AFR Vows Renewed Fight Against Corrosive Wall Street Influence

Following the 2024 elections, Americans for Financial Reform will redouble our commitment to build a fairer, more racially just, and more inclusive economy and society. We must stop Wall Street from writing rules of the game that concentrate wealth at the top and make life more difficult and insecure for everyone else. People — across all parties and demographics — consistently and strongly support curbing Wall Street’s corrosive control of the economy and protecting families from the predatory and extractive financial industry. 

There has been halting but meaningful progress in the last few years, including new consumer and worker protections to put tens of billions of dollars a year back into people’s pockets, curbing Wall Street-driven corporate concentration, and fighting lending discrimination. There are also some efforts to tackle the private equity takeover of healthcare and the financial risks of climate change. But more and bolder change is needed.

The past year has seen big finance, big tech, and big business, notably crypto and private equity, pour a record amount of money into lobbying — and then elections — to escape regulatory oversight and evade accountability for predatory practices and profiteering. Based on Trump’s previous track record and public documents, there is every reason to believe that the next Trump administration will put industry lawyers and lobbyists in charge of agencies that should represent the public interest. We will not let populist rhetoric obscure the actions of the incoming administration’s power-hungry corporate backers.

We will continue to fight for an economy and society that works for everyone. We must all stand with working people and marginalized communities and stand against persistent and escalating racism, xenophobia, transphobia, and hate. This work is more important than ever.

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