Working Life

    I applaud the president for trying to impose some new and renewed standards to try to make sure that what happened on Wall Street doesn’t happen again. But, we are about to miss an opportunity–perhaps a missed opportunity that will haunt us for years to come–to change the debate about our economy and the […]

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   Well, let’s see where this goes: A top Senate Democrat said Monday he was optimistic lawmakers would move forward with legislation overhauling financial markets this week, as the Obama administration and congressional Democrats sought to build support for the measure ahead of a Senate vote. Sen. Christopher Dodd (D., Conn.), who chairs the Senate […]

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   A month ago, I called for the indictment of Lehman Brothers executives–as well as an investigation of the role played by then-NY Federal Reserve head Tim Geithner–for the "materially misleading" actions (that is accounting-speak for scams) that those execs undertook to cover up their financial misdeeds that sent Lehman over the edge–and helped drag […]

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   The Wall Street Journal has an illiuminating piece about Jamie Dimon, the CEO of J.P. Morgan, today. It is both astounding and revealing because it shows exactly what we, the people, are up against when it comes to taking back the country from the people who gambled away–for their own enrichment and/or because of […]

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The lines are clear: it’s the people versus the banks and Wall Street. While both the House and Senate bills do not go far enough and have already been, in my view, watered down, there is one issue that we can still fight hard on–and have the back of the president: an independent Consumer Financial […]

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   There are roughly 400 amendments being proposed to the financial reform legislation proposed by Sen. Chris Dodd. I’ve written previously that I think that the legislation is, at best, a modest step forward. Many of the amendments are aimed at weakening reform and are being pushed by the financial inustry’s lobbying machine.     One […]

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   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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Yesterday, I raised my concerns about the Senate’s proposal to hand more power to the Federal Reserve Board and give the Fed the role of protecting consumers. Honestly, I thought it was a cruel joke and a perfect example of the Washington insiders protecting the interests of Wall Street. Barney Frank agrees.   Here is […]

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   It is hard to overstate how out-of-touch the insiders in Washington are–and how much they are far more attuned to the demands of Wall Street and the financial powers-that-be. You can’t find a better example than the apparent bi-partisan deal to give the Federal Reserve Board more power–and, most astonishingly, the power to protect […]

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   In one day, you can read how the powerful economic interests have defeated the public interest. Start with the  theatrics of the health care "summit"–an event that only underscores how the insurance industry has defeated the people. Already anticipating failure, the president wants to roll back health reform even further: President Barack Obama will […]

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