Hillary Clinton: Consistently Tough on Wall Street

In the wake of the second Democratic Presidential Debate Saturday night come the salvos against Hillary Clinton's statements regarding Wall Street.  As New York Senator, she did indeed spend extensive time, energy, and effort to lift lower Manhattan from the rubble in every respect - physical to metaphorical.  Critics perhaps need a reminder that while many refer to the towers, the area that was struck was and is known as the World Trade Center, a living financial and economic organ.

It is absolutely accurate and true that Senator Hillary Clinton represented this region when it was attacked in 2001 and took seriously her obligation to address all of the damage inflicted by the terrorists.  It is also completely inaccurate to state or even imply that because she represented Wall Street and the people who work there that she, in any official capacity, ever has or ever would show favor to those who would take unfair advantage of Main Street America for their own profit.

In the flurry of frantic activity that sent surrogates on both sides of the aisle back to D.C. for the T.A.R.P. vote in late September, 2008, Hillary published this Op-Ed in the Wall Street Journal wherein she explained her proposed new Home Owners' Loan Corporation (HOLC), to launch a national effort to help homeowners refinance their mortgages.

Let's Keep People In Their Homes

By

Hillary Rodham Clinton

Updated Sept. 25, 2008

There is a broad consensus that Congress must act to stave off deeper turmoil on Wall Street. Irrespective of the final agreement yet to be reached, there are several principles that must be part of a broader reform effort that begins this week and continues in the coming months.

This is not just a financial crisis; it's an economic crisis. Therefore, the solutions we pursue cannot simply stabilize the markets. We must also deal with the interconnected economic challenges that set the stage for this crisis -- and reverse the failed policies that allowed a potential crisis to become a real one.

SNIP

This is a sink-or-swim moment for America. We cannot simply catch our breath. We've got to swim for the shores. We must address the conditions that set the stage for the turmoil unfolding on Wall Street, or we will find ourselves lurching from crisis to crisis. Just as Wall Street must once again look further than the quarterly report, our nation must as well.

Mrs. Clinton, a Democrat, is a senator from New York.

Read more >>>>

If you have been following Hillary's current presidential campaign, that last sentence might seem familiar.  That would be because weeks ago, fully seven years after that Op-Ed, she penned this.

My Plan to Prevent the Next Crash

Oct 8, 2015

By Hillary Clinton 

Seven years after the financial crash, despite important new rules signed into law by President Barack Obama, there are risks in our financial system that could still cause another crisis. Banks have paid billions of dollars in fines, but few executives have been held personally accountable. “Too big to fail” is still too big a problem. Regulators don’t have all the tools and support they need to protect our economy. To prevent irresponsible behavior on Wall Street from ever again devastating Main Street, we need more accountability, tougher rules and stronger enforcement. I have a plan to build on the progress we’ve made under President Obama and do just that.

In the years before the crash, as financial firms piled risk upon risk, regulators in Washington either couldn’t or wouldn’t keep up.

SNIP

The bottom line is that we can never allow what happened in 2008 to happen again. Just as important, we have to encourage Wall Street to live up to its proper role in our economy -- helping Main Street grow and prosper. With strong rules of the road and smart incentives, the financial industry can help more young families buy that first home, make it possible for entrepreneurs to create new small businesses and support hardworking Americans saving for retirement. My plan will help us unlock that potential. We’ll create good-paying jobs, raise incomes and help families afford a middle-class life, with less speculation and more growth -- growth that’s strong, fair and long-term. That’s what I’m fighting for in my campaign, and that’s what I’ll do as president.

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Nothing she has stated in either of these editorials suggests any favors for Wall Street.  Consistently, she has called for strong regulation and emphasized long term growth over short term risk.  These are not popular suggestions in the eyes of Wall Street profiteers.

Here is the exchange during the debate.



Portrayals by the media of an "invocation" of 9/11 and cries of unfairness are deliberately leading and false.   What Hillary Clinton should be able to expect is accuracy in coverage.  Her remarks were truthful, her ire justified, and anyone who has looked at her plans can tell she will not be soft on high-risk investors and those who violate the law or use loopholes for profit.

Here is her fact sheet on her broad, comprehensive,  and complex plan for the financial markets >>>>