Egypt Election: Muslim Brotherhood Candidate Could Face...
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"Too Crooked to Fail": Matt Taibbi Says Bailouts, Fraud are the Secrets to Bank of America’s Success
In his new article, "Bank of America: Too Crooked to Fail," Rolling Stone reporter Matt Taibbi chronicles the remarkable history of the rise of Bank of America, an institution he says has defrauded "everyone from investors and insurers to homeowners and the unemployed." Taibbi describes how the Bush and Obama...March 22, 2012 | Story -
Matt Taibbi on the Explosive Resignation of Goldman Sachs Executive Greg Smith
Financial reporter Matt Taibbi talks about Goldman Sach’s history of denigrating its own clients, as recently highlighted by former Goldman executive Greg Smith’s explosive resignation letter in the New York Times. Decrying what he called Goldman’s "toxic" culture, Smith said bosses at the firm called...March 22, 2012 | Story -
Who Will Run Today’s Primary in Birmingham, AL, After JPMorgan Scheme Results in County Bankruptcy?
As Mississippi and Alabama hold their Republican primaries, we go to Jefferson County, Alabama, where the financial situation is so grim that it cannot hire enough staff to run today’s election. Critics say Jefferson County, home to Birmingham, represents some of the worst consequences of the pro-corporate agenda backed...March 13, 2012 | Story -
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...February 10, 2012 | Story -
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...January 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?January 26, 2012 | Blog Post -
"Pulling Accounts From the Unaccountable." By Amy Goodman
Even though Heather Carpenter was outside of Citibank, a plainclothes officer had identified her as an Occupy Wall Street protester. She said she was a customer and showed her receipt. To her shock, as documented by video, Heather was grabbed from behind by a plainclothes officer who began forcing her into the bank. She screamed, but within seconds disappeared into the vestibule, surrounded by...November 23, 2011 | Blog Post -
Wall Street vs. Greece: G20 Opens as Greek PM Pushes for Referendum on Bailout and Austerity Measures
World leaders are gathering in Cannes for the opening of the Group of 20 summit today. On the top of the agenda is the Greece bailout and the European debt crisis. On Monday, Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou angered many European leaders by announcing his support for a popular referendum—allowing the Greek people to decide...November 03, 2011 | Story -
Jon Corzine’s MF Global Firm Collapses in Biggest Wall Street Failure Since Lehman Brothers
In a major banking scandal, the commodities and derivatives brokerage house MF Global filed one of the largest bankruptcies in American corporate history, with almost $40 billion in liabilities. It was the largest failure on Wall Street since the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008. The chairman and chief executive officer of...November 03, 2011 | Story -
Glenn Greenwald on Occupy Wall Street, Banks Too Big to Jail and the Attack on WikiLeaks
The prominent political and legal blogger Glenn Greenwald comments on the growing Occupy Wall Street movement. "What this movement is about is more important than specific legislative demands. It…is expressing dissent to the system itself," says Greenwald. "It is not a Democratic Party organ. It is not about...October 26, 2011 | Story -
Frances Fox Piven at Occupy Wall Street: "We Desperately Need a Popular Uprising in the U.S."
