mary Bottari on

boxing gloves moneyReckless swaps and derivatives trading played a critical role in the financial crisis, inflating the domestic housing bubble and turning it into a global economic catastrophe. As the House and Senate conference committee begins final work on the financial services reform bill, it is critically important that we wall off the casino from the taxpayer guarantee. If big banks want to gamble they need to do so with their own money. Nobel prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz makes the case for strong provisions in the Senate derivatives chapter plainly: "If [Congress] fails to pass strict oversight of dangerous over-the-counter derivatives and swaps the U.S. economy will continue to be vulnerable to significant financial risk."

To urge the House and Senate conferees to take action visit BanksterUSA.

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Mary Bottari
Mary Bottari

Mary Bottari is a reporter for the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD). She helped launch CMD's award-winning ALEC Exposed investigation and is a two-time recipient of the Sidney Prize for public interest journalism from the Sidney Hillman Foundation.

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Comments

Ian Draper replied on

Having just added a similar comment to the above site l will reiterate my feelings about the way trader`s can be able to make massive profits but with short term gain for any investors, or the economy. This is neither good for the building of stability of any countries wealth structure nor will it lead to long term prosperity for the people. This will not provide much needed jobs for the manufacturing industries starved for too long by foreign imports and neither will it allow a stable future for any citizen to bring up a family and provide this basics of life without debt. The economies of this world especially Britain and America have for far too long been built on borrowing that only provides a deficit and will lead eventually if not stopped to exceeding the GDP of that country. I read an article on-line the other day on the June 4th that stated debt in the US is poised to rise to $13 trillion and overtake the GDP by 2012 with the IMF predicting a slower economy of 3.2% and to complete that vicious circle interest rates on government debt will rise. This is alarming statistics but the FED keeps minting more dollars for people who trade to make short term gains, whilst the country goes to hell in a hand-basket. Kindest regards - for letting me comment. Ian

Approach Anxiet... replied on

Big banks don't have their own money. Every dollar they have they borrowed from the fed which just created it out of thin air. When the banks get that fraudulent dollar from the feds, they then use "fractional reserve" lending to create about 28 more dollars for every one dollar borrowed. Everything is a scam just the same as Bernie Madoff except in the trillions of dollars. It really is unbelievable and the only way to fix it is to have the dollar backed by gold or silver. They can't create gold and silver out of thin air!

OKJack™Group™ replied on

We think that there is way too much "can't see the forest for the trees" going on. Said another way, there is just too much "treating the symptoms instead of the disease" happening. The disease is quite simply A Serious Absence of Patriotism...yes, a Near Total Lack of Patriotism! If the wealthy members of the privileged class private (corporate) sector and public (government) sector [the former to include the private (corporate) sector media] would simply arrange to get a transfusion of Patriotism, and then put country above self...well...then Our Great Nation would be placed ahead of the "me, me, me syndrome"! After all, putting Our Great Nation into bankruptcy can hardly be said to be Patriotic. And let there be no doubt, the United States of America is in (undeclared) bankruptcy. Yes...naturally...it hasn't been declared yet because the federal government keeps printing and/or borrowing money to pay the bills [said failure to actually pay the nation's bills being a little something that President Ronald Reagan, Senate Majority Leader Howard Baker, Speaker of the House Tip O'Neill & Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee Dan Rostenkowski (and a majority in congress) put in vogue beginning in 1981]. Were they Patriotic. No...not by our definition. Did they put country ahead of self and privileged class wealth. No...not by our definition. Corporate lobbyists...senators...representatives...judges...the chief justice...the president...the vice president...the majority leader...the speaker...the chairman of the house ways & means committee...well...we're just sick to our stomachs of watching them all fail Patriotism 101! And did this start with the present congress, court and president? Absolutely not! They've all been suffering from A Serious Absence of Patriotism for decades now. Of course, 1981 is as good a place to start as any. That's when the federal government stopped paying all of its bills and started borrowing as a way of life. That's when the privileged class stopped paying all of the taxes that they should be paying (i.e., as they had traditionally paid for the most part between 1913 and 1981...the top marginal rate being 91% in 1963!). Said another way, a nation with the worldwide obligations that America has (and the bills corresponding thereto), simply cannot meet those obligations with a top marginal rate of only 28% (now a mere 35%!). That's absolutely ridiculous! And the 1981 crowd knew exactly that when they pulled the plug on the U.S. Treasury! The "sick" lobbyists, senators, representatives, judges, the chief justice, the president, the vice president, the majority leader, the speaker of the house & the house ways & means chairman have known this full well ever since 1981...and just keep on borrowing and printing! On the other hand, The Best and Finest of Us™ of the middle and working class who are 24-7 risking and sacrificing their lives and limbs, sight, hearing and mental and physical health on foreign battlefields...well...they have demonstrated that they have not contracted the subject disease. But, while America cannot survive without The Best and Finest of Us™...America cannot survive with them only either. OKJack™Group™ Disabled Middle and Working Class Veterans We Paid the Dues that Aren't Required!™

