The Washington Post's editors apparently never heard of Paul Volcker, Alan Greenspan, or Sheila Bair. How else can can one explain an editorial on dealing with "too big to fail" banks that never once mentions the solution proposed by them and thousands of others -- break them up. Could the Post's editors really be unaware of the prominent group of current and former financial officials who have argued that the only way to effectively rein in too big to fail institutions is to whittle them down to a size where they are not too big to fail?
The Post also repeats without comment the illogical claim that the proposal to tax big banks after the fact to cover the failure of one of their brethren will provide incentives for good behavior. How? If a bank is behaving well, but incompetent regulators (are there any other kind?) allow a rogue bank to behave irresponsibly, then they get stuck with the tab under this proposal. Of course the rogue bank won't care. They will be out of business and won't have to worry about the tax. Where are the incentives here?
Don't the Post's editors think at all before they write one of these things?
There's too much at stake this November for us to quit. As we navigate another presidential election year, thoughtful independent journalism is more important than ever. We're committed to bringing you the latest news on what's really happening across the country this election season, shining a light on the stories corporate media overlooks and keeping the public informed about how power really works in America.
Quality reporting doesn't come for free, and we don't have corporate backers to rely on to fund our work. Everything we do is thanks to our incredible community of readers, who chip in a few dollars at a time to make what we do possible. This month, we're trying to raise $50,000 to help fuel our election coverage, and we've fallen behind on reaching our goal. Any amount you give today will bring us closer to making our reporting possible—and a generous donor has agreed to match all online donations, so your impact will be doubled.
