Last Friday, among the flurry of amendments that the Senate passed before it adjourned for a two-week recess, the Brown-Vitter amendment, which pledged to end funding advantages to banks with more than $500 billion in assets, passed in a 99-0 vote. Great, right? Senator Vitter, one of the co-authors of the amendment, stated afterwards, “This … Continue reading
The short answer is: maybe. On Wednesday, during the Senate Banking Committee hearing, Senator Elizabeth Warren grilled Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on the $83 billion implicit subsidy that big banks receive from low interest rates. That night, Fox Business News’ Gerri Wilson misquoted the figure, expressing outrage over the “$83 trillion dollars, you know, … Continue reading
Since the financial crisis of 2008, discussion of the role big banks play in the American economy and the inherent risk they represent has faded into the periphery. As with many other areas of public policy, a sustained focus beyond a time of crisis is difficult, due mainly to the relative lack of political will. … Continue reading
Mitt Romney – a 21st century Thurston Howell; a Wall Street shill; the man who invented the silver spoon. This is the narrative that democrats have tried to create concerning the republican presidential nominee. And yet during the first debate on Wednesday, Romney sounded a populist tone as it relates to Wall Street and big … Continue reading
Occupy Wall Street started with an emotion: anger. As average Americans dealt with an insecure job market, unemployment, underwater mortgages, and overwhelming increases in the cost of education and healthcare they watched as the financial industry was rescued from its own poor judgment by the federal government. What was perceived was a collusion of massive … Continue reading
