SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Activists protest in front of the DC office of Goldman Sachs November 16, 2009 in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images)
'Too Big to Fail, Too Big to Exist': Sanders Introduces Bill to Break Up Nation's Largest Wall Street Banks
"We must end, once and for all, the scheme that is nothing more than a free insurance policy for Wall Street: the policy of 'too big to fail.'"
Oct 03, 2018
With Wall Street banks as big and profitable as ever ten years after their reckless criminality sparked the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) introduced legislation on Wednesday that would break up Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, and other so-called "too big to fail" financial institutions that pose a major systemic risk to the American economy.
"No financial institution should be so large that its failure would cause catastrophic risk to millions of Americans or to our nation's economic well being."
--Sen. Bernie Sanders
"No financial institution should be so large that its failure would cause catastrophic risk to millions of Americans or to our nation's economic well being," Sanders said in a statement. "We must end, once and for all, the scheme that is nothing more than a free insurance policy for Wall Street: the policy of 'too big to fail.'"
Titled "The Too Big to Fail, Too Big to Exist Act," Sanders' legislation would break up any bank that has a total exposure of more than three percent of the nation's gross domestic product (GDP)--the equivalent to $584.5 billion in today's dollars.
If passed, Sanders' bill would break up of America's six largest financial institutions--JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley--as well as massive non-bank financial corporations like AIG and Prudential.
"These six major financial institutions have over $10 trillion in assets, equivalent to 54 percent of our entire GDP and have a combined total exposure that exceeds 68 percent of our nation's GDP," according to a summary of the new legislation released by Sanders' office.
In a Facebook Live video on Wednesday, Sanders discussed the details of the new legislation with Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.)--who is planning to introduce a companion bill in the House--and economist Simon Johnson, who joined a large group of financial experts, consumer advocacy groups, and labor unions in endorsing the Vermont senator's bill:
"The new Too Big to Fail, Too Big to Exist proposed legislation from Senator Bernie Sanders is short and to the point," Johnson said in a statement on Wednesday. "The largest banks and other highly leveraged financial institutions are simply too big--and pose a real danger to our continued economic recovery. Make them break up into smaller pieces, bringing more competition, better service and lower risks for the American economy."
"Too big to fail should be too big to exist," Rep. Sherman concluded. "Never again should a financial institution be able to demand a federal bailout."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
With Wall Street banks as big and profitable as ever ten years after their reckless criminality sparked the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) introduced legislation on Wednesday that would break up Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, and other so-called "too big to fail" financial institutions that pose a major systemic risk to the American economy.
"No financial institution should be so large that its failure would cause catastrophic risk to millions of Americans or to our nation's economic well being."
--Sen. Bernie Sanders
"No financial institution should be so large that its failure would cause catastrophic risk to millions of Americans or to our nation's economic well being," Sanders said in a statement. "We must end, once and for all, the scheme that is nothing more than a free insurance policy for Wall Street: the policy of 'too big to fail.'"
Titled "The Too Big to Fail, Too Big to Exist Act," Sanders' legislation would break up any bank that has a total exposure of more than three percent of the nation's gross domestic product (GDP)--the equivalent to $584.5 billion in today's dollars.
If passed, Sanders' bill would break up of America's six largest financial institutions--JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley--as well as massive non-bank financial corporations like AIG and Prudential.
"These six major financial institutions have over $10 trillion in assets, equivalent to 54 percent of our entire GDP and have a combined total exposure that exceeds 68 percent of our nation's GDP," according to a summary of the new legislation released by Sanders' office.
In a Facebook Live video on Wednesday, Sanders discussed the details of the new legislation with Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.)--who is planning to introduce a companion bill in the House--and economist Simon Johnson, who joined a large group of financial experts, consumer advocacy groups, and labor unions in endorsing the Vermont senator's bill:
"The new Too Big to Fail, Too Big to Exist proposed legislation from Senator Bernie Sanders is short and to the point," Johnson said in a statement on Wednesday. "The largest banks and other highly leveraged financial institutions are simply too big--and pose a real danger to our continued economic recovery. Make them break up into smaller pieces, bringing more competition, better service and lower risks for the American economy."
"Too big to fail should be too big to exist," Rep. Sherman concluded. "Never again should a financial institution be able to demand a federal bailout."
With Wall Street banks as big and profitable as ever ten years after their reckless criminality sparked the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) introduced legislation on Wednesday that would break up Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, and other so-called "too big to fail" financial institutions that pose a major systemic risk to the American economy.
"No financial institution should be so large that its failure would cause catastrophic risk to millions of Americans or to our nation's economic well being."
--Sen. Bernie Sanders
"No financial institution should be so large that its failure would cause catastrophic risk to millions of Americans or to our nation's economic well being," Sanders said in a statement. "We must end, once and for all, the scheme that is nothing more than a free insurance policy for Wall Street: the policy of 'too big to fail.'"
Titled "The Too Big to Fail, Too Big to Exist Act," Sanders' legislation would break up any bank that has a total exposure of more than three percent of the nation's gross domestic product (GDP)--the equivalent to $584.5 billion in today's dollars.
If passed, Sanders' bill would break up of America's six largest financial institutions--JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley--as well as massive non-bank financial corporations like AIG and Prudential.
"These six major financial institutions have over $10 trillion in assets, equivalent to 54 percent of our entire GDP and have a combined total exposure that exceeds 68 percent of our nation's GDP," according to a summary of the new legislation released by Sanders' office.
In a Facebook Live video on Wednesday, Sanders discussed the details of the new legislation with Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.)--who is planning to introduce a companion bill in the House--and economist Simon Johnson, who joined a large group of financial experts, consumer advocacy groups, and labor unions in endorsing the Vermont senator's bill:
"The new Too Big to Fail, Too Big to Exist proposed legislation from Senator Bernie Sanders is short and to the point," Johnson said in a statement on Wednesday. "The largest banks and other highly leveraged financial institutions are simply too big--and pose a real danger to our continued economic recovery. Make them break up into smaller pieces, bringing more competition, better service and lower risks for the American economy."
"Too big to fail should be too big to exist," Rep. Sherman concluded. "Never again should a financial institution be able to demand a federal bailout."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.