Occupy the SEC: Former Wall Street Workers Defend Volcker Rule Against Banks' Anti-Regulatory Push

democracynow.org - The latest off-shoot of the Occupy Wall Street movement — Occupy the SEC — has submitted a 325-page comment to the Securities and Exchange Commission that calls on regulators to resist the financial industry's lobbying efforts to water down the Volcker Rule, a section in the Dodd--Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, that aims to prevent large banks from making certain kinds of risky, speculative investments. The group is made up of former Wall Street professionals who once worked at many of the largest financial firms in the industry. We're joined by Alexis Goldstein, who worked as a computer programmer for seven years at Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch and Deutsche Bank. She left Wall Street in 2010 and joined the Occupy Wall Street soon after the encampment began. "Banks should not behave like a hedge fund," Goldstein says. "Hedge funds are there to make money and take risky bets and their clients tend to be these really wealthy clients. And the Volcker Rule says: well wait a minute, these big banks that enjoy this government support shouldn't be in that business."

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  News & Politics

[bobsavage64]

Occupy the SEC is one of the most positive things I have heard about in our society recently. Cheers! for Alexis and the other members of the working group. They show dedication to the principles of citizenship that have been all but eliminated from modern society. America: government OF THE PEOPLE not for the elites, not by the banking lobby. Let's make the American Dream a reality.

[patginsd]

I expect intelligent people to visit this story. So I am pointing you to this mind-blowing article written by Elliot Spitzer when the housing industry was starting its massive destruction of our economy.

In truth our corporate media-aka ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, FOX, yes even PBS (inflitrated by partisans during Bush administration) DID cover the ensuing lurid Trial-by-TV that happened to Spitzer, but conveniently never uttered a word about what he had recently exposed: google Spitzer predatory lender

[Lawrence Lugar]

Traitor. You worked for Wall St....now, against them for the Occupy movement.

pick a side, and stay on that side. nobody likes flip floppers.

[mistax2k]

The occupy movement is one of the most idiotic mob mobilizations there has ever been, but Occupy the SEC is a bright spot and a gem in a sea of shit.

[alexandrubln]

is she a jewish beetch trying to infiltrate and now spreding advices? just a think

[Bean Cube]

Should our govt hire more community programmers into SEC to overhaul this organization? It is obvious that lawyers and accountants are not enough for this complex task.

[Bean Cube]

How will bankers work around this rule in Facebook IPO?

[mulabate]

Just so I'm clear to everyone & people like Alexis, to rectify our system of Banking for the citizens of USA, is for USA to end & seize all private banks, plus all private owned financial institutions involved directly with the monetary system based off the U.S. Dollar.

The new replacement Banking system will be directly owned & operated of/by/for the citizens of USA using the name U.S. Treasury! Wall street, World Banking System,IMF Republic style govt etc all reformed & occupied by citizens

[mulabate]

The risky part of the American Banking system is it's all privately owned & controlled, starting with the Private owned & run Federal Reserve Bank & the World Banking System. Congress controls the U.S. Treasury that manufactors the FIAT paper & ink money. since 1913 the elites of Private Capitalism in the world banking system deal with distribution, this should NOT be as it's unfair to regular citizens. Ownership rule & control over Money,Business & Govt should belong to the nations citizens.

[Julian Bauhaus]

But I was told that the occupy protesters are all immoral, sexually deviant, uneducated liberals. Did Faux News lie to me? No, it can't be true.