She is the gift that keeps on giving. Chalk it up to confusion, tone deafness or just complete disconnection from reality, Democrat frontrunner Hillary Clinton seems to provide and endless fodder for mockery. Not to mention Freudian analysis.
Now, she’s done it again, with her New York Times op-ed published today, in which she declared “no one should be too big to jail.”
Via Business Insider:
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton presented her plan to “rein in” Wall Street in a New York Times op-ed published Monday.
Clinton, who has faced criticism for her ties to the financial industry, vowed to fight for “tough new rules” and to veto any legislation that attempts to weaken current Wall Street regulations.
The Democratic presidential front-runner presented a three-part proposal for how she’d treat Wall Street.
First, Clinton wrote, she’d create a “new risk fee” on the biggest financial institutions to discourage behavior that could jeopardize the broader economy.
“I would also ensure that the federal government has — and is prepared to use — the authority and tools necessary to reorganize, downsize and ultimately break up any financial institution that is too large and risky to be managed effectively,” she added. “No bank or financial firm should be too big to manage.”
Clinton said she would not endorse reinstating the Glass–Steagall Act, which separated commercial and investment banking. Both of Clinton’s primary rivals — Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) and former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) — have made the case that the Glass–Steagall regulations should return, but Clinton argued that it would have done little to prevent the 2008 financial crash.
Second, Clinton wrote, she’d “appoint tough, independent regulators and ensure that both the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission are independently funded.”
“I would seek to impose a tax on harmful high-frequency trading, which makes markets less stable and less fair,” she continued. “And we need to reform stock market rules to ensure equal access to information, increase transparency and minimize conflicts of interest.”
Clinton’s final point was that “no one should be too big to jail”:
I would seek to extend the statute of limitations for major financial crimes to 10 years from five and enhance rewards for whistle-blowers. I would work to ensure that financial firms admit wrongdoing as part of settlements in instances of egregious misconduct, and increase transparency about the terms of settlement and the fines actually paid to the government. Fines should be more than just the cost of doing business to these companies — they should be an effective disincentive for illegal behavior.
It’s great to see the former secretary of state taking a tough stance on criminals — white collar ones, no less. Because one might’ve been a bit concerned about her stance last month, suggesting “former presidents won’t have to declare their criminal history at the very start of the hiring process.”
Presumably, that time, she actually meant “former prisoners” — though she didn’t correct the verbal gaffe. With today’s “too big to jail” comment coming in written form, you have to assume it had all sorts of campaign eyes reviewing and editing before submission to the paper.
You almost have to wonder sometimes if the Clinton campaign is playing a little game amongst themselves of how stupid, dishonest and out of touch can the candidate can be — and STILL get elected by the American people? Judging from two terms of President Barack Obama — along with Hillary Clinton’s continued dominance in the polls — it would seem to be a game with boundless potential. How very sad and so very scary.
[Note: This article was written by Michelle Jesse, Associate Editor]