Mary Bottari's News Articles

Brace for a "Jobless Decade"

by Mary Bottari — December 28, 2009 - 5:48pm
  • Topics: BanksterUSA, Economy, Real Economy Project

    • By any measure, the last decade was a rotten one. It started with a stolen election and the worst terrorist attack in American history. It is ending this week with the United States mired in two wars and deep into a catastrophic recession.

    It’s hard to imagine that the next decade could be worse, but could it?

    As Owners of AIG, the American Public Deserves Some Answers

    by Mary Bottari — December 21, 2009 - 2:16pm
  • Topics: BanksterUSA, Economy

    • More than a year after reckless Wall Street gambling collapsed the economy, no employee of a major American bank or financial institution is behind bars. This fact is all the more astounding when it comes to AIG.

    AIG was at the heart of the financial meltdown. Their "innovative" use of risky credit default swaps (a type of insurance policy on bonds) helped transform boring bond trading into a highly leveraged, high-velocity global business.

    Happy Bonusmas?!

    by Mary Bottari — December 16, 2009 - 1:19pm
  • Topics: Banking, BanksterUSA

    • Bank bonuses are due to be announced. Perhaps, in the dead of night on Friday. The Wall Street Journal has already reported that they expect the total to top $140 billion. This is a record high and it was only possible because regulators flooded Wall Street with $3 trillion in cash, loans, guarantees and other forms of taxpayer support.

    Needed: A Size Cap on Big Banks

    by Mary Bottari — December 15, 2009 - 6:20pm
  • Topics: Corporations, Economy

    • One of the major flaws with the financial reform bill that passed the House last week is that it does nothing to stop behemoth banks from growing even bigger.

    This problem has gone largely unnoticed in the press, but not by the New York Times.

    Bank Reform Passes, Is the Party Over?

    by Mary Bottari — December 15, 2009 - 6:18pm
  • Topics: Economy

    • Today, the House voted on a long-awaited financial reform package. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced: "The legislation says very clearly to Wall Street: the party is over." But is it?

    Jobs Creation Bill Takes Center Stage in DC

    by Mary Bottari — December 10, 2009 - 9:46am
  • Topics: Economy

    • There was some good news out of Washington for a change. The President hosted a high-profile summit on jobs and Congress started work on a Wall Street speculation tax to help pay for a new jobs bill.

    Led by Oregon Representative Pete DeFazio and Iowa Senator Tom Harkin, a group of lawmakers introduced a measure sure to drive Wall Street crazy.

    The bill aptly titled “Let Wall Street Pay for the Restoration of Main Street Act” would tax futures contracts, swaps and credit default swaps at a rate of 0.02 percent and stock transactions at 0.25 percent.

    A Cockeyed Optimist Does Not a Good Fed Chairman Make

    by Mary Bottari — December 10, 2009 - 9:21am
  • Topics: Economy

    • Last week, Ben Bernanke, the head of the Federal Reserve, came before the Senate Banking Committee for a confirmation hearing.  Bernanke was nominated by President Bush for a four year term beginning in 2006. President Obama chose to continue with Bernanke and re-nominated him this year for another four year term.

    It's NOT Such a Wonderful Life!

    by Mary Bottari — December 7, 2009 - 2:10pm
  • Topics: Economy

    • "Job Summit” Day was recently held at the White House and none too soon as more th

    Democrats Weaken Financial Reform Package Before Debate Even Begins

    by Mary Bottari — December 7, 2009 - 1:38pm
  • Topics: Corporations, Economy

    • The long-anticipated debate on financial services reform was scheduled to begin on the House floor yesterday.

    Job Creation Takes Center Stage in Washington

    by Mary Bottari — December 4, 2009 - 3:57pm
  • Topics: Corporations, Labor

    • There was some good news out of Washington yesterday for a change. The President hosted a high-profile summit on jobs and Congress started work on a Wall Street speculation tax to help pay for a new jobs bill.

    Led by Oregon Representative Pete DeFazio and Iowa Senator Tom Harkin, a group of lawmakers introduced a measure sure to drive Wall Street crazy.

    The bill aptly titled “Let Wall Street Pay for the Restoration of Main Street Act” would tax futures contracts, swaps and credit default swaps at a rate of 0.02 percent and stock transactions at 0.25 percent.

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