The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, also know as the bailout of the U.S financial system. This was a law that was set in place in response to the crashing mortgage crisis. The law allowed the United States Secretary of the Treasury to spend $700 billion to bailout banks through the purchase of distressed assets, like mortgage-backed securities, and the disbursement of cash directly to the banks. These funds benefited both domestic and foreign banks. The act was signed into law by President George W. Bush on October 3, 2008. (Wiki) Many question this move by the government and feel like Wall Street should be held responsible for their actions (driving this country into a great recession), instead of being bailed out for the crisis they created.
The reason why this bailout was a crucial period in this country is because of the amount of jobs that were lost, homes taken away, and many hard working Americans left wondering why things continued to get worse in their lives while the privileged class continued to rise in prosperity. A strong argument that Sen. Bernie Sanders addresses very loudly. The corruption that takes place behind the movements of wall street bankers does not go undetected, in fact it is very clear what goes on on wall street. The biggest effect this bailout had was on the working class. "with the poor paying more and the rich paying less"(CNBC) In America the people the worst off (poorest 20 percent) pay about 11 percent of their income to taxes, the middle 20 percent pay about 9 percent and the top 1 percent (the wealthy) pay only 5 percent of their income on taxes. (CNBC) This is the upside down tax system that we have in America.
There are a variety of white collar crimes that go through wall street. Some of the biggest frauds on wall street are known through the main stream media. From the scandals of Bernard Madoff, where Mr. Madoff ironically "made off" with up to $18 billion of his investors money (many celebrities were caught up in the this drama as well losing money), or the shadiness Jordan Belfort, where his greed and sneaky ways finally found him spending the light sentence of two years in prison for his crime. These are the types of people that run wall street. The amount of greed that is resonates on wall street is real and it comes a time where these big corporations need to be held accountable for their action.
All of these white collar crimes rarely receives the attention of the media. And many of us question
why? White collar crime is the silent killer in this country. And the punishments for these crimes
aren't strong enough to deter these crimes. The slap on the wrist type of punishment that is given to these destructive criminals. They don’t show us the effects of white collar crime so we think nothing of it, without the spread of the word and knowledge of these crimes, the drama will continue. And behind closed doors they pull the strings in this play of life while we just ride along.
Work Cited
"Do the Rich Pay Lower Taxes than the Middle Class?" CNBC. N.p., 15 Jan. 2015. Web. 07 Apr. 2016.
"Secrets and Lies of the Bailout." Rolling Stone. N.p., 04 Jan. 2013. Web. 07 Apr. 2016.
"Biggest Frauds on Wall Street | The Gentlemans Journal | The Latest in Style and Grooming, Food and Drink, Business, Lifestyle, Culture, Sports, Restaurants, Nightlife, Travel and Power." The Gentlemans Journal. N.p., 11 Feb. 2014. Web. 07 Apr. 2016.
