Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Big bad banks

Rebuild the Dream, Powered by MoveOn.org Civic Action

Save the American dream

Tell Treasury Secretary Geithner, "No more sweetheart deals for Wall Street. Let states investigate and prosecute the crimes that crashed our economy."
Sign the contract

Dear friend,

The banks behind the mortgage crisis are looking for a way out, and Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner wants to hand them one.1

Three years after the housing collapse that crashed the world economy, not a single Wall Street executive has faced real punishment for the fraud, corruption, and greed that caused it. And those same big banks continue handing out massive bonuses and dividends while homeowners struggle.2

Now there's a deal in the works that would let Wall Street banks get away scot-free, giving them immunity from investigation and prosecution of crimes like falsifying documents, encouraging bad loans, and lying to investors. In return they'd pay $20 billion—a fraction of what they could truly owe—and regulators would lose their leverage to help homeowners.3

This deal only works if it stays behind the scenes. If we can get enough people behind this petition, we can embarrass Geithner and the Obama administration into backing down. So we're joining with MoveOn.org to send a strong message that can't be ignored.

Tell Treasury Secretary Geithner, "No more sweetheart deals for Wall Street. Let states investigate and prosecute the crimes that crashed our economy."

The world economy lost $7.7 trillion thanks to the big banks pushing bad loans and risky investments as sound financial planning. And millions of Americans lost houses and jobs. But Wall Street banks got nearly $2 trillion in loans to rebuild, while Main Street Americans are still working to get back on their feet.4

If we want to save the American Dream we need to show that big banks will be held accountable for these crimes, and a few state attorneys general are doing just that. Eric Schneiderman and Beau Biden, the attorneys general of New York and Delaware, have said they won't settle with the banks without doing a real investigation into the fraud and corruption.5

Standing with homeowners against bullying by big banks is part of what the American Dream Movement is about. We can stand up and stand behind the state attorneys general who are fighting to expose the crimes that caused the collapse.

Tell Treasury Secretary Geithner, "No more sweetheart deals for Wall Street. Let states investigate and prosecute the crimes that crashed our economy."

Toward an America that works for all,

–Natalie, Van, Ian, Billy, and the rest of the Rebuild the Dream team

Sources:

1. "New York Attorney General Kicked Off Government Group Leading Foreclosure Probe," The Huffington Post, August 23, 2011
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=263396&id=30464-10220574-K7CmOAx&t=4

2. "Biggest Fish Face Little Risk of Being Caught," The New York Times, February 25, 2011
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=263413&id=30464-10220574-K7CmOAx&t=5
"Banks Poised to Pay Dividends After 3-Year Gap," The New York Times, January 13, 2011
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/14/business/14dividend.html

3. "Obama Goes All Out For Dirty Banker Deal," Rolling Stone, August 24, 20110
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=263395&id=30464-10220574-K7CmOAx&t=6

4. "U.S. Subprime Crisis Costs World $7.7 Trillion Dollars," The Huffington Post, February 15, 2008
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=263403&id=30464-10220574-K7CmOAx&t=7
"Wall Street Aristocracy Got $1.2 Trillion in Secret Loans," Bloomberg News, August 22, 2011
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=263394&id=30464-10220574-K7CmOAx&t=8

5. "New York Attorney General Kicked Off Government Group Leading Foreclosure Probe," The Huffington Post, August 23, 2011
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=263396&id=30464-10220574-K7CmOAx&t=9



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