PRESS RELEASE

Glass-Steagall Is Becoming the Issue Nationally

July 17, 2015 (EIRNS)—In the wake of the prominent intervention by LaRouche PAC at Hillary Clinton’s economic speech at New York University July 13, political leaders throughout the United States are being forced to take sides. On July 16, Sen. Bernie Sanders, one of the four challengers to Clinton for the Democratic Party nomination, signed on to the 21st Century Glass-Steagall Act (S. 1709), introduced by Senator Elizabeth Warren on July 7.

However, Sen. Sanders did not take the opportunity of a full debate among the Democratic contenders for the Presidential nomination in Iowa July 17, to press for Glass-Steagall. There the banner was held high by fellow contender Martin O’Malley, the only one to mention this crucial policy initiative.

The White House is already feeling the heat of the growing support for the Glass-Steagall bill in the Senate—and so is Wall Street, as shown in a series of articles and statements.

Late July 17, The Hill published an article titled, “White House distances itself from Glass-Steagall push,” quoting White House spokesman Josh Earnest praising Wall Street and the fraudulent piece of garbage called Dodd-Frank. When asked whether Obama supports the Glass-Steagall bill, Earnest replied that the administration is “still focused on implementing the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform law,” reported The Hill.

“ ‘Wall Street reform has been incredibly effective at reforming our financial system in a way that looks out for the interests of the middle-class families and taxpayers,’ he said.”

The media is piling on stories about Glass-Steagall, showing both support and the Wall Street freakout.

The investment research website morningstar.com ran a mini-manifesto on July 16 called, “Reinstating Glass-Steagall Is a Really, Really Bad Idea,” saying that Glass-Steagall “would not have prevented the last financial crisis. But reinstating it might make the next one even worse.” The first legislator morningstar.com attacks in the article is Rep. Walter Jones (R-NC) for his statements and interviews explaining how Glass-Steagall would protect bank depositors and the U.S. economy. Next, morningstar.com goes after Sen. Elizabeth Warren and other Glass-Steagall co-sponsors.

The liberal Huffington Post—taking off on former President Bill Clinton’s apology about mandatory sentencing, has an article today called, “Bill Clinton Is Sorry for a Lot of Things,” announcing,

“As president, Bill Clinton was wrong about Wall Street deregulation...” and plays up that he “turned a blind eye to big banks when he repealed FDR’s Glass-Steagall Act” and the Commodity Futures Modernization Act; it also highlights his 2010 apology for that “mistake.”

“In 2010, Clinton said his decision to exempt derivatives from regulation was shortsighted and ... he should not have listened to his economic advisers who urged him to do it.”

“ ‘I was wrong to take [their advice],’ ” Huff Post quotes Clinton saying.

(An earlier version of this release had incorrectly attributed the morningstar.com citation to the PIMCO investment company.)