Sen. Elizabeth Warren supports new bill to break up big banks. Do you agree with her?

[Cal33]

I think it's about time somebody is doing something about this!

http://act.boldprogressives.org/survey/brown_vitter/?akid=13441.399432.aB1Q9s&rd=1&source=e2-warr-govern-nondon&t=4

[randome]

1. Absolutely! In fact, why stop at banks?

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[Cal33]

6. This is the biggie. If we succeed with this biggie, success with the others will be

far more likely to follow. I think a little patience is advisable.

[Blue_Tires]

28. oh, god...health insurers, telecoms, media conglomerates ALL need splitting up...

[mwooldri]

53. I disagree about health insurers.

I say merge the lot of them, and then nationalize them. Back door single payer?

[wtmusic]

35. Exactly. Let's blow the dust off the Sherman Act and get to work. nt

[sibelian]

2. THAT'S a bit more like it!!!!

GO GO GADGET LIZ!

[old guy]

3. Agree completely.

'nuff said.

[The Magistrate]

4. Absolutely, Sir

[madokie]

5. Without a doubt

The best we have and she is on our side. I don't think there is any worry with her becoming bought off either. As long as the good people of Mass keep electing her we have a chance.

[Cal33]

8. Honesty, integrity, intelligence, commitment, reliability and guts! Elizabeth's got all the best

qualities -- and she's got them in abundance. What a great fighter to have on our side!

[madokie]

24. Yes I agree 100%

[MNBrewer]

7. Depends on whether she's ever sexted anyone before

Then i'll decide.

[Laelth]

9. Too big to fail = too big to exist (in my book).

Yes, please. Break them up. Sooner rather than later. At the very least, separate the investment banking division from the savings and loan division. I don't mind bailing out well-regulated savings and loan institutions, but it makes me ill to bail out casinos.

-Laelth

[surrealAmerican]

41. Exactly.

Monopolies are not only bad for individual customers, they're dangerous to the national economy.

[hunter]

10. Oh hell yes.

With extreme prejudice.

I'd go even further than that by creating a national savings bank, owned and directed by We The People, serving ordinary working Americans and small businesses exclusively and offering the only Federally insured accounts in direct competition with commercial banks. Each U.S. citizen would own one share in this bank, the board of directors would be appointed in a process similar to the selection of Supreme Court Justices, with local district managers selected by popular vote who would be able to veto decisions of the national directors with a 2/3 majority.

[Cal33]

11. Wow! You sure do think far ahead. Such a thought would never have entered

my mind. But I agree with you. What you suggest is something like a credit union
-- but with a twist.

[hunter]

17. My wife and I do all our banking with the local credit union.

I'd probably design my system so that credit unions would still exist providing useful extra services outside the domain of my national bank. Things like auto loans, second mortgages, and equipment financing for small businesses are the first things that occur to me.

[KatyMan]

21. Have branches at the post office,

like in the UK.

[dreamnightwind]

25. Check this out

http://www.publicbankinginamerica.org/

[hunter]

26. Thanks!

[Cal33]

45. You should write a new thread of your own. You'll get more readers. This is a very important

matter. You won't get many readers as a reply to a thread. And as many people as possible
should get to read "public banking in America." It's too important. Go to it!

[dreamnightwind]

86. Thanks, but I got it from this DU post

Saving Our Economy With Public Banking--June conference info appended

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022865821

Only 12 recs, go over there and kick it up!

[daleanime]

87. Thanks for the 'heads-up'.....

[Scuba]

12. HELL YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[City Lights]

13. Completely!

[felix_numinous]

14. Yes!!

[Demoiselle]

15. I ALWAYS agree with Elizabeth Warren. nt

[Cal33]

47. Me, too!! :)

[DevonRex]

16. Of course. nt

[Ilsa]

18. Yes. And doing this will lead to an employment boom,

I bet. Interstate banking killed tens of thousands of middle class jobs.

[byeya]

19. Yes! Plus we need a nationalized bank run on the prudent man principles - or similar - to

keep the private ones honest. The Bank of North Dakota was a shining example of a well run bank during the bankster driven crash.

[Cal33]

48. And North Dakota is a red state! South Dakota is even more red!

[silvershadow]

20. Post-haste. Can it be done retro-actively? nt

[caseymoz]

22. K&R about time. nt

[stevenleser]

23. Gave my opinion on that on my March 10 show...

Click on the scroll bar to the 29th minute http://www.blogtalkradio.com/lesersense/2013/03/10/making-sense-with-steve-leser--rude-pundit-week-in-review

[Jack Rabbit]

27. Done

with a K/R.

[treestar]

29. What does it mean, doing something?

A bill that will never pass? That's doing something?

[East Coast Pirate]

32. Damn right.

The big banks have been very generous to Democrats and Republicans. Why anger them?

[Cal33]

61. Yeah. They bribe the law-makers with tens of thousands of dollars, and get back tens of billions in

return!

[Cal33]

50. Sociopaths don't respond to reason and gentleness. Unfortunately, they'll respond only when

large masses of people threaten them in no uncertain terms that either
they pass the bill, or they'll be voted out of office the next time around.
And I mean very large masses of people.

