Glossary. Too Big to Fail

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.

New Glass-Steagal Act

Seven years ago, Wall Street’s high-risk bets brought our economy to its knees.

We’ve made progress since then. The Dodd-Frank Act was the strongest financial reform law in three generations, and it gave regulators a number of common-sense tools to prevent future crises.

But let’s get real: Dodd-Frank did not end the “too big to fail” problem – the problem posed by financial institutions that are so large that their failure would threaten the whole economy. Last summer, both the Fed and FDIC reported publicly that eleven of the big banks were still so risky that if any one of them started to fail, they would need a government bailout or they would risk taking down the American economy – again.

That’s not a statistic that should make anyone sleep well tonight.

That’s why I’ve partnered with Senators John McCain, Maria Cantwell, and Angus King to reintroduce the 21st Century Glass-Steagall Act, a bill to reduce taxpayers’ risk in the financial system and decrease the likelihood of future financial crises. Sign up now to show your support.

Four years after the 1929 Wall Street crash, Congress passed the original Glass-Steagall Act to build a wall between boring, commercial banking – savings and checking accounts – and riskier investment banking.