Progressive talk show host Leslie Marshall and United Steelworkers (USW) International Secretary-Treasurer Stan Johnson discussed profits, regulations in the banking industry and student loan rates.
They talked about some Senate members want to reinstate Glass-Steagall regulations that prohibit banks that use federal deposit insurance from doing risky investment strategies, while others want to reverse parts of the 2010 Dodd-Frank that regulated big-risk investment like derivatives.
“It is beyond belief that we should go down this path again. I cannot imagine any politician saying that we should further relax regulations and allow the banks that are too big to fail to do the same thing that they have done twice already,” said Johnson. “We’ve been there, we’ve done that and now it’s time to do something different.”
They discussed rates charged to students for education loans and the effects higher loan rates have on education and maintaining a healthy economy.
Johnson said, “What’s going on is we’re loaning money to the banks at .75% to allow them to do derivatives and stock swaps to allow them to go to the casino, in essence, and gamble our money.”
To hear more of the discussion, click the audio below.
Here are some background materials:
Big Banks, Flooded in Profits, Fear Flurry of New Safeguards
House Approves Derivatives Deregulation Bills That Would Open More Loopholes For Wall Street
Warren Joins McCain to Push New Glass-Steagall Law for Banks
Student loan deal meets resistance from the left
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