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Demeter

(85,373 posts)
21. “We Own Wall Street” By Eliot Spitzer
Fri Dec 23, 2011, 08:13 AM
Dec 2011
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/the_best_policy/2011/12/occupy_wall_street_we_own_wall_street_a_new_movement_to_stop_corporate_america_s_misbehavior_.html

How small shareholders, pension funds, and mutual funds can stop corporate America’s worst behavior and ignite a political movement...As the year ends, American politics remains mired in the agenda of the right... And the presidential campaign heading into the Iowa primaries is dominated by the libertarianism of Ron Paul and the astonishing, appalling ideas—eliminate child labor laws, for instance—of Newt Gingrich.

Yes, Occupy Wall Street changed the debate for a brief spell, and, yes, President Obama harkened back to the glory days of progressivism with his Kansas speech. But in general American politics has lost sight of the most important crisis of our generation: the shrinking middle class. So let me offer some advice to Democrats and progressives seeking to capture the attention of the American people. It has long been my belief that ownership trumps regulation. What I mean by that is while laws and regulations can create boundaries to behavior, the reality, as we have seen after passing much legislation—Sarbanes-Oxley, Dodd-Frank—is that even good laws leave room for bad decision making that results in cataclysm. Even though prosecutors should have charged many more bad actors on Wall Street, much of what led to the crisis was not blatant illegality: It was horrific judgment exercised by senior executives and regulators. More laws and different regulations might have mitigated the disaster, but the best remedy, and the step we have to focus on, is giving citizens more decision-making within the private sector.

“We Own Wall Street” should be the rallying cry of the former Occupy Wall Street, come January. We Own Wall Street is the truth. The actual ownership of major banks, manufacturers, and retail giants resides in vast repositories of capital that are owned and controlled by the public: mutual funds, public pension funds, and endowments at public institutions. If the public exercised its huge ownership capacity by influencing board member selection, compensation, and political donations, then these companies would be fundamentally altered.... make the following two simple demands of the Wall Street firms:

First, disclose the substance of, and all records relating to, any meetings between senior officers of the company and any regulator over the past five years. On behalf of the public and shareholders, we need to understand what happened in the regulatory process and why; we need to be comfortable that the company and government officials have been forthright with the public about the nature of the discussions that led to the massive flow of public funds to the company....Second, cease all giving of corporate funds to any entity—for-profit, not-for-profit, overtly political or not—that is involved in attempting to sway the course of legislation or regulation in Washington or any state capital. This would encompass the U.S. Chamber of Commerce as well as the Sierra Club. The idea would be to slow the cascade of money and influence flowing into politics from inside the corporations. As owners we are saying: Stop trying to alter the rules you play by. Just play by the rules and focus on building a better product....The effort to reassert proper ownership need not be an argument from the left or the right. It is merely an effort to move responsibility and power back to where it belongs.
Ho-Ho-Ho... Hugin Dec 2011 #1
A Little Ghost of Weekend Past Demeter Dec 2011 #2
Very telling tune CatholicEdHead Dec 2011 #71
Monti names unelected government of technocrats and bankers FROM NOVEMBER Demeter Dec 2011 #3
Senators in Italy Pass Plan for Budget Demeter Dec 2011 #15
"the absence of democratically endorsed characters will allow austerity measures to proceed dixiegrrrrl Dec 2011 #52
Europe Braces for Long Winter Demeter Dec 2011 #4
BofA Close to Settling Countrywide Probe Demeter Dec 2011 #5
Where are the handcuffs! DemReadingDU Dec 2011 #19
Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan has settled that lawsuit, actually. dixiegrrrrl Dec 2011 #53
A civil settlement doesn't preclude a criminal prosecution Demeter Dec 2011 #68
Sdly, as we know, the SEC settlments are not followed by criminal charges. dixiegrrrrl Dec 2011 #70
The Meme that Refuses to Die: Government Debt Must Be Paid Back by Steve Roth Demeter Dec 2011 #6
The 99% Declaration Demeter Dec 2011 #7
That's a clear plan. n/t Ghost Dog Dec 2011 #14
The 876 delegates would go to the top of DHS watch list westerebus Dec 2011 #65
Judge finds Stanford fit to stand trial Demeter Dec 2011 #8
Bini Smaghi urges bold decisions Demeter Dec 2011 #9
Bini Smaghi sees role for European QE Demeter Dec 2011 #11
US growth revised down for third quarter Demeter Dec 2011 #10
Jean Pisani-Ferry: Will Europe’s crisis reconcile Asia with the IMF? Demeter Dec 2011 #12
ESMA automated trading guidelines to take force in May Demeter Dec 2011 #13
Sir Mervyn King: debt crisis is causing a dangerous 'dependence on central banks' Demeter Dec 2011 #16
King Says Crisis Threatens Europe’s Economy as Stability Outlook Worsens Demeter Dec 2011 #17
Basel Regulators Seek to Close Loopholes in Bank-Liquidity Rules Demeter Dec 2011 #18
European Banks Rush to Grasp Lifeline Demeter Dec 2011 #23
Legality of Non Transparent Transfer of MF Global Assets to JP Morgan Questioned Demeter Dec 2011 #20
“We Own Wall Street” By Eliot Spitzer Demeter Dec 2011 #21
Dear Eliot -- Nice idea, but. . . . . Tansy_Gold Dec 2011 #45
They need to understand the whole concept of, "Noblesse oblige". Hugin Dec 2011 #67
FBI Reportedly Investigating Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac For Role In Subprime Crisis Demeter Dec 2011 #22
Where are the handcuffs! DemReadingDU Dec 2011 #24
Ann Barhardt has a different idea Po_d Mainiac Dec 2011 #64
This is not about their "role in the subprime crisis," it is about execs lying to shareholders... rfranklin Dec 2011 #50
merry christmas! xchrom Dec 2011 #25
This one's for you, X Tansy_Gold Dec 2011 #46
OMG -- that really got to me! nt xchrom Dec 2011 #47
Me, too! Tansy_Gold Dec 2011 #48
indeed -- it has the BEST ending -- nt xchrom Dec 2011 #49
and how is your Petunia? DemReadingDU Dec 2011 #54
her limp is improving every day now. xchrom Dec 2011 #55
Just give her a bit more time DemReadingDU Dec 2011 #60
i look forward to 'PETUNIA, STOP THAT RIGHT NOW!' nt xchrom Dec 2011 #63
That was a great story! and we have a similar one DemReadingDU Dec 2011 #59
the ecb's highwire act xchrom Dec 2011 #26
That game has been played for decades in 3rd world countries dixiegrrrrl Dec 2011 #57
agreed. few people would argue that developed countries were kind to africa xchrom Dec 2011 #61
south asia: Markets could recover if reforms can get a push: Analysts xchrom Dec 2011 #27
Gold down by Rs 50 on sluggish demand; silver up by Rs 150 xchrom Dec 2011 #28
Rupee ends lower, falls for 3rd straight week {this is something to watch, apparently} xchrom Dec 2011 #29
We have not shelved FDI in retail: Pranab Mukherjee xchrom Dec 2011 #33
Asian Stocks Higher As US Recovery Gains Traction Ghost Dog Dec 2011 #30
European Shares Advance Ahead Of Holiday Break Ghost Dog Dec 2011 #31
US consumer spending tepid in November xchrom Dec 2011 #34
Wall Street Pins Hopes On Economic Data Ghost Dog Dec 2011 #32
Today's Reports Roland99 Dec 2011 #35
November durable-goods orders rise 3.8% Roland99 Dec 2011 #36
Personal income rises 0.1% in November Roland99 Dec 2011 #37
Core PCE index up 1.7% over past 12 months (up 0.1% for November) Roland99 Dec 2011 #38
Durable-goods orders minus transportation up 0.3% Roland99 Dec 2011 #39
Personal spending rises 0.1% in November Roland99 Dec 2011 #40
Personal incomes rise 0.1% in November Roland99 Dec 2011 #41
Core Durable,Capital Goods Orders Miss Despite Inventory Stuffing, Push Q4 GDP Lower;Savings Down Roland99 Dec 2011 #42
New U.S. home sales rise to 315,000 rate in Nov. (Oct. revised up to 310,000) Roland99 Dec 2011 #58
Matt Taibbi: A Christmas Message From America's Rich DemReadingDU Dec 2011 #43
Karl Denninger: Matt Taibbi, Financial Schemes And The US Congress DemReadingDU Dec 2011 #44
" It seems America’s bankers are tired of all the abuse. They’ve decided to speak out." dixiegrrrrl Dec 2011 #62
For this, The Bloomberg Economic News link shall remain on the SMW OP template. Hugin Dec 2011 #66
In Portugal, All-Out Privatization Gets Underway xchrom Dec 2011 #51
Fed’s Once-Secret Data Released to Public xchrom Dec 2011 #56
This isn't a good sign. Fuddnik Dec 2011 #69
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