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By Ilan Moscovitz
May 17, 2010 | Comments (25)
"We've ended the too-big-to-fail debate. No longer do I expect any argument to be made that this bill exposes the American taxpayer."
Sen. Christopher Dodd spoke these words after the Senate voted to pass
amendments to his financial reform bill, clarifying that taxpayer money would not fund future bailouts.
Unfortunately, the Senate hasn't fixed the underlying problem that gives rise to bailouts: "too big to fail."
We all remember how this works: Enormous, risky, interconnected banks know it's safe for them to take huge gambles. If the bets pay off, they collect big bonuses. If they fail, taxpayers will pick up the tab -- because otherwise, the economy implodes.
Nothing has changed in banking. Citigroup (NYSE: C), Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), and JPMorgan (NYSE: JPM) each hold more than $1 trillion of kindling on their balance sheets. Together with Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS), Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC), and Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS), they control 63% of the nation's GDP (in assets). Wall Street continues to hold our economy hostage. The Senate is promising that the United States won't pay ransoms in the future; but in the ultimate political ransom, it neglected to ban hostage-taking.
Unless we end "too big to fail," banks know that the market cannot hold them responsible for their mistakes. The next time that such a catastrophically huge bank into trouble, we'll face the same dilemma we had in September 2008: bail it out, or risk economic collapse.
OK, so why not just end "too big to fail"?
The SAFE Banking Act recently came up for a vote. This amendment, which would have limited the size of bank liabilities to the $300 billion to $400 billion range, was literally "a vote to end too big to fail."
It didn't pass.
Why did 61 senators vote to preserve -- instead of fix -- the problem? It can't be because megabanks are better for the economy -- there are no efficiencies of scale in banking beyond $100 billion. Nor is it because megabanks charge lower fees to their customers -- they don't.
Instead, Donny Shaw of A New Way Forward discovered that senators who voted to perpetuate "too big to fail" received an average of $3.5 million in campaign contributions from the financial sector during their career -- twice what those who voted in favor of the bill received.
Now, 33 senators did stand up to lobbyists by voting for this amendment. But just as it's important to hold banks responsible for their failures, it's only fair that we hold politicians responsible for theirs. And the vote on this critical issue was buried in a busy news day that included the market flash crash -- presumably in order to shield the 61 senators who voted with Wall Street.
So without further ado, here are the names of the 33 senators who voted to end too "big to fail" -- and of the 61 who voted to preserve it, thus making future economic catastrophes more likely.
The 33 "Yes" votes to end "too big to fail"
Senator
Career $ From Finance
Senator
Career $ From Finance
Sen. Mark Begich [D-AK]
$412,637
Sen. Carl Levin [D-MI]
$2,260,576
Sen. Jeff Bingaman [D-NM]
$1,059,499
Sen. Blanche Lincoln [D-AR]
$2,447,809
Sen. Barbara Boxer [D-CA]
$2,765,288
Sen. Jeff Merkley [D-OR]
$721,157
Sen. Sherrod Brown [D-OH]
$1,620,430
Sen. Barbara Mikulski [D-MD]
$1,301,068
Sen. Roland Burris [D-IL]
$4,900
Sen. Patty Murray [D-WA]
$1,687,337
