When the financial history of this era is written it will scarcely be believed. Never have so many been ripped off by so few. There is an insidious alliance between Wall Street and the White House. It is a pernicious development in the annals of power. That partnership shapes and controls the economy. And should the big banks get into trouble, Washington comes to the rescue. The axis enables access. A salient feature of really existing capitalism is welfare for the financial Goliaths. Taxpayers cover their losses. It is bailouts for already rich speculators, high rollers and CEOs. The political response to placate the public after every financial crisis or scandal is the same: reforms. They’re good by definition, right? Well, not when the reformers often have their hands in the cookie jar. What needs to be done? Systemic change.
Nomi Prins is a former investment banker turned journalist. She worked at Goldman Sachs and Bear Stearns. Her articles appear in major newspapers and magazines. She is the author of It Takes a Pillage and All the Presidents’ Bankers.