AlterNet: Powerful Banks and Government Handouts to the Rich: It's Time for Protest

[marmar]

Powerful Banks and Government Handouts to the Rich: It's Time for Protest

By Zephyr Teachout, AlterNet. Posted March 25, 2009.

A new grassroots group has organized protests for April 11 in 11 cities so far, and the ranks of signups are swelling fast.



Editor's Note:

Click here to join the protest!


The Rip Off Must Be Stopped!

Big bankers ruined our economy and now they are gaming the political system so they can profit even more off the crisis they caused. They must be stopped.

On April 11th, 2009, the public will come out in cities across the country to express their frustration and disapproval with how our elected officials have handled the economic crisis. No one has been left unscathed; this protest is yours.

Sign AlterNet's pledge that you aren't going to let this rip-off happen and join New Way Forward's national protest on April 11.

***

Somehow, we've created a system that protects some of America's wealthiest individuals by letting them build institutions that are "too big to fail." Large scale banking has left our economy unstable, and overly dependent upon too few institutions. Greed for short-term profit, and competitive exuberance, has led to incomprehensible financing schemes and rewards for companies that sold people things they couldn't afford.

But, increasingly, people are realizing that anger at the banks ought also be directed at Congress, and at ourselves. We have created corporations that have left us exposed, unstable, and made it easy for concentrated wealth to exploit the political process. .........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.alternet.org/workplace/133275/powerful_banks_and_government_handouts_to_the_rich%3A_it%27s_time_for_protest/

[snot]

1. Fine as far as it goes, but re- their "New Way Forward," they MUST add

REGULATE.

It was the lack of meaningful regulation -- the repeal of Glass-Steagall, the gutting of regulatory staffs and agencies, and the complete failure to regulate CDO's and CDS's -- that got us into this mess.

The organizers proposal is "NATIONALIZE: Experts agree on the means -- Insolvent banks that are too big to fail must incur a temporary FDIC intervention - no more blank check taxpayer handouts. REORGANIZE: Current CEOs and board members must be removed and bonuses wiped out. The financial elite must share in the cost of what they have caused. DECENTRALIZE: Banks must be broken up and sold back to the private market with new antitrust rules in place-- new banks, managed by new people."

But basically, no matter how big or little the banks are, you gotta have somebody policing the foxes besides the foxes.

The plan the organizers propose -- nationalizing, reorganizing, decentralizing -- a good start, but over the long term, insufficient without regulation.

[fasttense]

2. I would sign the pledge but there seems to be an error message under it.

The error message makes me nervous about putting my name on this.

And the message is in pink.

This is the error I keep getting:

error in SalsaScript
details: invalid field value: please sign me up for "best of the week", a weekly newsletter of alternet's most popular articles.
line number: 55
source: var cond = new Condition(name, operator, value);

[marmar]

3. Oops...I see what you mean.

n/t