Sen. Maria Cantwell [D-WA]
$1,878,690
Sen. Mark Pryor [D-AR]
$1,345,008
Sen. Ben Cardin [D-MD]
$2,756,636
Sen. Harry Reid [D-NV]
$4,389,858
Sen. Bob Casey [D-PA]
$1,355,841
Sen. Jay Rockefeller [D-WV]
$2,213,734
Sen. Tom Coburn [R-OK]
$1,078,264
Sen. Bernie Sanders [I, VT]
$181,095
Sen. Byron Dorgan [D-ND]
$1,455,834
Sen. Richard Shelby [R-AL]
$5,371,330
Sen. Richard Durbin [D-IL]
$3,055,424
Sen. Arlen Specter [D-PA]
$6,406,258
Sen. John Ensign [R-NV]
$2,589,370
Sen. Debbie Stabenow [D-MI]
$1,899,835
Sen. Russell Feingold [D-WI]
$990,917
Sen. Tom Udall [D-NM]
$1,062,336
Sen. Al Franken [D-MN]
$1,022,598
Sen. Jim Webb [D-VA]
$563,161
Sen. Thomas Harkin [D-IA]
$2,534,445
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse [D-RI]
$1,222,607
Sen. Ted Kaufman [D-DE]
$0
Sen. Ron Wyden [D-OR]
$2,658,024
Sen. Patrick Leahy [D-VT]
$615,682
TOTAL
$60,927,648
The 61 "No" votes to preserve "too big to fail"
Senator
Career $ From Finance
Senator
Career $ From Finance
Sen. Daniel Akaka [D-HI]
$556,295
Sen. Mike Johanns [R-NE]
$697,621
Sen. Lamar Alexander [R-TN]
$4,940,775
Sen. Tim Johnson [D-SD]
$3,143,865
Sen. John Barrasso [R-WY]
$295,932
Sen. John Kerry [D-MA]
$18,112,577
Sen. Max Baucus [D-MT]
$4,790,487
Sen. Amy Klobuchar [D-MN]
$734,117
Sen. Evan Bayh [D-IN]
$4,393,347
Sen. Herbert Kohl [D-WI]
$73,950
Sen. Michael Bennet [D-CO]
$835,796
Sen. Jon Kyl [R-AZ]
$3,741,994
Sen. Kit Bond [R-MO]
$3,255,538
Sen. Mary Landrieu [D-LA]
$2,500,584
Sen. Scott Brown [R-MA]
$1,015,364
Sen. Frank Lautenberg [D-NJ]
$3,478,817
Sen. Samuel Brownback [R-KS]
$1,336,269
Sen. George LeMieux [R-FL]
$0
Sen. Richard Burr [R-NC]
$2,988,952
Sen. Joe Lieberman [I, CT]
$10,084,996
Sen. Thomas Carper [D-DE]
$2,311,778
Sen. John McCain [R-AZ]
$33,474,029
Sen. Saxby Chambliss [R-GA]
$3,483,860
Sen. Claire McCaskill [D-MO]
$863,393
Sen. Thad Cochran [R-MS]
$662,234
Sen. Mitch McConnell [R-KY]
$5,247,103
Sen. Susan Collins [R-ME]
$2,273,113
Sen. Robert Menéndez [D-NJ]
$4,151,772
Sen. Kent Conrad [D-ND]
$2,507,437
Sen. Lisa Murkowski [R-AK]
$875,690
Sen. Bob Corker [R-TN]
$3,150,750
Sen. Bill Nelson [D-FL]
$3,213,078
Sen. John Cornyn [R-TX]
$4,597,492
Sen. Ben Nelson [D-NE]
$2,844,056
Sen. Michael Crapo [R-ID]
$1,779,063
Sen. Jack Reed [D-RI]
$2,897,782
Sen. Chris Dodd [D-CT]
$14,367,412
Sen. James Risch [R-ID]
$228,711
Sen. Michael Enzi [R-WY]
$1,087,043
Sen. Pat Roberts [R-KS]
$1,647,286
Sen. Dianne Feinstein [D-CA]
$3,657,556
Sen. Charles Schumer [D-NY]
$15,918,336
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand [D-NY]
$2,334,456
Sen. Jeff Sessions [R-AL]
$2,158,535
Sen. Lindsey Graham [R-SC]
$1,951,429
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen [D-NH]
$1,046,765
Sen. Chuck Grassley [R-IA]
$2,605,399
Sen. Olympia Snowe [R-ME]
$1,700,184
Sen. Judd Gregg [R-NH]
$1,070,249
Sen. Jon Tester [D-MT]
$603,993
Sen. Kay Hagan [D-NC]
$585,694
Sen. John Thune [R-SD]
$3,636,776
Sen. Orrin Hatch [R-UT]
$2,481,543
Sen. Mark Udall [D-CO]
$1,781,168
Sen. Kay Hutchison [R-TX]
$4,694,038
Sen. George Voinovich [R-OH]
$2,770,340
Sen. James Inhofe [R-OK]
$1,477,202
Sen. Mark Warner [D-VA]
$2,632,766
Sen. Daniel Inouye [D-HI]
$1,453,487
Sen. Roger Wicker [R-MS]
$1,263,098
Sen. John Isakson [R-GA]
$3,849,408
TOTAL
$218,312,780
As one senator recently noted, "banks ... frankly own this place."
I don't know about you, but to me, this arrangement seems outrageous. It's not how free markets or democracies are supposed to work. If you want to let your senators know how you feel about banks gutting Wall Street reform, click here for their contact information.
