Working Life

   This was in the Financial Times today: A US bank regulator joined financial executives on Wednesday in calling for changes to consumer protection rules proposed by Chris Dodd, the chairman of the Senate banking committee. “In every case consumer protection has the edge and will trump safety and soundness and I think that is […]

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   I do not like to be negative. I’m actually quite the optimist, generally speaking. So, I admit to feeling uneasy that I’ve been presistently, regularly disbelieving about the talk of "economic recovery". I think that such talk ignores the actual FACTS and is largely driven by political imperatives–meaning, politicians who want to be re-elected […]

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   Some people are not suffering (via The Wall Street Journal): As financial firms rebounded last year, Wall Street bonuses for employees in the New York City securities industry rose almost 17% to $20.3 billion in 2009, according to a report released Tuesday by the New York State comptroller.  

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Wall Street loves a disaster. The more chaos, the better–because, no matter what happens to regular people, chaos can mean lots of profits. That is why the deep reform we need in the way the financial world works is so important–and why Wall Street is fighting so hard to stop it.   This past Friday, […]

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   Yesterday, the president announced that it was time for a new deal with banks: The tougher approach to financial regulation that President Obama outlined on Thursday reflected a changed political climate, the rebound in big banks’ fortunes after their taxpayer bailout and a shift in power within the administration away from those who had […]

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   One reason people are angry–a sense that the elite still get away with what regular people can’t. You may not be able to deduct a penalty but the banks can (via The Financial Times): The planned new US levy on top financial institutions will be tax-deductible, a Treasury official told the Financial Times on […]

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They robbed Americans of their future. They cost perhaps a generation of hard-working people a decent pay check. And they left millions of people with empty 401(k)s, with some seniors being booted from their retirement homes because there was no money left. And, yet, they still don’t get it–or maybe they truly don’t care.   […]

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   It’s a strange coincidence but there is a direct connection between the earthquake in Haiti and the spectacle of the financial elite testifying  before the Commission-that-will-do-nothing about the mess they made.    How did we get to where we are? We have lived in a system that allowed a tiny elite to rob the […]

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   Here is one thing that is quite fascinating to me. There is a wave of stories popping up now about taxes being raised on the wealthy, or a fee put on banks, or restrictions put on executive compensation. Today, for example, there is a story in The Wall Street Journal: The grassroots fervor that […]

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   Bankers are nervous about the bonuses they are about to get: Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase and other big banks are bracing for a renewed public and political backlash against their compensation plans as they prepare to unveil multi-billion dollar bonus packages. Under pressure from government, banks are already saying they will devote the […]

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