Break Up the Banks

This looks reasonable and also seems feasible:

NATIONALIZE: Experts agree on the means -- Insolvent banks that are too big to fail must incur a temporary FDIC intervention - no more blank check taxpayer handouts. (see Krugman on nationalization)

REORGANIZE: Current CEOs and board members must be removed and bonuses wiped out. The financial elite must share in the cost of what they have caused. (see Simon Johnson on reorganizing)

DECENTRALIZE: Banks must be broken up and sold back to the private market with new antitrust rules in place-- new banks, managed by new people. Any bank that's "too big to fail" means that it's too big for a free market to function. (see Mike Lux on decentralization)

Big bankers ruined our economy and now they are gaming the political system so they can profit even more off the crisis they caused. They must be stopped.

On April 11th, 2009, the public will come out in cities across the country to express their frustration and disapproval with how our elected officials have handled the economic crisis. No one has been left unscathed; this protest is yours.

The bankers' failure to see anything beyond short-term profit for themselves has torn this country apart and jeopardized our future. But the blame doesn't lie only with the banks; it also lies with the U.S. government that failed to protect its citizens through regulation and oversight.

Through their blind and unconditional faith in the financial markets, the banks and the government have made us all into victims of greed gone out of control. This crisis is an opportunity for President Obama to lead the U.S. in a new direction; one that values economic growth, but protects the well-being of the public before the bank accounts of the world's financial elite.

But, so far, the policies proposed by the Obama administration to deal with the crisis look too much like the Bush-Paulson bailouts.

At the personal level, we know that the smart thing to do with our money right now is generally the less flashy thing. Paying off our debts and saving for the future protects us from the risks we can't afford to take in the current market. The same rules apply to the banks. This is a time for a level-headed government to step in and steer unhealthy banks away from more risky bets, and to help them stabilize in the name of economic security for America.

Nothing tells the bankers to keep on doing what they're doing more than an endless stream of free taxpayer money. The banks know that the government considers them too big to fail; if nationalization is off the table, what incentive do they have to act in the public interest?

In a basic sense, this is a fight against corruption. Not in the sense of a quid-pro-quo (though that may be there too), but in the sense of a corrupt ideology. For the most part, the world of economists, politicians and financiers is one elite web of influence. At some point, private profit took over as the only value to consider in building an economy, and it has never subsided. This is true of the thinking from both major parties.

For example, Timothy Geithner, Obama's Treasury Secretary and a "liberal," was a key architect of Bush's original bank bailout plan in his former role as Chief of the New York Reserve Bank. Under Obama, Geithner has continued to propose what sounds like more blank-check bailouts (in various disguises) and has specifically ruled out other approaches, such as temporary nationalization, because, he says, "our system will be stronger if it remains in private hands." The necessary solutions to our economic crisis just don't compute in the minds of the financial elite.

If our government is to take decisive action to rebuild the economy in a way that protects the public, it will require Americans to fight back against this corruption. We must come out in mass to demand a new way forward or things simply will not change.

It's not enough to patch up the current system. We need to restrict the ways that bankers can lobby and serve in the government. We need to prohibit compensation plans that encourages huge short-term risk. We have to break up any bank that's "too big to fail" so that we can have a functional free market. We need serious reform that fixes the root causes in our political and economic system: excessive influence of banks, dangerous compensation systems, and massive consolidation that does nothing to serve the public interest.

In the same way that the bankers have manipulated politicians to act in their favor, we the people will fight for economic policies that are good for the public.

Credible experts from all over the political spectrum agree that the current bank bailouts are failing. Our blog gathers the most forward thinking thought on our economy and political situation. Prominent experts are highlighted in the blog with the best snippets of their arguments. We will be reaching out to top economists for their take on the economy and to post their arguments on this blog.

You can make the difference. Take this opportunity seriously, email your friends, find your rally and go with them.