May 17, 2010 | Comments (25)
"We've ended the too-big-to-fail debate. No longer do I expect any argument to be made that this bill exposes the American taxpayer."
Sen. Christopher Dodd spoke these words after the Senate voted to pass
amendments to his financial reform bill, clarifying that taxpayer money would not fund future bailouts.
Unfortunately, the Senate hasn't fixed the underlying problem that gives rise to bailouts: "too big to fail."
We all remember how this works: Enormous, risky, interconnected banks know it's safe for them to take huge gambles. If the bets pay off, they collect big bonuses. If they fail, taxpayers will pick up the tab -- because otherwise, the economy implodes.
Nothing has changed in banking. Citigroup (NYSE: C), Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), and JPMorgan (NYSE: JPM) each hold more than $1 trillion of kindling on their balance sheets. Together with Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS), Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC), and Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS), they control 63% of the nation's GDP (in assets). Wall Street continues to hold our economy hostage. The Senate is promising that the United States won't pay ransoms in the future; but in the ultimate political ransom, it neglected to ban hostage-taking.
Unless we end "too big to fail," banks know that the market cannot hold them responsible for their mistakes. The next time that such a catastrophically huge bank into trouble, we'll face the same dilemma we had in September 2008: bail it out, or risk economic collapse.
OK, so why not just end "too big to fail"?
The SAFE Banking Act recently came up for a vote. This amendment, which would have limited the size of bank liabilities to the $300 billion to $400 billion range, was literally "a vote to end too big to fail."
It didn't pass.
Why did 61 senators vote to preserve -- instead of fix -- the problem? It can't be because megabanks are better for the economy -- there are no efficiencies of scale in banking beyond $100 billion. Nor is it because megabanks charge lower fees to their customers -- they don't.
Instead, Donny Shaw of A New Way Forward discovered that senators who voted to perpetuate "too big to fail" received an average of $3.5 million in campaign contributions from the financial sector during their career -- twice what those who voted in favor of the bill received.
Now, 33 senators did stand up to lobbyists by voting for this amendment. But just as it's important to hold banks responsible for their failures, it's only fair that we hold politicians responsible for theirs. And the vote on this critical issue was buried in a busy news day that included the market flash crash -- presumably in order to shield the 61 senators who voted with Wall Street.
So without further ado, here are the names of the 33 senators who voted to end too "big to fail" -- and of the 61 who voted to preserve it, thus making future economic catastrophes more likely.
The 33 "Yes" votes to end "too big to fail"
Senator
Career $ From Finance
Senator
Career $ From Finance
Sen. Mark Begich [D-AK]
$412,637
Sen. Carl Levin [D-MI]
$2,260,576
Sen. Jeff Bingaman [D-NM]
$1,059,499
Sen. Blanche Lincoln [D-AR]
$2,447,809
Sen. Barbara Boxer [D-CA]
$2,765,288
Sen. Jeff Merkley [D-OR]
$721,157
Sen. Sherrod Brown [D-OH]
$1,620,430
Sen. Barbara Mikulski [D-MD]
$1,301,068
Sen. Roland Burris [D-IL]
$4,900
Sen. Patty Murray [D-WA]
$1,687,337
Sen. Maria Cantwell [D-WA]
$1,878,690
Sen. Mark Pryor [D-AR]
$1,345,008
