by Pam Martens and Russ Martens
Wall Street on Parade
Senator Sherrod Brown opened yesterday’s Senate Banking Committee hearing with some fiery words about the mega banks on Wall Street, stating:
“Like most Americans, I want businesses to make money, and I don’t mind that bankers are rich. Some people are going to be wealthy, and that’s fine. Here’s the problem: under the current system, Wall Street profits no matter what happens to workers, because those profits now come at the expense of workers. And your banks are the ones that largely built that system.
“We often hear about the ‘invisible hand.’ But the economy isn’t physics – it’s not governed by scientific laws outside our control. It’s made up of people making choices about our values and the society we want to live in. The ‘invisible hand’ doesn’t lay off workers. The ‘invisible hand’ didn’t invent credit default swaps. The ‘invisible hand’ doesn’t decide to invest in private equity firms that buy up mobile home parks in Iowa and across the country, and jack up the rent.