Category Archives: Commentary

Policy Memo: SPAC-tacular for Wall Street, For the Rest of Us, Less So

The folk legend Robin Hood was, as every child knows, the legendary outlaw who robbed from the rich to give to the poor. But in a reincarnation of a long-running Wall Street scheme, it is the wily financiers who rob from the ordinary folk holding investment accounts at Robinhood.

Blog Post: Wall Street Money in 2020 Elections

Wall Street is pumping tremendous sums of money into the 2020 elections, and there are some notable trends regarding who is getting the money and who, within the financial services industry, is contributing this cycle. At the presidential level, Wall Street is splitting its contributions close to evenly, or maybe slightly favoring Biden over Trump. At the same time, it is fairly clear that Wall Street is investing in keeping the Senate in Republican hands.

BLOG POST: How Private Equity Harms Workers

In many ways, the private equity industry embodies some of the worst impulses of Wall Street, squeezing profits at the expense of workers and consumers, and insulating bad actors from risks. But these abuses are not inevitable. On the contrary, they are the result of laws and regulations that can and should be changed.

a man tucking in his sleeves

Blog: Can BlackRock Benefit from Inside Information from Fed Facilities?

Cross-posted from AFR’s Medium page. Can BlackRock Benefit from Inside Information from Fed Facilities? The Fed’s Agreement with BlackRock Raises Questions about Inside Information In order to respond to the ongoing pandemic, the Federal Reserve has created several facilities to purchase financial securities in order