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If Bankers Took Steroids or Made Knockoff Handbags, They'd Clean Up Wall Street Tomorrow by Richard (RJ) Eskow, OurFuture.org | July 12, 2012
If only. If only Brian Moynihan designed fashionable shoes, Jamie Dimon pitched a mean slider, and Lloyd Blankfein had written the song "Boyfriend" for Justin Bieber. Then they'd prosecute bank fraud. read more »Economic Cliff Ahead: Economist Damon Silvers' Warning by Isaiah J. Poole, OurFuture.org | July 11, 2012
On Wednesday the stock market remained in the doldrums, thanks largely to the release of Federal Reserve June meeting minutes that revealed that at least some members of the Fed believed the economy needs "further policy stimulus," but the Fed nonetheless took no action to boost the economy during that meeting. read more »Crooked Bankers Are Corrupting Government: The Real LIBOR Story by Richard (RJ) Eskow, OurFuture.org | July 11, 2012
A new survey showing the extent of bankers' criminal inclinations, together with the "LIBOR" scandal, gives us more insight into how deeply corrupt the banking industry has become. Big banks have metastasized into a kind of "Financial/Industrial Complex" which is distorting and engulfing our economy. And they've captured the critical government functions designed to stem the corruption and keep them in check. Washington, we have a problem. read more »The Wall Street Scandal of all Scandals by Robert B. Reich, robertreich.org | July 9, 2012
Just when you thought Wall Street couldn’t sink any lower — when its myriad abuses of public trust have already spread a miasma of cynicism over the entire economic system, giving birth to Tea Partiers and Occupiers and all manner of conspiracy theories; when its excesses have already wrought havoc with the lives of millions of Americans, causing taxpayers to shell out billions (of which only a portion has been repaid) even as its top executives are back to making more money than ever; when its vast political power (via campaign contributions) has already eviscerated much of the Dodd-Frank law that was supposed to rein it in, including the so-called “Volker” Rule that was sold as a milder version of the old Glass-Steagall Act that used to separate investment from commercial banking — yes, just when you thought the Street had hit bottom, an even deeper level of public-be-damned greed and corruption is revealed. Sit down and hold on to your chair. read more »Banksters Go Wild - and "The Economist" Joins the Revolution by Richard (RJ) Eskow, OurFuture.org | July 6, 2012
In the ongoing scandal about Barclays' employees tampering with the "LIBOR," or London interbank lending rate - which is to say, bank fraud - The Economist offers this brilliant cover. It's not just the word "banksters," or the fact that it shows bank executives dressed like the guys in Reservoir Dogs. It's the little things, like the two guys whispering to each other, the two others on their cell phones, and - best of all - the fact that they're wearing typical bankers' power ties. read more »How Liberals Win by Bill Scher, OurFuture.org | July 2, 2012
President Obama has endured much criticism of his legislative skills from his fellow progressives. His conciliatory approach has been compared unfavorably with Franklin D. Roosevelt’s gleeful pugnacity and Lyndon B. Johnson’s relentless arm-twisting. read more »The Phony "Generational War": It's Like the Hunger Games, But With Old People by Richard (RJ) Eskow, OurFuture.org | July 2, 2012
Millions of people have read the Hunger Games stories, about a depraved future society where young people are forcing to fight each other for scarce resources while elites in the Capital plunder the nation's wealth. read more »Pension Gimmicks Blamed On Workers by Dave Johnson, OurFuture.org | June 28, 2012
The student loan deal is badly needed. It should have just been extended - duh! read more »Wall Street's City Bid-Rigging Racket: Who Ran It? How Many Billions Are Missing? Where's the Investigation? by Richard (RJ) Eskow, OurFuture.org | June 26, 2012
A recent court case proves what many of us have long suspected: Big banks have been ripping off this nation's towns and cities for years in an old-fashioned racketeering scam. We ran some numbers to see how much this criminality might have cost the American people.The answer? Billions. read more »The Gread Abdication by Paul Krugman, The New York Times | June 25, 2012
Suddenly normally calm economists are talking about 1931, the year everything fell apart. It started with a banking crisis in a small European country. Austria tried to step in with a bank rescue — but the spiraling cost of the rescue put the government’s own solvency in doubt. Austria’s troubles shouldn’t have been big enough to have large effects on the world economy, but in practice they created a panic that spread around the world. Sound familiar? The really crucial lesson of 1931, however, was about the dangers of policy abdication. Stronger European governments could have helped Austria manage its problems. Central banks could have done much more to limit the damage. But nobody with the power to contain the crisis stepped up to the plate; everyone who could and should have acted declared that it was someone else’s responsibility. And it’s happening again, both in Europe and in America. read more »
The Latest
Robert Borosage is quoted in The Washington Post on Wall Street's Influence in the White House, The Washington Post | January 6, 2011
Wall Street ties complicate the politically touchy search for economic adviser
By Peter Wallsten and Perry Bacon Jr.
