Surviving Capitalism (Not) : Banks ‘Dodged a Bullet’ as Congress Dilutes Rules

We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Friday, June 25, 2010

Banks ‘Dodged a Bullet’ as Congress Dilutes Rules

from Bloomberg Business Week.

The overhaul, which still requires approval from the full Congress, won’t shrink banks deemed “too big to fail,” leaving largely intact a U.S. financial industry dominated by six companies with a combined $9.4 trillion of assets. The changes also do little to solve the danger posed by leveraged companies reliant on fickle markets for funding, which can evaporate in a panic like the one that spread in late 2008.

Is anyone surprised? Our government is owned by these companies. The challenge for the ruling class is to camouflage what they are doing behind some sort of democratic process.

Meanwhile, increasing numbers of working people are thrown on the garbage heap of unemployment without any safety net.