Sen. Ben Cardin [D-MD]
$2,756,636
Sen. Harry Reid [D-NV]
$4,389,858
Sen. Bob Casey [D-PA]
$1,355,841
Sen. Jay Rockefeller [D-WV]
$2,213,734
Sen. Tom Coburn [R-OK]
$1,078,264
Sen. Bernie Sanders [I, VT]
$181,095
Sen. Byron Dorgan [D-ND]
$1,455,834
Sen. Richard Shelby [R-AL]
$5,371,330
Sen. Richard Durbin [D-IL]
$3,055,424
Sen. Arlen Specter [D-PA]
$6,406,258
Sen. John Ensign [R-NV]
$2,589,370
Sen. Debbie Stabenow [D-MI]
$1,899,835
Sen. Russell Feingold [D-WI]
$990,917
Sen. Tom Udall [D-NM]
$1,062,336
Sen. Al Franken [D-MN]
$1,022,598
Sen. Jim Webb [D-VA]
$563,161
Sen. Thomas Harkin [D-IA]
$2,534,445
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse [D-RI]
$1,222,607
Sen. Ted Kaufman [D-DE]
$0
Sen. Ron Wyden [D-OR]
$2,658,024
Sen. Patrick Leahy [D-VT]
$615,682
TOTAL
$60,927,648
The 61 "No" votes to preserve "too big to fail"
Senator
Career $ From Finance
Senator
Career $ From Finance
Sen. Daniel Akaka [D-HI]
$556,295
Sen. Mike Johanns [R-NE]
$697,621
Sen. Lamar Alexander [R-TN]
$4,940,775
Sen. Tim Johnson [D-SD]
$3,143,865
Sen. John Barrasso [R-WY]
$295,932
Sen. John Kerry [D-MA]
$18,112,577
Sen. Max Baucus [D-MT]
$4,790,487
Sen. Amy Klobuchar [D-MN]
$734,117
Sen. Evan Bayh [D-IN]
$4,393,347
Sen. Herbert Kohl [D-WI]
$73,950
Sen. Michael Bennet [D-CO]
$835,796
Sen. Jon Kyl [R-AZ]
$3,741,994
Sen. Kit Bond [R-MO]
$3,255,538
Sen. Mary Landrieu [D-LA]
$2,500,584
Sen. Scott Brown [R-MA]
$1,015,364
Sen. Frank Lautenberg [D-NJ]
$3,478,817
Sen. Samuel Brownback [R-KS]
$1,336,269
Sen. George LeMieux [R-FL]
$0
Sen. Richard Burr [R-NC]
$2,988,952
Sen. Joe Lieberman [I, CT]
$10,084,996
Sen. Thomas Carper [D-DE]
$2,311,778
Sen. John McCain [R-AZ]
$33,474,029
Sen. Saxby Chambliss [R-GA]
$3,483,860
Sen. Claire McCaskill [D-MO]
$863,393
Sen. Thad Cochran [R-MS]
$662,234
Sen. Mitch McConnell [R-KY]
$5,247,103
Sen. Susan Collins [R-ME]
$2,273,113
Sen. Robert Menéndez [D-NJ]
$4,151,772
Sen. Kent Conrad [D-ND]
$2,507,437
Sen. Lisa Murkowski [R-AK]
$875,690
Sen. Bob Corker [R-TN]
$3,150,750
Sen. Bill Nelson [D-FL]
$3,213,078
Sen. John Cornyn [R-TX]
$4,597,492
Sen. Ben Nelson [D-NE]
$2,844,056
Sen. Michael Crapo [R-ID]
$1,779,063
Sen. Jack Reed [D-RI]
$2,897,782
Sen. Chris Dodd [D-CT]
$14,367,412
Sen. James Risch [R-ID]
$228,711
Sen. Michael Enzi [R-WY]
$1,087,043
Sen. Pat Roberts [R-KS]
$1,647,286
Sen. Dianne Feinstein [D-CA]
$3,657,556
Sen. Charles Schumer [D-NY]
$15,918,336
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand [D-NY]
$2,334,456
Sen. Jeff Sessions [R-AL]
$2,158,535
Sen. Lindsey Graham [R-SC]
$1,951,429
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen [D-NH]
$1,046,765
Sen. Chuck Grassley [R-IA]
$2,605,399
Sen. Olympia Snowe [R-ME]
$1,700,184
Sen. Judd Gregg [R-NH]
$1,070,249
Sen. Jon Tester [D-MT]
$603,993
Sen. Kay Hagan [D-NC]
$585,694
Sen. John Thune [R-SD]
$3,636,776
Sen. Orrin Hatch [R-UT]
$2,481,543
Sen. Mark Udall [D-CO]
$1,781,168
Sen. Kay Hutchison [R-TX]
$4,694,038
Sen. George Voinovich [R-OH]
$2,770,340
Sen. James Inhofe [R-OK]
$1,477,202
Sen. Mark Warner [D-VA]
$2,632,766
Sen. Daniel Inouye [D-HI]
$1,453,487
Sen. Roger Wicker [R-MS]
$1,263,098
Sen. John Isakson [R-GA]
$3,849,408
TOTAL
$218,312,780
As one senator recently noted, "banks ... frankly own this place."
I don't know about you, but to me, this arrangement seems outrageous. It's not how free markets or democracies are supposed to work. If you want to let your senators know how you feel about banks gutting Wall Street reform, click here for their contact information.
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