Broken bargain : bankers, bailouts, and the struggle to tame Wall Street / Kathleen Day.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Day, Kathleen Mary, 1958- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Financial crises--United States--History--21st century.

Financial crises.

Financial crises--United States--History.

Financial institutions--Law and legislation--United States.

Financial institutions.

Financial institutions--Law and legislation.

History.

United States.

Bailouts (Government policy).

Physical Description:

xiv, 424 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm

Place of Publication:

New Haven : Yale University Press, [2019]

Summary:

A history of major financial crises--and how taxpayers have been left with the bill. In the 1930s, battered and humbled by the Great Depression, the U.S. financial sector struck a grand bargain with the federal government. Bankers gained a safety net in exchange for certain curbs on their freedom: transparency rules, record-keeping and antifraud measures, and fiduciary responsibilities. Despite subsequent periodic changes in these regulations, the underlying bargain played a major role in preserving the stability of the financial markets as well as the larger economy. By the free-market era of the 1980s and 90s, however, Wall Street argued that rules embodied in New Deal-era regulations to protect consumers and ultimately taxpayers were no longer needed--and government agreed. This engaging history documents the country's financial crises, focusing on those of the 1920s, the 1980s, and the 2000s, and reveals how the two more recent crises arose from the neglect of this fundamental bargain, and how taxpayers have been left with the bill.

Contents:

Part 1 E Pluribus Inc.

1 The Danger and Necessity of Banks p. 7

2 A Cheat "upon Somebody p. 12

3 Inc. p. 19

4 The Civil War Tames Currency p. 35

5 Sunshine Charlie p. 45

6 Radio, Rayon, and Retail Credit p. 50

7 If It Seems Too Good to Be True ... p. 59

8 Crash and Contagion p. 72

9 Tickled with Poverty p. 93

10 Moral Hazard p. 104

Part 2 A Wonderful Life: Socialism For The Rich

11 Zombie Banks p. 113

12 The American Home: Safeguard of American Liberties p. 130

13 Financial Cocaine p. 141

14 Cover-Up and Bailout p. 155

15 Russia Defaults p. 165

16 The Committee to Save the World p. 181

17 Dysfunctional Oversight p. 187

18 Enron: The Emperor's New Clothes p. 195

Part 3 Ill-Cotten Cain: Boom, Bust, And The Great Recession

19 Tent City p. 215

20 Financial Magic p. 225

21 The Subprime Prisoner's Dilemma p. 242

22 Feds Tell States: Shut Up, Sit Down p. 255

23 A Number Out of the Air p. 267

Part 4 Cockroaches In The Kitchen

24 Fake Accounts p. 299

25 Who Should Own a Bank p. 316.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 357-405) and index.

ISBN:

9780300223323

0300223323

OCLC:

1078681512