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In Person or Online, Join the March on Wall Street
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If you’re ready to tell the big Wall Street bankers that you’re mad as hell about the mess they made with the economy and the jobs they destroyed, join the 10,000 union and community activists from National People’s Action (NPA) and other groups marching through the heart of New York’s financial district April 29.
The Thursday march and rally is part of the AFL-CIO’s Good Jobs Now! Make Wall Street Pay mobilization.
If you can’t make it to New York in person, we’ll take you there virtually. All you have to do to make your voice heard, demanding an end to Wall Street’s reckless practices that tanked the economy and for real financial reform, is click here. We’ll print your name on a sticker that one of the marchers will carry.
After shadowy practices involving derivatives, hedge funds, private equity and subprime mortgages brought the economy crashing down and destroying millions of jobs, Wall Street’s Big Banks and financial institutions took hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars in bailouts.
Now, says AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka:
They’re back to business as usual—paying themselves millions and fighting accountability.
Congress is now considering financial reform legislation to rein in many of Wall Street’s greedy tactics and hold the Big Banks accountable. But according to Heather Booth, executive director of the coalition Americans for Financial Reform:
Since last year and through this year, [Big Banks] are spending $1.4 million a day in lobbying and political expenses to fight reform.
Along with calling for tough financial reform, the AFL-CIO supports four proposals for banks to pay a fair share to restore the economy:
- New fees on Wall Street banks to pay back the cost of the bank bailout.
- A special levy on Wall Street bonuses.
- Closing the loophole for hedge fund and private equity managers—the wealthiest people in the country—and taxing them at ordinary income rates.
- A financial speculation tax on all financial market transactions, including derivatives, futures and options.
Join the march and rally in person or online because, as Trumka says:
Together we can hold Wall Street accountable, restore jobs and strengthen the rules and make sure everyone plays by them.
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This post was mentioned on Twitter by jessieclmn: In Person or Online, Join the March on Wall Street: AFL-CIO (blog)
The Thursday march and rally is part of the AFL… http://bit.ly/cVUFrB...
This is a classic case of biting the hand that feeds you.Before imho wasting time and money on a march like this perhaps educating yourself and union people on how the markets really work and not make a stupid knee jerk reaction because the media said something.Capitalism is the engine that provides JOBS,not socialism.
I received a letter from my trust office a last year that said my pension benefits had been reduce. I belong to a union that has Taft Hartley laws that apply
to it. My union has always followed the Taft Hartley laws, as well as the burdensome laws that former
President Bush applied to the union that make them account for every penny they spend. I have
wondered why it is that Wall Street can follow Arther Anderson accounting rules, but my union has a
complete and different set of rules and laws it must follow.
There is no doubt in my mind that if Wall Street would have had the same laws applied to it as my
union does and made to follow them, that they wouldn’t be where they are today.
When you look at all the laws that apply to my union’s pension plan and the way that my union
followed all those laws, it will become clear that the reason my pension plan lost its value is not its
fault, but is Wall Streets fault.
I find it appalling that the bail out money that Wall street received wasn’t used to fix pension and 401k
plans that they broke, but, instead, was use as a source for multi million dollar bonuses and wages, as
well as an expense account that enabled them to take vacations that cost more then what a lot of people
make in one year. Then, when Wall Street was confronted with how they spent the money, they said we
aren’t going to tell you how we spent the money and you can’t make us.
I think that the money Wall Street received should be used to fix all the damage to the pension and
401k plans that they caused. The bail out money was not meant to be a billion dollar vacation and
bonus fund for those that mismanaged our pension and 401k plans. The money was meant as a way to
fix the things that Wall Street broke.
When a person drives down the road and hits a car, and it is their fault, they are required by law, to fix
it. The same logic should apply to Wall Street. When Wall Street breaks a pension and 401k plan, they
should be required to fix it, especially when they get bail out money to fix things with. They shouldn’t
be allowed to take our tax dollars and go on a vacation with it and give themselves bonuses that are far
above the wages of middle class America. I think Wall Street should be held to the same standard that
the rest of us are held too and that means that they fix they should fix the things they break.
When my union meets with the contractors at the bargaining table, they should be concerned with
bargaining about things that apply to a living wage and benefits. Not about how they are going to repair
the damage that Wall Street has caused to our pension plan.
I find it appalling that Wall Street receives elaborate bonuses and goes on elaborate vacations while I
have to take a decrease in my standard of living because of the mistakes that they have made.
Especially when I think of the billions of dollars they have received. In the interest of fairness and the
true American way, I want Wall Street to fix the damage they have caused. I know they can because
they have the bail out money to do it with.
We need reform to make Wall Street repair the damage they do and not take vacations with it.
Sincerely,
Jeff
The Lobby “Boys” that seem able to “buy” many Republican votes
and of course, don’t forget anything that could weaken
all Labor whether Union or not always getting away with it should
be known as a constant enemy of American Labor! When could
Laws be passed to control Lobby People so that our Government
can run as it was supposed to?