Jeremy Scahill, author of Dirty Wars, interviewed by Democracy Now!'s Amy Goodman & Juan González

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Financial Meltdown Topics

Democracy Now! stories, posts and pages that relate to Financial Meltdown

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  • Occusec

    Occupy the SEC: Former Wall Street Workers Defend Volcker Rule Against Banks' Anti-Regulatory Push

    The latest offshoot of the Occupy Wall Street movement, Occupy the SEC, has submitted a 325-page comment to the Securities and Exchange Commission that calls on regulators to resist the financial industry’s lobbying efforts to water down the Volcker Rule, a section in the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, that aims to prevent large banks from making certain kinds of risky, speculative investments. The group is made...
    Feb 24, 2012 | Story
  • Greece_protests_showbutton

    As Greece Erupts, BBC's Paul Mason on "The New Global Revolutions" over Austerity, Inequality

    Greece is bracing for protests after eurozone finance ministers concluded a deal that will provide a $170 billion bailout in return for another round of deep austerity cuts. The bailout is opposed by several unions and left-wing groups in Greece over new cuts and layoffs imposed on public sector workers. We’re joined by Paul Mason, economics editor at BBC Newsnight and author of the new book, "Why It’s Kicking Off Everywhere:...
    Feb 22, 2012 | Story
  • Greece-riot-button

    "Real Despair" Sweeps Through Greece as Severe Austerity Measures Demanded by E.U.-IMF Cripple Nation

    Greece continues to face political turmoil over a sovereign debt crisis that has embroiled the country for almost two years. On Monday, the Greek government said it would hold new elections in the face of massive demonstrations against a new austerity package that was approved on Sunday in exchange for a European Union-International Monetary Fund bailout. Under the austerity deal, Greece will fire 15,000 public sector workers this year and 150,000...
    Feb 14, 2012 | Story
  • Morgage-button

    50-State, $25B Mortgage Settlement: Relief for Struggling Homeowners or Bailout for Big Banks?

    The U.S. Justice Department has unveiled a record mortgage settlement with the nation’s five largest banks to resolve claims over faulty foreclosures and mortgage practices that have indebted and displaced homeowners and sunk the nation’s economy. While the deal is being described as a $25 billion settlement, the banks will only have to pay out a total of $5 billion in cash between them. We speak to one of the settlement’s most...
    Feb 10, 2012 | Story
  • Foreclosedhome_showbutton

    Taxpayer-Funded Freddie Mac Caught Betting Billions Against Struggling American Homeowners

    As homeowners across the nation struggle to keep up with mortgage payments—and in the worse cases face foreclosure—a new investigation reveals that taxpayer-owned mortgage giant, Freddie Mac, made multi-billion-dollar investments that profited if borrowers stayed stuck in high-interest mortgages. Freddie Mac began increasing these investments dramatically in late 2010, at the same time it was making it harder for homeowners to get out of such...
    Jan 31, 2012 | Story
  • Santos_showbutton

    Ex-Marine Reoccupies His Own Foreclosed Home in Fight Against Freddie Mac, JPMorgan Chase

    As Freddie Mac comes under scrutiny for betting billions on investments that profit if homeowners they issued loans to are locked into high-interest mortgages, we speak with Arturo de los Santos, a U.S. Marine veteran who was evicted last year in Riverside, California, after Freddie Mac and JPMorgan Chase foreclosed on his house last June. "We were trying to get the bank’s attention to review our case again. We couldn’t believe...
    Jan 31, 2012 | Story
  • Occupydc-button

    National Park Service Threatens to Evict Occupy D.C. Encampments at Two Parks Near White House

    The National Park Service says it will begin enforcing a ban today on Occupy protesters camping overnight in McPherson Square and Freedom Plaza, two parks near the White House where they have been living since October. Members of the Occupy encampment say they will resist eviction. "We are going to do our best to make sure that they’re protected from what is effectively a criminalization of poverty and a criminalization of homelessness....
    Jan 30, 2012 | Story
  • Banking-button

    Despite Salary Caps, Treasury Approved Lucrative Exec Payouts at Dozens of Bailed-Out Firms

    New York Daily News columnist and Democracy Now! co-host Juan Gonzalez reports the Treasury Department has approved payouts exceeding $5 million for 49 executives at firms that most benefited from the Wall Street bailout. The executives’ pay came despite the $500,000 salary cap established under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). [includes rush transcript]
    Jan 27, 2012 | Story

  • "Obama’s Late Payment to Mortgage-Fraud Victims." By Amy Goodman

    Does Obama’s formation of the new task force aimed at investigating the shoddy mortgage-lending practices that contributed to the financial crisis signify a move to more progressive policies, as MoveOn suggests?
    Jan 26, 2012 | Columns & Articles
  • Nader_button

    "He Says One Thing and Does Another": Ralph Nader Responds to Obama's State of the Union Address

    Responding to President Obama’s State of the Union address, longtime consumer advocate and former presidential candidate Ralph Nader says Obama’s criticism of income inequality and Wall Street excess fail to live up to his record in office. "[Obama] says one thing and does another," Nader says. "Where has he been for over three years? He’s had the Justice Department. There are existing laws that could prosecute...
    Jan 25, 2012 | Story