CUNY professor Frances Fox Piven recently spoke with Democracy Now!'s Mike Burke at the Occupy Wall Street protest. "I think we desperately need a popular uprising in the United States," Piven said. "I study movements. [None of us] know the exact formula, when those movements erupt. But it could be. And if...October 04, 2011 | Blog Post -
Cornel West on Occupy Wall Street: It’s the Makings of a U.S. Autumn Responding to the Arab Spring
"We’re talking about a democratic awakening," said Dr. Cornel West when he spoke with Democracy Now! host Amy Goodman during a visit Tuesday night to the Occupy Wall Street encampment. [includes rush transcript]September 29, 2011 | Blog Post -
"99 Percenters Occupy Wall Street" By Amy Goodman
2,000 people occupied Wall Street on Saturday. They weren’t carrying the banner of the tea party, the Gadsden flag with its coiled snake and the threat “Don’t Tread on Me.” Yet their message was clear:“We are the 99 percent that will no longer tolerate the greed and corruption of the 1 percent.”September 21, 2011 | Blog Post -
Covering Up Wall Street Crimes: Matt Taibbi Exposes How SEC Shredded Thousands of Investigations
An explosive new report in Rolling Stone magazine exposes how the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission destroyed records of thousands of investigations, whitewashing the files of some of the nation’s largest banks and hedge funds, including AIG, Wells Fargo, Lehman Brothers, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America and top Wall...August 23, 2011 | Story -
"War, Debt and the President." By Amy Goodman
President Barack Obama touted his debt ceiling deal Tuesday, saying, “We can’t balance the budget on the backs of the very people who have borne the biggest brunt of this recession.” Yet that is what he and his coterie of Wall Street advisers have done.August 02, 2011 | Blog Post -
After Months of Partisan Wrangling, Wall Street & Pentagon Emerge Victorious on Debt Deal
After months of a bitterly partisan stalemate, the U.S. House of Representatives has voted 269 to 161 in favor of raising the federal borrowing limit and avoiding a default on the national debt. The final count showed 174 Republican ayes, with Democrats split evenly—95 on each side. The vote came just hours before a Department...August 02, 2011 | Story -
Richard Wolff: Debt Showdown is "Political Theater" Burdening Society’s Most Vulnerable
Republicans have agreed to a vote today on a budget plan they say will cut the deficit $917 billion over 10 years. The move sets the stage for a showdown against unified Democratic opposition in the Senate and threats of a White House veto. To discuss the debt talks and economic austerity worldwide, we’re joined by Richard...July 28, 2011 | Story -
Ralph Nader: Obama is a "Political Coward" for Not Picking Elizabeth Warren to Head Consumer Bureau
After months of fierce opposition from Wall Street, corporate lobbyists and Republican lawmakers, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau officially launches this week in Washington, D.C. A product of last year’s overhaul of financial regulation, the bureau was established to protect consumers from deceptive practices....July 19, 2011 | Story -
“Reckless Endangerment: How Outsized Ambition, Greed, and Corruption Led to Economic Armageddon”
A prominent Wall Street analyst predicted this week that not a single top executive at Goldman Sachs will face criminal prosecution for the company’s role in causing the financial meltdown of 2008. “I think that there is a genuine sense out there that there are two sets of rules, one for big and powerful institutions...June 02, 2011 | Story -
Nobel Economist Joseph Stiglitz: Assault on Social Spending, Pro-Rich Tax Cuts Turning U.S. into Nation "Of the 1 Percent, by the 1 Percent, for the 1 Percent"
This week Republicans unveiled a budget proposal for 2012 that cuts more than $5.8 trillion in government spending over the next decade. The plan calls for sweeping changes to Medicaid and Medicare, while reducing the top corporate and individual tax rates to 25 percent. We speak to Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz,...April 07, 2011 | Story
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By Amy Goodman with Denis Moynihan
Gen. John Allen, commander of U.S. Forces Afghanistan, spoke Wednesday at the Pentagon, four stars on each shoulder, his chest bedecked with medals. Unlike Allen, many decorated U.S. military veterans left the streets of Chicago after the NATO summit without their medals.
Web Exclusives
In an extended interview, David Bronner, president of Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps, discusses the history of the company, why they put sustainability and social justice ahead of profits, the organic and GMO labeling movements, the U.S. war on hemp, and why they refuse to sell out. [includes rush transcript]
Human Rights Watch’s Kenneth Roth examines why the U.S. has not pressured Bahrain to release pro-democracy activists. He also discusses Syria and the conditions in Israeli jails and courts that prompted 1,550 Palestinian prisoners to go on a hunger strike. [includes rush transcript]
