News & Comment
Blogs and Opinion
An Institutional Flaw At The Heart Of The Federal Reserve by Simon Johnson, baselinescenario.com | June 14, 2012
Prominent financial sector executives and their close allies are much too involved in how the New York Fed operates. This is partly an anachronistic holdover from the original Federal Reserve Act of 1913 – and reflects the political milieu of that time, in which bankers had to be persuaded to accept a central bank. But it is also an all-too-accurate reflection of where we stand today with regard to global mega-banks and the large, nontransparent and highly dangerous subsidies they extract from the rest of society by being too big to fail. read more »Charting the Cozy Connections between JP Morgan and the Senate Banking Committee by Cora Currier, propublica.org | June 13, 2012
This morning, Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JP Morgan Chase, faced a Senate hearing over more than $2 billion in bank losses caused by risky hedges that blew up. Dimon said that the hedges—investments meant to protect the bank—had grown into “complex and hard-to manage risks.” The losses “let a lot of people down, and we are sorry for it.” Many lawmakers are holding up the losses as evidence of the need for stronger financial regulation. The chairman of the Senate banking committee, Tim Johnson, D-S.D., in his opening remarks, asked for “a full accounting” of JP Morgan’s losses. But through campaign contributions and well-connected staff, JP Morgan appears to have already taken its own accounting of the Banking committee. Here’s a picture of connections between the company and the committee. read more »How Wall Street Hustles America's Cities and States Out of Billions by Thomas Ferguson, alternet.org | June 13, 2012
We all know that America’s cities and towns are in the throes of a deep financial crisis. And are told, over and over, what’s supposedly behind it: unreasonable demands by grasping state and municipal workers for pay and pensions. The diagnosis is a grotesque cartoon. Many of the biggest budget busters are on Wall Street, not Main Street. What has driven cities and towns to the brink is not demands from their workforce but the collapse of national income and the ensuing fall in tax collections. Or, in other words, the Great Recession itself, for which Wall Street and the financial sector are principally to blame. But many powerful interests have jumped at the opportunity to use the crisis to eviscerate what’s left of the welfare state, roll back unionization to pre-New Deal levels, and keep cutting taxes on the wealthy. The litany of horror stories that now fills the media is ideal for their purposes. read more »Jamie Dimon and the Sickness in Our Culture by Michael Tomasky, thedailybeast.com | June 13, 2012
In a rational world, Jamie Dimon would have been booted from JP Morgan weeks ago. No; not "been booted." He'd have left in shame. He'd have said: "I made a major f--- up here. I shouldn't be running a big bank anymore. I'm resigning, and I'm going off to reflect for a while, and I'm going to come back and do something to make up for this." That you're laughing at my suggestion does not show that I'm some dreamy-eyed idealist. I know that was never going to happen. What it does show, rather, is how inured we've become to the people at the top of society getting away with anything and taking responsibility for nothing. And you conservatives expect poor people to take responsibility for their behavior? Why should they? All they see around them every day on the news is the example of rich people getting away with everything. read more »Dimon Testifies - and the People Have a Few Questions by Richard (RJ) Eskow, OurFuture.org | June 12, 2012
Wednesday is the day that JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon testifies before the Senate Banking Committee. He was called before the Committee (I believe the term is "invited") after it was disclosed that his bank lost billions of dollars in reckless and unregulated trades - trades which, as Dimon himself acknowledged, may have included criminal activity. read more »The "Fiscal Cliff"? A Hoax. The Democrats' "Long Game"? A Myth. This Is the Real Budget Battle by Richard (RJ) Eskow, OurFuture.org | June 11, 2012
Suddenly the headlines are filled with talk of an impending "fiscal cliff," a series of tax and budget changes which the news pages say is an impending catastrophe and which the editorial pages are urging Washington lawmakers to prevent. read more »40 Million Strong: Underwater Homeowners Can Fight and Win ... If They Get Organized by Richard (RJ) Eskow, OurFuture.org | June 7, 2012
It sounds like hype to say it, but underwater homeowners can change the course of history. It's not me saying that - it's the numbers. People who owe more than their homes are worth have the power to become the a powerful new political and economic force. They've got the numbers, they've got the votes, and - if they can get organized - they've got the economic clout. And we can prove it. read more »A Hidden Economic Ideology: Six Flaws in the CBO's New Report by Richard (RJ) Eskow, OurFuture.org | June 5, 2012
The new CBO report is out, and it's a huge disappointment. Their report misrepresents both our nation's economic situation and the range of policy solutions available to the Federal government. read more »How the Corporate Media Obscure the Truth About Mitt Romney's 'Vulture Capitalism' at Bain by Joshua Holland, alternet.org | June 4, 2012
Were it not such a sad statement about how superficial our political discourse has become, the indignant defenses of Bain Capital by self-flattering “centrists” in the media would be almost comical. The simple reality that has been totally obscured in most of the coverage of what has been reduced to a “political flap,” is that finance is what's known as an “intermediary good” – it doesn't produce anything directly. It can -- and does -- stimulate the larger economy. But the financial sector can also extract wealth from the real economy, at a cost. The lion's share of Mitt Romney's fortune was made doing the latter through leveraged buy-outs (LBOs), a reality that Romney doesn't like to talk about on the campaign trail. Perhaps the media, like much of the American public, doesn’t understand what LBO artists like Romney really do. Here’s a quick refresher. read more »Bill Clinton's Blind Spot by Mike Lux, Huffington Post | June 4, 2012
I have been thinking a lot about my old boss President Clinton the last few days. I still have a great deal of respect and affection for him. But one thing you always knew as a staffer of his was when he did make a mistake it was a doozy. And as his Bain Capital statement reminds us, he has always had an incredible blind spot for the Wall Street crowd. The biggest political mistake of his presidency was to allow himself to be seduced by the slick Wall Street guys who convinced him the further deregulation of the financial industry — the repeal of Glass-Steagall and failing to regulate derivatives — would be good for the economy. You would think after the crash of 2008 and all that it has wrought he would be wary of defending Wall Street again, but it appears his massive blind spot is still there. 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 »
