So, the financial services industry says it wants to "earn back the trust of the American people."
That must mean it's loosening up loans to small businesses and investing money in communities hard hit by the nation's jobs crisis, right?
Actually not. According to the Financial Services Roundtable, which represents the 150 largest banks and insurance companies, "earning back the trust of the American people" means spending millions of dollars on a public relations campaign to make Big Banks look warm and fuzzy.
Here's a message for the corporations that took $700 billion in our taxpayer bailout dollars: America's 17 million jobless workers can't feed their families on PR.
When I was in Philadelphia at one of the 200 AFL-CIO Make Wall Street Pay rallies this month, I talked with one of those workers. Kelle Sallard was laid off from Verizon because of the economic crisis brought on by Big Banks. The Communications Workers of America (CWA) member told the crowd:
I lost my job at Verizon, lost my benefits and make too much on unemployment to qualify for free health care.
The Wall Street image makeover comes just in time to cover up its multi-million-dollar lobbying campaign to weaken or block the Obama administration's plans to overhaul regulation of the financial industry. They're flooding the halls of Capitol Hill with lobbyists--400 from banking and related groups had registered with Congress to weigh in on regulatory reform by the end of last year, according to data analyzed by the Center for Public Integrity.
And they're spending massively to convince members of Congress to sell out to the same corporations that used our taxpayer bailout to give $145 billion in 2009 executive pay and bonuses. Since the beginning of 2009, large banks and financial firms have spent more than $500 million on lobbying and campaign contributions, according to data from the Center for Responsive Politics. The financial industry's latest lobbying push will add tens of millions of dollars more.
Wall Street got our bailout money after fueling an economic disaster that has left America's workers without jobs and communities without hope. Now we need to see some returns. Here's what needs to be done.
First, Big Banks must resume lending to help credit-starved communities starved for credit create jobs. Next, they must embrace a small tax to curb destabilizing short-term speculation and pay for the jobs they destroyed. A small tax of about half a penny for every dollar on financial transactions such as stock, option and derivative trades would restore balance in the investment world and would raise $175 billion to $350 billion a year to invest in American jobs. European economists have estimated that a tax as small as 0.01 percent applied globally to all transactions would raise 1.7 percent of global GDP. The U.S. portion of this would be 0.7 percent of U.S. GDP, or $99 billion per year.
Congress also must reform the rules for Wall Street, including creation of an independent consumer agency that will crack down on abuses by big banks and their CEOs and credit card companies to protect working families and small businesses.
Almost two-thirds of Americans say they have an unfavorable opinion of business executives, according to a new Bloomberg National Poll. And some 56 percent of the American public says it would support government action to limit compensation of those who helped cause the financial crisis, or to ban those people from working in the banking industry.
Bailed out banks also are funding a $3 million ad blitz through the Chamber of Commerce to lobby against financial reform. As Paul Schott Stevens, president of the Investment Company Institute, reportedly told the Chamber of Commerce, the fear is that proposals to make the nation's financial regulations work for consumers is
a re-ordering of our financial institutions for generations to come.
That's the point. Because whoever thinks the system doesn't need reforming, has a lot to gain by keeping things just as they are.
Francine Hardaway: Don't Stop Fighting for Finance Reform
Many thousands of five-year adjustable mortgages will reset this year, and 25 percent of homeowners are still underwater in their mortgages even as these resets continue to occur.
Disparity in recovery 'deeply unfair' (4/1/10)
You want fair?
Create a Tax and Mortgage Foreclosure Moratorium on anyone making less than $412K a year for the next 6-9 months.
That will equalize the harm caused by the Banks and Wall Street.
This will stop Foreclosures and crashing Home Values while the economy recovers.
It will close the glut of houses on the Market and may even open up new housing construction.
New jobs will be created since the sky will no longer be falling.
Those that were forced into unemployment will have a cushion to find new work.
In gambling, they say the house always wins. We Americans are the house. So as long as we're gambling, we might as well win.
Regarding jobs at least one Republican said Obama was prolonging the recovery on purpose! For his government take over I guess???
