Glossary Who Stole the American Dream, Too Big to Fail.
GLOSSARY
1. American Dream.
An American set of ideals in which freedom includes the opportunity for prosperity and success and upward social mobility achieved through hard work
2. Ben Bernanke.
Chairman of the Federal Reserve System during the financial crisis. Previously academic expert on the financial problems of the Great Depression.
3. Business Roundtable.
A group of chief executive officers of major US corporations promoting pro-business public policy because they are concerned about the power of unions and the growing public hostility toward corporations as evidenced by popular support for government regulation of the work place and the environment.
4. Cato Institute.
A libertarian think tank known for its willingness to take positions other than its sponsors.
5. Conspiracy Theory.
The belief that a small group of people are secretly coordinating and controlling historical events.
6. Corporate Welfare.
A government bestowal of money grants, tax breaks or other special favorable treatment on corporations.
7. Credit Union.
A member-owned financial cooperative operated for the purpose of promoting thrift, providing credit at competitive rates and providing other financial services to its members.
8. Deregulation.
The movement to reduce the role of government in the economy and allow industry greater freedom from market constraints that arise in law, in judicial decisions and in market failure.
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9. Financial Crisis.
A situation in which financial institutions or assets suddenly lose a large part of their value as in stock market crashes, financial bubbles, currency crises and sovereign defaults.
10. Free-Market.
A market in which economic intervention and regulation by the state are limited to tax collection and enforcement of private ownership and contracts but no consideration is given to use of the commons.
11. Free-Market Fundamentalism.
A strong belief in the ability of free-market or laissez-faire policies to solve economic and social problems.
1. Glass-Steagall.
A depression-era, New Deal law to control speculation by banks by disallowing gambling with depositors’ funds, in common parlance to separate Main Street from Wall Street.
2. Globalization.
The process of international economic integration, associated with outsourcing, the integration of world labor markets and the increasing connectivity and interdependence of the world’s markets and businesses.
3. Great Depression.
The worldwide economic collapse that extended from 1929 to 1939 where the stock market dropped 90%, the unemployment rate was 25% and national output dropped over 50%.
Chairman of the Federal Reserve prior to the financial crisis. Maintained the low interest rates that led to the housing bubble but the only one to admit he made a mistake.
5. Heist.
Armed robbery with violence or stealth.
6. Heritage Foundation.
Washington-based think tank that promotes conservative public policies. Prominent in the Reagan Administration and publisher of the Mandate for Leadership.
Keynes
Keynes
The Keynesian economic model, advocates that the government must step in to stimulate and stabilize the economy, create jobs, provide a social safety net, create greater equality, and regulate the power and abuses of big corporations and banks.
7. K St.
The lobbying firms in the United States, many of whom have their offices on K St. in Washington DC.
8. Labor Union.
An organization of workers who have banded together to achieve common goals such as protecting the integrity of its trade, achieving higher pay, increasing the number of employees and better working conditions.
9. Medicare.
A national social insurance program, administered by the U.S. federal government since 1965, that guarantees access to health insurance for Americans ages 65 and older and younger people with disabilities.
10. Multinational Corporation.
A corporation that manages production or delivery of services in more than one country. They have played an important role in globalization.
11. NAFTA.
The North American Free Trade Association. An alliance between Canada, the United States and Mexico to integrate markets and settle international trade disputes. Its decisions supersede US law.
12. Occupy Wall Street.
An international protest movement against economic inequality, particularly that created by large corporations and the financial system.
13. Oligarchy.
A form of government in which all power is vested in a few persons or in a dominant class or clique; government by the few.
14. Outsourcing and Off Shoring.
The process of contracting an existing business process out of one’s own business and relocating it in another business. Off shoring is outsourcing to another country.
15. Powell Memo.
A 1971 confidential memorandum from Lewis Powell to the US Chamber of Commerce that described a roadmap to defend and advance the concept of free-enterprise capitalism against real and/or perceived socialist, communist and fascist cultural trends.
16. Privatization.
The process of transferring ownership of a business, enterprise, agency, public service or property from the public-sector (the state or government) to the private sector. Or the government out sourcing of services to private firms.
17. Reaganomics.
Economic policies promoted by Pres. Ronald Reagan, particularly supply-side, trickle-down economics.
18. Social Security.
Old Age, Survivor, and Disability Insurance. The federal retirement/disability program.
19. Think tank.
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