Robert Reich: Hillary Clinton doesn't want to resurrect the Glass-Steagall. Here's why she's wrong

[Quixote1818]

Hillary Clinton’s Glass-Steagall

Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Hillary Clinton won’t propose reinstating a bank break-up law known as the Glass-Steagall Act – at least according to Alan Blinder, an economist who has been advising Clinton’s campaign. “You’re not going to see Glass-Steagall,” Blinder said after her economic speech Monday in which she failed to mention it. Blinder said he had spoken to Clinton directly about Glass-Steagall.

This is a big mistake.

It’s a mistake politically because people who believe Hillary Clinton is still too close to Wall Street will not be reassured by her position on Glass-Steagall. Many will recall that her husband led the way to repealing Glass Steagall in 1999 at the request of the big Wall Street banks.

It’s a big mistake economically because the repeal of Glass-Steagall led directly to the 2008 Wall Street crash, and without it we’re in danger of another one.

More: http://robertreich.org/post/124114229225

[Thinkingabout]

1. Reich has not said that Glass Stegall would not have prevented the finanical crisis. Since Glass

Stegall was repealed Dodd Frank was enacted. Under this bill if the banks fail then they fail and will be broken up. The Commodities Futures Modernization Act of 2000 provided a big cause of the financial crisis and Sanders voted for this bill. This needs to be brought out, the real truth. So when Sanders talks about breaking up the big banks, he needs to accept his vote on this bill.

[Bread and Circus]

2. I like Robert Reich but he is too paternalistic and condescending. .

...to quote some of my fellow DU'ers.

We need a much more moderate Republican-lite candidate to win the nomination.

[hopemountain]

4. i've written the same about

hillary.

[putitinD]

3. that is because Wall street owns Hillary

[Recursion]

5. The repeal of Glass Steagall had nothing to do with the 2008 crash

My God this zombie needs to die. Even Warren has said the repeal didn't have anything to do with the crash ("it was symbolic", she has said). The retail banks weren't the ones that failed. Hell, most of the things that failed weren't even banks. Citi failed because of investments that were completely legal under Glass-Steagall. Bear Sterns, Lehman Bros, and Merrill Lynch weren't covered by Glass-Steagall to begin with (except in the sense that they were prevented from opening retail checking accounts by it, but they had no desire to do that and never did). AIG wasn't covered by it at all.

It's probably a good idea to reinstate Glass-Steagall, but there's no need to make up fake reasons to do it.