In the wake of the financial crisis of 2008, the largest banks at its center have emerged bigger, more profitable, and more resistant to regulation, even as they continue to wield power in Washington. Without an effective government crackdown on their deleterious, conventional practices, these banks''too big to fail' and holding the global economy hostage'threaten to create yet another crippling economic downturn. The choice that our political and economic system faces is stark: accede to the vested interests of an unfettered financial sector that runs up profits in good years and dumps its losses on taxpayers in lean years, or reform, through stringent regulation, the banking system as an engine of economic growth.
In 13 Bankers, Simon Johnson'one of the most prominent economists in America (former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund, professor of entrepreneurship at MIT, and author of the controversial and much debated 'The Quiet Coup' in The Atlantic)'and James Kwak examine not only how Wall Streets ideology, wealth, and political power among policy makers in Washington led to the financial debacle of 2008, but also what the lessons learned portend for the future. To restore health and balance to our economy, they argue, we must confront the political force of big finance and reverse the inside-the-Beltway consensus that what is good for Wall Street is good for Main Street.
Lucid, authoritative, and crucial for its timeliness, 13 Bankers is certain to be one of the most discussed books of the season.
Introduction 13 Bankers 3
1 Thomas Jefferson and the Financial Aristocracy 14
2 Other People's Oligarchs 39
3 Wall Street Rising: 1980- 57
4 "Greed Is Good": The Takeover 88
5 The Best Deal Ever 120
6 Too Big to Fail 153
7 The American Oligarchy: Six Banks 189
Notes 223
Further Reading 275
Acknowledgments 279
Index