Shortly after saying she would crack down on Wall Street, a campaign adviser for Hillary Clinton said she will not reinstate the Glass-Steagall Act, reported the Huffington Post. This further confirms that Clinton only cares about her cozy relationship with Wall Street.
Clinton campaign adviser Alan Blinder, who is a former Federal Reserve official, said “you’re not going to see Glass-Steagall” after Clinton delivered a speech about economic policy. Economist and professor Robert Reich said that “is a big mistake.” He’s right. Clinton’s refusal to reinstate Glass-Steagall despite promising to be hard on banks is a transparent move to protect her friends on Wall Street. It’s also very harmful to the American economy.
Glass-Steagall was enacted during the Great Depression to keep investment banks and commercial banks separate. Reich further noted that in the 20s, “several Wall Street banks began selling stock alongside their traditional banking services.” This arrangement led to the prototype of what’s now known as “pump-and-dump.” Speculators would “pump” up the value of a particular stock only for the share prices to plummet when they “dumped” the shares, said Reich. In this instance, banks used ensured deposits from its customers, and banks made tons of money.
Glass-Steagall created a barrier between the banks in order to prevent this type of malfeasance until former President Bill Clinton signed its repeal in 1999. Keeping to the Clinton brand, Hillary plans on protecting her Wall Street buddies by keeping down Glass-Steagall. Glass-Steagall kept the market, banks, and customers safe until the repeal. Nearly a decade after Bill Clinton repealed it, the 2008 recession happened. In nine short years, Wall Street turned the economy into a wasteland.
This is the sort of behavior that Hillary Clinton is protecting. Sure, she “says” she will prosecute Wall Street criminals, but she won’t do it at the expense of profits, if at all. She wants to keep Wall Street on her side while pretending to be for the progressive left. Hillary isn’t going to bring any change. She’s a brand-name candidate with corporations to please.