Washington Post Staff Writers
Sunday, January 2, 2011; 7:32 PMPresident Obama is expected to name a new chief economic adviser as early as this week, but the months-long search process has proven difficult and politically touchy...... read more »
Roger Hickey quoted in USA Today, USA Today | January 6, 2011
Bank Of America Tries To Frame Foreclosure-Gate As Simply A Case Of Misspelled Names, wonkroom.thinkprogress.org | October 26, 2010
Since the foreclosure fraud scandal — in which banks were caught allowing “robo-signers” to approve potentially fraudulent foreclosure forms — first hit the national airwaves, Wall Street banks have been trying to downplay the extent of the problem, claiming that it only has to do with paperwork mistakes and not a compete disregard for due process and property rights. read more »
Corporations Hide Election Spending From the Public Eye, The Nation | October 19, 2010
To avoid angering the public and their investors, some corporate interests are going to great lengths to hide their political spending. These companies have dumped money into nonprofits and trade associations that often have innocuous names like Americans for Job Security or Revere America, but in reality serve to shield donors from accountability for their spending in our elections. read more »
Sorkin: Felix Rohatyn Looks Back, and Sighs, dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com | October 19, 2010
Felix G. Rohatyn, one of Wall Street’s last old wise-men, was sitting in his office at Lazard overlooking the Empire State Building on Monday morning. read more »
The New Tax Man: Big Banks and Hedge Funds, huffpostfund.org | October 19, 2010
Nearly a dozen major banks and hedge funds, anticipating quick profits from homeowners who fall behind on property taxes, are quietly plowing hundreds of millions of dollars into businesses that collect the debts, tack on escalating fees and threaten to foreclose on the homes of those who fail to pay.
How Do We Judge the Homeowner?, Huffington Post | October 19, 2010
In the rush to foreclosure, the banks and even government officials have been taking the position that the borrower/homeowners are fully to blame for the situations they find themselves in and that the paperwork technicalities just need to be worked out in order for there to be a just outcome, which is to say, a foreclosure.
The Washington Post's Entry in the "How Many Big Things Can You Get Wrong in a Short Article?" Contest, cepr.net | October 19, 2010
The Washington Post appears to have outdone itself in a discussion of the politics surrounding the foreclosure crisis. For beginners, it told readers that:
"Reviving the economy requires repairing the housing market." read more »
Bondholders Pick a Fight With Banks, The Wall Street Journal | October 19, 2010
As banks restart foreclosures they had suspended, bondholders are stepping up efforts to recoup losses on soured mortgage portfolios amid concern about sloppy mortgage servicing and underwriting practices. read more »
Foreclosure Fortune Buys Bugatti, Yacht, Mansions for Attorney, bloomberg.com | October 19, 2010
For Americans, the foreclosure crisis has wiped out fortunes, bringing destitution and homelessness. For Florida attorney David J. Stern, it has brought mansions, a Bugatti sports car and a luxury yacht. Florida has the third-highest residential foreclosure rate in the U.S., and Stern, 50, has made a fortune off the bust. read more »
