financial crisis

Bow Sends Pundits Chattering

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 08:10:48 -0500

by Pat LaMarche

Ever heard of the washed potato theory? Ken Keyes Jr. wrote about it in his book "The Hundredth Monkey." Keyes studied the monkeys on Japan's Koshima Island. In 1952 Keyes observed one little monkey who suddenly took her sweet potatoes down to the water and washed them before she ate them - greatly improving the taste. Then the monkey taught her parents and other family members to wash their potatoes and soon a large number of monkeys were enjoying a grit-free meal.

Can FCIC Investigations Instigate Bold Financial Reform?

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 10:58:38 -0500

by Greg Kaufmann

In a recent Nation cover story, William Greider decried the lack of attention being paid by the media to the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission (FCIC) charged with investigating the causes of the financial meltdown.

"The press has moved on. Financial crisis was last year's story," he wrote. But "how can Washington reform the financial system when we still don't know what happened?"

Poverty, Global Trade Justice, and the Roots of Terrorism

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 11:18:56 -0500

by John Perkins

The following is adapted from Hoodwinked: An Economic Hitman Reveals Why the World Financial Markets Imploded—and What We Need to Do to Remake Them. Random House, 2009:

What's the Word in Johannesburg as Financial Crisis Rocks 'The Rainbow Nation,' Hopes for Progress?

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 09:50:45 -0400

by Danny Schechter

Johannesburg: There was lots of skepticism when I came to South Africa two years ago to show my film IN DEBT WE TRUST. While my critique of consumer debt resonated, the film's forecast of a financial crisis didn't. Their economy seemed to be doing well and it was hard to tell a society that tends to look inward that they would be affected by a financial crisis in America, l0,000 miles away.

Most believed it would pass them by.

In Washington, The Revolving Door Is Hazardous to Your Health

Sat, 10 Oct 2009 09:27:01 -0400

by Bill Moyers & Michael Winship

On Tuesday, October 13, the Senate Finance Committee finally is scheduled to vote on its version of health care insurance reform. And therein lies yet another story in the endless saga of money and politics.

In most polls, the majority of Americans favor a non-profit alternative -- like Medicare -- that would give the private health industry some competition. So if so many of us, including President Obama himself, want that public option, how come we're not getting one?

Watchdog: Obama's Mortgage Relief Efforts Aren't Good Enough

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 10:37:29 -0400

by Kevin G. Hall

WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration's efforts to force the modifications of distressed mortgages, while laudable, is likely to fall far short because the foreclosure crisis has grown and threatens to dwarf government efforts to relieve it, a special congressional watchdog panel warned in a report released Friday.

The Congressional Oversight Panel, created to monitor how taxpayer bailout dollars are being spent, warned that the administration's Home Affordable Modification Program, or HAMP, announced in February, seems sure to prove ineffective.

When Wall St. Calls, Geithner Answers

Thu, 08 Oct 2009 14:29:56 -0400

by Matt Apuzzo and Daniel Wagner

Even during his most frenzied days, when Congress is demanding answers or the president himself is calling, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner makes time to talk to a select group of powerful Wall Street bankers.

They are a small cadre of businessmen who have known and worked with Geithner for years, whose multibillion-dollar companies all survived the economic crisis with help from U.S. taxpayers.

Thousands Stand in Line for Help Paying Bills in Detroit

Thu, 08 Oct 2009 10:13:58 -0400

by Tammy Stables Battaglia

Thousands of people swarmed Cobo Hall in chaos this morning trying to get applications for housing and utility payment assistance from the city of Detroit.

People fainted, others fought as the Detroit Police Gang Unit tried to keep people in line --- some since last night --- and in check.

"It's a disaster here," former assistant Detroit Police chief and city council candidate Gary Brown said, handing out water. "This is dangerous. Very unorganized, very dangerous."

Break Up America's Banks

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 15:49:28 -0400

by Dean Baker

The large number of people who protested against Barack Obama's healthcare plan in Washington last week drew an enormous amount of media attention. Clearly some of the leaders are certifiably crazy, questioning whether Obama is an American and likening him to Hitler.

Reform or Bust

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 10:15:31 -0400

by Paul Krugman

In the grim period that followed Lehman's failure, it seemed inconceivable that bankers would, just a few months later, be going right back to the practices that brought the world's financial system to the edge of collapse. At the very least, one might have thought, they would show some restraint for fear of creating a public backlash.

But now that we've stepped back a few paces from the brink - thanks, let's not forget, to immense, taxpayer-financed rescue packages - the financial sector is rapidly returning to business as usual.