Date: 2024-10-19 Page is: DBtxt003.php txt00008391
Initiatives
Americans for Financial Reform
Battling the Power of the Big Banks
Burgess COMMENTARY
Peter Burgess
Gmail Peter Burgess
Dear Peter,
A couple of months ago, we announced that more than 600,000 people had signed petitions of support for the 21st Century Glass-Steagall Act. Here at Americans for Financial Reform (AFR), we were thrilled; and Elizabeth Warren was obviously thrilled as well to learn that so many of you had joined the call to bring back the Depression-era law that, for half a century, kept traditional banks separate from the high-risk world of investment banks and hedge funds.
Those signatures sent a strong message about how many Americans want to see the big banks made smaller, simpler, and safer – and are ready to do something about it. Now we are working to build the chorus for reform and make sure policymakers in Congress and at the bank oversight agencies hear the message loud and clear.
But the fight to rein in the big banks is incredibly tough, and we need your support to help us level the playing field. Can you contribute $15 to AFR’s continuing effort to end Too Big to Fail and fight back against Wall Street’s reckless risk-taking?
Under Glass-Steagall, Uncle Sam agreed to insure our deposits. And the banks, in return, agreed not to use those deposits to try to make money for themselves by gambling in the Wall Street casino. That all changed with the industry-backed deregulation of the 1980s and ’90s. Once again, banks gained the ability to play risky games with government-backed funds, setting the stage for the financial and economic meltdown of 2008.
After Senators Elizabeth Warren, John McCain, Maria Cantwell, and Angus King introduced their 21st Century Glass-Steagall bill, AFR and our allies mobilized to show the strength of the support for steps to right-size the biggest banks and end the public subsidy for Wall Street speculation.
But Wall Street and its army of lobbyists continue to wield enormous influence in Washington, and they will keep using their deep pockets to resist meaningful change. During this session of Congress, the financial sector has already spent more than $804 million on lobbying and campaign contributions. Our side will never come close to matching that figure, but we need resources to put boots on the ground and capitalize on a simple reality: the facts and public opinion are both on our side.
Can you make a donation to support AFR’s work to make sure the voices of financial reformers are heard over the screech of the big banks’ lobbying?
Every bit of financial support will help. Day in and day out, AFR works to present the other side of the story so that the big banks don't always get the last word - with the press, with regulators, and with legislators. We work to shine a spotlight on decisions made by the bank oversight agencies and lawmakers, so more people can see what side they are on and hold them accountable. And we collaborate with the broadest possible set of national allies, reaching out to organizations and individuals (as we have to you) and making sure that people who care about reform work together to amplify their voices. It takes a lot of organization, advocacy, and resources to carry on this work.
Prior to the financial crisis, bankers and Washington insiders called the shots on big decisions about our financial system. We saw what happened next: disaster. Fighting for Glass-Steagall is just one part of our ongoing effort to take on powerful interests in Washington and make sure there is a voice standing up for the public interest on these enormously important issues.
One piece of good news is that, while Congress certainly matters, a lot can be done without them. The bank regulators also have a whole array of powers they could use to rein in or even start to break up the big banks. They need to pick up the tools in their toolbox, push back against the relentless industry lobbying, and listen to other voices – like yours and mine – calling for reform. This too requires the resources to make sure the industry lobbyists can’t totally drown out the needs and opinions of the American people.
The fight for real reform is never easy, but we are going to keep pushing for a financial system that is fairer and safer, and more focused on making the economy work for all of us. Thank you for your continued interest in financial reform. Thank you for reading this message.
Lisa Donner
P.S. Sending a fundraising email like this is new for us, and we don’t know what kind of support to expect. But I hope you know that whatever you can contribute will make a really big difference as we continue fighting for real financial reform and to rein in the big banks.
Sent by Americans for Financial Reform
Executive Director
Americans for Financial Reform
1629 K Street NW, 10th Floor, Washington, DC 20006 - (202) 466-1885