The Hightower Report

Wall Street's Mom-and-Pop Bankers

Don't cry for Jamie Dimon, America.

As CEO of JPMorgan Chase, this ruling mogul of Wall Street must now cope with the recently enacted financial reform bill, which imposes a host of new regulations meant to rein in the rip-offs, frauds, and other excesses of Wall Street bankers.

Republican lawmakers, however, are crying that the Democrats' reform bill puts a crushing burden on the poor financial giants. While these Wall Street apologists wail and keen, though, slick operators like Dimon are wasting no time on tears. Instead, they're devising ways to slip out of the new regulatory reins. For example, the law limits the outrageous overdraft fees that banks have been sneaking onto our debit card accounts. No problem – the giants are quietly imposing new "maintenance fees" for basic checking accounts. Forget receiving a free toaster for opening an account, banks now hit you with up to $15 a month just for the privilege of putting your money in their bank.

Dimon insists that this is necessary: "If you're a restaurant, and you can't charge for the soda, you're going to charge more for the burger," he lectures.

Come on, Jamie, drop the mom-and-pop pose. You're not a little restaurant struggling to make ends meet – you head a monopolistic financial behemoth that helped ruin the economy for America's real moms and pops, then took billions in taxpayer bailouts, used the crisis to increase its monopoly power, continues to get federally subsidized money, just announced a 78% hike in profits, and recently paid you a salary and bonus of $18 million.

The Dimons of Wall Street keep picking our pockets because they believe they're entitled to excessive profits and paychecks. To help bring these greedheads down to Earth, visit Americans for Financial Reform: www.ourfinancialsecurity.org.

Don't Go Barefoot in GOP's Grassroots

Congressional Republicans have spent the first two years of the Obama administration as the rock-solid party of "no," "uh-uh," "no way," "forget about it," "nothing doing," "we're-agin-it-and-we'll-kill-it." This is one reason their job approval rating is in the ditch.

But now, GOP leaders in the House say they are shifting from pure negativity to step forward with their own bold policy ideas. Terrific! What are some of those? "Uh ... um ... well," say the leaders. "We don't know yet, but that's why we've launched an exciting new campaign that we call America Speaking Out. We'll go directly to the grassroots people, asking for their ideas, giving them a voice, and letting them shape the 'new Republican agenda.'"

Again, terrific! Where are you starting? "Uh ... um," stumble the leaders, before mumbling: "Washington, D.C."

Indeed, only six weeks after America Speaking Out was introduced as "an unprecedented initiative to listen to the American people," ASO did not rush out to hold a policy-crafting get-together in an open town hall forum in Fargo or Fresno – but in the snug privacy of Rep. John Boehner's Capitol Hill office. And who were the just-plain-folks that the House GOP leader invited? His e-mailed solicitation went to just 20 top lobbyists representing big corporations and such business front groups as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers. This is the bunch that Republican leaders consider to be their real "grassroots" constituency.

Well, sniffed an ASO spokesman, it's important to "receive input" from the nation's largest employers.

Bovine excrement! These corporate lobbyists give their input every day, usually with campaign donations attached. They're the problem, not the solution – and ASO is just more of the same.