Admittedly, this will take a lot of work from volunteers, etc. to wake up
ALL the American people, Dems. and Repubs. It won't come easy.
Nothing good comes easy!

[treestar]

81. Well, good.

When it comes to Elizabeth Warren, it appears the voters are responsible for something!

[baldguy]

30. How about a "To Big To Fail" test?

If any corporation is to big to fail, break them up.

[rrneck]

31. And break up big bankers while we're at it. nt

[AndyA]

33. Yes! Yes!! Yes!!!

A thousand times YES! I agree with Elizabeth Warren.

The banks have ruined the lives of many people in this country, due to their greed, and they have not been prosecuted for it because they're too big. If anyone or anything can ruin the lives of millions and get away with it because they're too big to prosecute, it's time to prune them.

Thank goodness for Elizabeth Warren!

[Arctic Dave]

34. Yes. Yes I do.

If a business has the ability to affect the nation then they are too big and needs very tight oversight as a standard.

[LeftInTX]

36. Of course!!

Hopefully others in congress will agree, even if it is just a few it will help spur the debate!

[Deep13]

37. Hmmm.Let me think about that...

Sure, let's do it.

[santamargarita]

38. Yes

[NYC_SKP]

39. *Of COURSE I support her! And I donated from out of state for her win, and I signed this petition*

I lurve her.

[Donald Ian Rankin]

40. Do you know much about the issues involved? I don't, and I bet most other people don't either.

It might be a good thing, it might not.

To claim any confidence at all either way unless you're *much* better informed than most people are is foolish, and even if you *are* you probably can't justify much confidence, given how nebulous economic predictions are.

Elizabeth Warren is someone some of whose views on other subjects I agree with, which might be a reason to give this a very tentative benefit of the doubt, but not more than that.

[Cal33]

57. It used to be that banks were allowed to operate in one state only -- and they could

open up branches in foreign countries, of course. That seemed to have been working
pretty well for two centuries plus. None of the banks were big enough to threaten
the economy of the entire nation then. This is one of the methods that could still be
reconsidered.

[Egalitarian Thug]

65. Yes I do and that's why I also know that it ain't gonna ever be allowed.

Never, ever, no way, no how. Even if by some miracle this great idea got through Congress, President Obama would veto it.

As always, I sincerely hope to be proved wrong,

[OnyxCollie]

74. Yep.

Not a chance in Hell this will happen.

I was listening to some old class lectures to prep for my comprehensive exam, and I heard my professor say,"I'm a political economic analyst, and I'm willing to wager money that a year from now, you'll be hearing a lot of talk about nationalizing the banks."

This was in 2009.

I should have taken his bet, although I'm certain he would have welched.

[RainDog]

42. Yes. and re-regulate the banking system n/t

[Chaco Dundee]

46. about time

Break them up and break them up again,and prosecute the bangsters while you can.

[bvar22]

43. They should have been "Broken Up" in 2008...

...instead of being "Bailed Out".

....but the above people would have had to pay off their own gambling debts,
and members of the 1% don't do that.

[FarCenter]

52. In 2008, the government made them bigger

The federal government arranged for JPMC to rescue Bear Stearns and Washington Mutual, for Bank of America to rescue Merrill Lynch, and for Wells Fargo to resuce Wachovia.

The way that the FDIC and other regulators rescue institutions and depositors is to have them taken over by bigger institutions.

[Marrah_G]

44. Yes I do

No business should be too big to fail.

[otherone]

49. yes!

[patrice]

51. K&R

[Cleita]

54. Absolutely, although I would go a step further and nationalize

all the too big to fail banks, clean them up and then sell them back to the private sector in smaller, not too big to fail chunks. I believe some countries have already done this successfully like Iceland and we did it back during the depression successfully.

[warrprayer]

55. Go Liz!!!! n/t

[hollysmom]

56. I worked for Mellon (now Mellon/bank of NY

I would have broken it up before the merger - there was amentality, probably inbred with the old boys network where they did not care about 5 years down the line, only the next quarterly report and it was so destructive - I watched the whole company go down hill while I worked there, and I can honestly say it was not my fault when ever I tried to apply common sense, I was voted down by upper management. You know saying ridiculous things like test programs before putting them into production rather then spend most of you r time retro fixing the data and honor what you agreed to in the contracts. keeping clients is more profitable than having to write new systems for new clients

[Spike89]

58. Regulate them

I'm actually not as concerned about the size as much as the multi-angled/tangled business they are allowed to engage in. Make them simpler and therefore accountable. There is plenty of choice right now, but even the smaller banks are free to be irresponsible and engage in such complicated schemes that auditors and regulators can't tell when they are in major trouble and certainly can't deal with the problems once they do come to light.

It isn't how many branches, offices, or even loans/deposits they have that is the problem, it is really all the crap they are allowed to do that enables them to take enormous "risks" (with high potential profits) while making it almost impossible for them to be held responsible if those risks don't pan out.

Regulation can be done poorly, but it can also be pretty simple and effective too.