nocall4it replied on

well said but it's gonna take blood shed i'm afraid.

OKJack™Group™ replied on

We think that there is way too much "can't see the forest for the trees" going on. Said another way, there is just too much "treating the symptoms instead of the disease" happening, e.g., bank reform legislation. The disease is quite simply A Serious Absence of Patriotism...yes, a Near total Lack of Patriotism! If the wealthy members of the privileged class private (corporate) sector and public (government) sector [the former to include the private sector media and deposit/investment banking sectors as well] would simply arrange to get a transfusion of Patriotism, and then put country above self...well...then Our Great Nation would be placed ahead of the "me, me, me syndrome"! After all, putting Our Great Nation into bankruptcy can hardly be said to be Patriotic. And let there be no doubt, the United States of America is in (undeclared) bankruptcy. Yes...naturally...it hasn't been declared yet because the federal government keeps printing and/or borrowing money to pay the bills [said failure to actually pay the nation's bills being a little something that President Ronald Reagan, Senate Majority Leader Howard Baker, Speaker of the House Tip O'Neill & Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee Dan Rostenkowski (and a majority in congress) put in vogue beginning in 1981]. Were they Patriotic. No...not by our definition. Did they put country ahead of self and privileged class wealth. No...not by our definition. Corporate lobbyists...senators...representatives...judges...the chief justice...the president...the vice president...the majority leader...the speaker of the house...the chairman of the house ways & means committee...well...we're just sick to our stomachs of watching them all fail Patriotism 101! And did this start with the present congress, court and president? Absolutely not! They've all been suffering from A Serious Absence of Patriotism for decades now. Of course, 1981 is as good a place to start as any. That's when the federal government stopped paying all of its bills and started borrowing as a way of life. That's when the privileged class stopped paying all of the taxes that they should be paying (i.e., as they had traditionally paid for the most part between 1913 and 1981...the top marginal rate being 91% in 1963!). Said another way, a nation with the worldwide obligations that America has (and the bills corresponding thereto), simply cannot meet those obligations with a top marginal rate of only 28% (now a mere 35%!). That's absolutely ridiculous! And the 1981 crowd knew exactly that when they pulled the plug on the U.S. Treasury! The "sick" lobbyists, senators, representatives, judges, the chief justice, the president, the vice president, the majority leader, the speaker of the house & the house ways & means chairman have known this full well ever since 1981...and just keep on borrowing and printing! On the other hand, The Best and Finest of Us™ of the middle and working class who are 24-7 risking and sacrificing their lives and limbs, sight, hearing and mental and physical health on foreign battlefields...well...they have demonstrated that they have not contracted the subject disease. But, while America cannot survive without The Best and Finest of Us™...America cannot survive with them only either. OKJack™Group™ Disabled Middle and Working Class Veterans We Paid the Dues that Aren't Required!™