Banksters...again.
Wisdom from Robert Reich:
JPMorgan Chase, the nation's largest bank, is proving it's too big to be
managed responsibly. Not only is it coughing up $13 billion to settle
lawsuits over predatory lending practices and sales of mortgage-backed
securities, but it's facing charges for conspiring in Bernie Madoff's
Ponzi scheme, losing investors $6 billion in illegal gambling (through
its "London Whale"), bribing or influence-peddling in China in violation
of the Corrupt Practices Act, and at least a dozen other illegalities.
Yet the fines it's paying, or will have to pay, only hurt JPMorgan's
investors -- including big pension funds and university endowments, many
of whom lost money directly from JPMorgan's skullduggery in the first
place. Struggling homeowners who are still underwater because of what
JPMorgan and other big banks wrought won't see a dime. Yet those who
have reaped the biggest personal gains -- including CEO Jamie Dimon (who
arranged a special private audience with Attorney General Eric Holder to
settle some of this, a privilege not accorded most people being
investigated by the Justice Department) and his top executives -- won't
face criminal charges, on the dubious theory that no individual at
JPMorgan is criminally responsible for any of this.
I'm sorry, I don't buy it. No senior Wall Street executive has been held
publicly accountable for anything. If nobody is responsible, then
JPMorgan and Wall Street's other giant banks are too big to be managed
responsibly. In which case they should be broken up and their size
capped so they can make profits without imposing huge costs and burdens
on the rest of us.
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They're banksters, and above the law.
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