[tom_kelly]

59. Done!

Wouldn't it be possible to start petitions on DU and link them to other progressive sites too? Not a blitz but, maybe one every 6 months or so to ensure maximum participation. Term limits, Congressional healthcare reform, campaign finance reform, etc. - all the shit they would never bring up if they weren't made to. Hopefully would gain republican support as well.

Just thinking. I'm just an FNG.

[pitchforx]

60. We can do it without the GOVT.

if enough folks did business w/ local institutions, these monsters would shrink up like cheap socks in no time.

[sheshe2]

62. K&R! nt

[ladjf]

63. Yes. nt

[ReRe]

64. I whole-heartedly agree with Sen Warren and with you....

... that the big banks need to be split and capped and anything else we can do to keep them from destroying the economy of our country and our world. Period!

[YOHABLO]

66. I am glad we have Elizabeth Warren talking the talk .. but

aren't these banks just way too big and too influential in politics ($) to even make a dent in them today? They have pretty much bought up local banks anyway. Elizabeth will be knocked down by the right .. and that includes the Blue dog dems. What we need is a total revolution against capitalism. Most people think they are ''capitalist'' but they would be wrong. Only a few get to participate in the capitalist world. The one percent. The rest just assume they will be part of it some day... or any day now. ha ha I support Elizabeth 100%

[Cal33]

68. Of course she can't do it all alone. But if there are enough of American people (with the

help of some Republicans) who, as I have written above, will let the
law-makers know in no uncertain terms that if they voted against
the bill, they will be voted out of their jobs the next time around,
we would win.

This will require lots of work, volunteers, etc. starting right now.
We have no time to lose. Sociopaths don't respond to reason
and gentleness. They respond only to strength and force.

It's too bad that Obama never knew this. He should have consulted
with some top mental-health workers specialized in sociopathy about
how to deal with people with this type of personality disorder. These
are not normal people.

[treestar]

83. How is Elizabeth Warren different from Obama?

She deserves support, he just gets blamed.

[Phlem]

67. I'll support her

wherever she goes and what ever endeavors she pursue's. She's my cup of tea!



-p

[Faryn Balyncd]

69. The big banks deserve to get their butts kicked by Credit Unions.

[Auntie Bush]

70. Of course! Silly question.

[davidthegnome]

71. Done...

I signed the petition... but I've got severe doubts that anything will be accomplished. I mean, yeah, I agree with her, yeah, I think it's a good idea...

No, I don't think that most of the people in power give a shit. No, I don't think they'll abandon some of their biggest campaign contributors.

As a habitual pessimist, I'm trying really hard to be more optimistic... but this is one time when it definitely feels like I'm outright lying myself to even hope this could happen. Still... I love Senator Warren, of course I signed the petition.

[Blue Owl]

72. Enough money hoarding already

n/t

[newmember]

73. So far pretty much everything she has said I support

[upi402]

75. of course

most repukes agree something needs to be done too. just many politicians don't, even obama doesn't

[DesertFlower]

76. K&R. nt

[woo me with science]

77. Absolutely, but the system must also be changed

to prevent the corporate corruption that caused them to grow out of control in the first place.

Otherwise, it just happens again.

[defacto7]

78. If the magic works...

Elizabeth is the magician.

No hesitation here.

[burrowowl]

79. YES!!!!

Go Elizabeth Go!

[Jasana]

80. I'm with her every step of the way on this issue. nt

[jmowreader]

82. Sure. And this is how to do it

Start with the realization, thanks to the Glass-Steagall repeal, a bank with one branch is as fully capable of playing poker with its depositors' money and losing it all as is a bank with a branch in every populated place. So saying things like "a bank with over a thousand branches needs to be broken up" is counterproductive.

Also recognize that a bank can handle a combination of all these products: money storage, nonmortgage loans, mortgages, securities and insurance.

So force every bank, no matter how large, to choose to handle money storage and nonmortgage loans OR mortgages OR insurance OR securities, and completely divest themselves of the other three.

Thirty years ago it was safe to let money-storage banks sell mortgages, but after the mortgage crash of a few years ago that's no longer the case. And it never was safe for them to sell securities. Break them up on functional lines because the number of branches isn't as important as the number of risks they're taking.

[Kath1]

84. Agree 100%!

Elizabeth Warren is awesome and one of the true voices of common sense in politics these days. I wouldn't mind at all if she were POTUS.

[MrSlayer]

85. Warren, like Sanders, is one of the few real deal representatives of the People.

I love her.

[Cal33]

91. Yes. And in the House, Alan Grayson is anotherl

[Madmiddle]

88. I agree

Mz Warren is right on the money with this target. Big Banks need to be broken up and made accountable for their predatory practices and their fraud.

[cantbeserious]

89. What Are We Waiting For?

eom

[Sunlei]

90. yes I agree w/ her. Break them up OR give more gov breaks to small banks that serve their community

[SunSeeker]

92. Of course I do. nt

[BobbyBoring]

93. YEP!

The sooner the better~

[blackspade]

94. +1000000000000000000000