Fixing the massive problems from Bush and evil Cheney will take years I'm afraid. To work out of an average recession usually takes 2-3 years, a deep one more. To work out of another Republican Depression, which is what most economist's thought we were heading for only a year ago, may take 4-10 years.
Those that have decent jobs should be willing to spend, especially on America! When you buy or weatherize a home, go to a restaurant, expand your garden, etc., you put your money back to work, helping the US, and yourself in the long run.
Buying an " American car " is a mixed bag. The foreign companies that claim to make their's in the US often use a lot of parts not made here. Or, with the Japanese firms, they have insisted on only their own suppliers coming here and doing what many US firms could have done.
If you visit the Toyota plant in Kentucky, or Honda in Ohio or Indiana, you'll see a large number of Japanese doing what we could do, and the same with their many supplier's around the main plants. We could have thousands of American's in these good jobs, who would buy homes, etc. and spread the money around their regions.
You, as a leader of workers have an obligation to America, not just your union members but America to stand in the front and confront every member that is up for election and every person who wants that congressional job and make them in speeches and in writing state they are willing to take on the banks and force the issue in Congress.
In each district there are NOW enough out of work and union members to swing an election. For the union to be recognized for its leadership in America I demand, yes a harsh word, but demand you use your office to show what the want to be elected will accomplish when elected. The opposite of this is to state, regularly the names of candidates that refuse to agree with the workers and Americans It is time to again tame the merchant barons and put Americans to work.
We put a man on the moon with TARIFFS. With free trade we are becoming a third world country.
Do the math: you're not even close.
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Posish!
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R/ PRONESE
You have minimum wage earners indirectly subsidizing bloated retirement benefits for people in his union. It;'s another type of priviliged, entitled class that is choking america.
Go ahead & bash me for my socialist thoughts but....
I have lost whatever faith I had in these corporations -- I rather like visiting Vancouver, BC -- I don't get charged a $3 fee for w/drawing $ from a big bank. I also hold onto my Canadian citizenship w/a passion (while I live in the US as a permanent resident) bcz if I ever truly get sick & need healthcare, I can always move back to Canada - imagine that -- everyone clamours to become a US citizen - I ask myself why in the world would you want to do that? You're signing your own death sentence by becoming a citizen of this country.
Right now, the US needs to reinvest in its infrasture desparately - yet the CEO's couldn't give a darn. Interestingly Canada has a higher internet connection than the US -- probably bcz they care more about their infrastructure than the average Amercian.
If I sound like I'm dumping on Americans -- it's bcz I'm sick & tired of corporation executives reaping the benefits of its workers & no one standing up to them. Americans really do need to take back their country -- not from the Democrats BUT from corporations!
I believe the number was over $5 billion.
Banks put the money into risky investments, never outlined the risk to the majority of their customers, and simply hid many of their dirty deeds. As a broker I would have to make good my customers losses and pay fines as well as probably serve time in prison. Why get a real job, just work as a broker for the banks and screw the customers....maybe if I were incompetent enough I could become CEO.
As a foreigner, I can say that irresponsible lending to IRRESPONSIBLE BORROWERS crisis did not occur everywhere, yet we were all required to temporarily adjust Gordon Brown, Sarkozy, Merkel and Obama administrations' stupid responses. Your bust banks SHOULD HAVE BEEN LET GO.
Unions (ignoring millions of workers who did nothing wrong) and under-informed armchair economists,continually whining about institutional activities that played no part whatsoever in the 2008 downturn (for God's sake whingers, the rest of the world has moved on) continue whipping up self-serving frenzy, keeping unproductive, ill-directed animosity alive.
Why no vengeful rhetoric aimed at the millions of greedy BORROWERS and politicians who conveniently use the subject as a profile-raising mechanism?
Seeing and reading about America's present government ( London Times commentary: http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/columnists/article7078817.ece ) fear not those who made BAD LOANS TO BAD BORROWERS, fear your country becoming the next USSR.
Look at Shanghai lately - if the US doesn't quickly rebuild its financial services sector, Chicago and New York, with beneficial trickle-down employment effects, will become your next Detroit. With destructive talk continuing, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Canada, Korea, India are ready and waiting. And you will be able to thank your unions and politicians for finishing America off - for good.