Working Life

   The forces trying to instill some rollback of the power of the financial elites suffered two defeats yesterday. First, Bernie Sanders’ amendment to bring more scrutiny to the Fed was watered down. Where did the pressure come from to let the Fed continue to operate in the same way it did before the crisis–a […]

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   It may seem relatively small but there will be an excellent window through which to view the president’s future intentions: will he be for the people or for the financial interests? Many people have already made up their minds–for good reason. But, this will be a moment–will the Administration veto the financial reform bill […]

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   Duh. The truth is that the only reason they did this and ignored the obvious was greed: Former Bear Stearns Chief Executive Officer James Cayne said Wednesday that his firm’s risk level was too high in the year before it collapsed. "That was the business," Mr. Cayne told a hearing held by the Financial […]

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   This should pass: An amendment sponsored by the independent senator from Vermont to require Federal Reserve audits is gaining momentum, powered by a coalition of activists on the left and right who are taking aim at the financial establishment for its role in the economic collapse. Mr. Sanders’s amendment, which is likely to be […]

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This past Saturday, we had a great march for immigration rights in New York City–on May 1st, thankfully, and sponsored by the labor movement to boot. Without a doubt, the Arizona racist legislation gave a boost to the turnout on a sun-drenched day. But, here is the point I have made in the past, and […]

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    Even investors are now starting to distance themselves from Goldman Sachs: After reports on Thursday evening that federal prosecutors had opened an investigation into trading at Goldman, raising the possibility of criminal charges against the Wall Street giant, the firm’s stock was downgraded on Friday by two analysts. Standard & Poor’s lowered its rating […]

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   And the next shoe to drop: Federal prosecutors are conducting a criminal investigation into whether Goldman Sachs Group Inc. or its employees committed securities fraud in connection with its mortgage trading, people familiar with the probe say. The investigation from the Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s Office, which is at a preliminary stage, stemmed from a […]

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   The Senate hearings made clear: Goldman Sachs—and other Wall Street firms—profited by gambling with the American peoples’ livelihoods. It was a classic “heads I win, tails you lose” scam. As Sen. Carl Levin memorably stated: “You knew it was a shitty deal, and that’s what your emails showed.”     But, what Levin and other […]

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    In the midst of the focus on the unethical behavior of Wall Street, let’s give a little stage time for Wal-Mart: In a closely watched case, a sharply divided federal appeals court on Monday ruled 6-5 that a sex discrimination lawsuit against Wal-Mart could proceed as a class action for more than a million […]

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   Over the weekend we learned this: In late 2007 as the mortgage crisis gained momentum and many banks were suffering losses, Goldman Sachs executives traded e-mail messages saying that they were making "some serious money" betting against the housing markets.   The e-mails, released Saturday morning by the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, appear […]

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