Is 2013 The Year We Break Up The Big Banks?
After a public backlash, bailout recipient AIG decided not to join in a lawsuit against the federal government after all. I don't think that lets them off the hook. They probably decided to leak the news to gauge public reaction to see if they could get away with it. The fact that the company was even thinking about suing the government just goes to show that the people running these companies haven't changed and are still a threat to our economic well being.
It's worth noting that the instigator of the lawsuit that AIG was thinking of joining is none other than Hank Greenberg, the company's disgraced former CEO who was forced to resign during the course of a criminal investigation by the New York State attorney general's office, then headed by Eliot Spitzer.
Robert Reich, a professor of public policy at Cal-Berkeley and Bill clinton's former Secretary of Labor, has long advocated that the government break up the big banks. In a commentary on NPR's Marketplace today, he presented a number of reasons why now might be the right time for that to happen.
Key members of Congress on both sides of the aisle have expressed support for breaking up the banks. And with anti-Wall Street crusaders such as Elizabeth Warren taking up key committee assignments in the Senate, the political climate may be as good as it's ever been for putting the "too big to fail" banks back in their proper place.
Me? I'm not very optimistic. While I'll grant Professor Reich the point that this is probably the most progressive Senate we've had in years, the big banks, corporations, and lobbyists still have a huge amount of influence over our government. Barring a popular uprising along the lines of Occupy Wall Street to provide some political cover, that's a lot of pressure to have to deal with.
It's worth noting that the instigator of the lawsuit that AIG was thinking of joining is none other than Hank Greenberg, the company's disgraced former CEO who was forced to resign during the course of a criminal investigation by the New York State attorney general's office, then headed by Eliot Spitzer.
Robert Reich, a professor of public policy at Cal-Berkeley and Bill clinton's former Secretary of Labor, has long advocated that the government break up the big banks. In a commentary on NPR's Marketplace today, he presented a number of reasons why now might be the right time for that to happen.
Key members of Congress on both sides of the aisle have expressed support for breaking up the banks. And with anti-Wall Street crusaders such as Elizabeth Warren taking up key committee assignments in the Senate, the political climate may be as good as it's ever been for putting the "too big to fail" banks back in their proper place.
Me? I'm not very optimistic. While I'll grant Professor Reich the point that this is probably the most progressive Senate we've had in years, the big banks, corporations, and lobbyists still have a huge amount of influence over our government. Barring a popular uprising along the lines of Occupy Wall Street to provide some political cover, that's a lot of pressure to have to deal with.