This bill reinstates many provisions of the Glass-Steagall Act. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glass-Steagall_Act — From the Wiki entry summary: “The repeal of provisions of the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933 by the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act in 1999 effectively removed the separation that previously existed between investment banking which issued securities and commercial banks which accepted deposits. The deregulation also removed conflict of interest prohibitions between investment bankers serving as officers of commercial banks. Most economists believe this repeal directly contributed to the severity of the Financial crisis of 2007-2011 by allowing Wall Street investment banking firms to gamble with their depositors’ money that was held in commercial banks owned or created by the investment firms.” Here’s detail on repeal in 1999 and how it happened: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glass-Steagall_Act#Repeal.

Legislation would ensure that the Securities and Exchange Commission has a sufficient budget and is fully staffed at all levels with proven professionals who protect the integrity of the marketplace so citizens and investors are protected. This agency needs a large staff and needs to be well-funded. It currently has an insufficient budget and is run by Wall Street insiders who often leave for well-paid jobs with the corporations they were just regulating.

Discussion to come. Fed Needs Injection of Transparency and The Fed Audit.

There needs to be a formal investigation into the Wall Street individuals who clearly broke the law and helped cause the 2007-2009 financial crisis. Crimes currently being investigated include fraudulent lending practices and securities fraud; institutions being investigated have included Lehman Brothers, American International Group, Amerimod, Countrywide Financial. Investigators must develop a comprehensive list of the crimes and individuals involved. There is broad consensus that a group of people got away with millions/billions illegally and haven’t been brought to justice. Identifying and prosecuting these individuals is critical for reestablishing citizens’ faith in the financial sector. The solidly researched and award winning documentary film “Inside Job” (narrated by Matt Damon) lays some of the groundwork.

The Citizens United Supreme Court decision essentially said corporations can spend as much as they want on elections. The result is that corporations can pretty much buy elections. Corporations should be highly limited in their ability to contribute to political campaigns no matter what the election and no matter what the form of media. In re-establishing public airwaves, this legislation will also be designed to give political candidates free, equal time at reasonable intervals in daily radio and television programming, as well as in other media, during campaign season.

The film The Corporation has a great section on how corporations won “personhood” status. At 2:20, this video explains that the 14th amendment was supposed to give equal rights to African Americans. It said you “can’t deprive a person of life, liberty or property without due process of law.” Corporation lawyers wanted corporations to have more power so they said “corporations are people.” Amazingly, between 1890 and 1910, 307 cases were brought before the court under the 14th amendment. 288 of these were brought by corporations and only 19 by African Americans. 600,000 people were killed to get rights for people, and then judges applied those rights to capital and property while stripping them from people. It’s time to set this straight.

Pass the Buffet Rule on fair taxation so the rich pay their fair share. These rules will ensure that the wealthiest individuals and corporations pay their fair share–no more, no less. No more corporations paying zero or negative taxes; no more millionaires and billionaires paying less in taxes than people in the middle class.

Legislation in this area would regulate where people can work after working in federal government staff positions. The aim of this legislation would be to eliminate the potential for or the appearance of conflict of interest in which the potential for future financial gain influences current government decisions. For example, a person would not be able to work at the FDA for five years, possibly playing softball with a drug company like Pfizer, and then go to work for Pfizer making $195,000 a year. In addition, Congress should pass specific and effective laws to enforce strict judicial standards of conduct in matters concerning conflicts of interest. When judges are culled from the ranks of corporate attorneys, the 1% will retain control of government and political decisions.