Wall Street

Banking Committee Chairman Shelby Advocates for Financial CHOICE Act to Gut Dodd-Frank

| Importance: 8/10

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Richard Shelby (R-AL) became instrumental in advocating for the Financial CHOICE Act, legislation aimed at significantly restructuring financial regulation by repealing major parts of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. Shelby, who had …

Richard Shelby Senate Banking Committee Wall Street Dodd-Frank Act regulatory-capture financial-sector banking-committee deregulation congressional-corruption
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Citigroup Lobbyists Write 70 of 85 Lines in House Banking Deregulation Bill

| Importance: 9/10

Investigation revealed that Citigroup lobbyists drafted a House bill aimed at rolling back Dodd-Frank financial regulations, with 70 of the 85 lines in the final House legislation directly reflecting Citigroup’s recommendations. Two complete paragraphs were copied almost word-for-word from …

Citigroup House Financial Services Committee Wall Street regulatory-capture lobbying congressional-corruption wall-street citigroup
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Financial Services Committee Members Who Supported Bailout Received 39% More Wall Street Money

| Importance: 9/10

The House of Representatives voted on the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act (TARP), with senators who supported the $700 billion Wall Street bailout having received an average of $3,986,723 from the financial sector since 1989—39% more than bailout opponents who received an average of $1,671,029. …

Barney Frank House Financial Services Committee Wall Street TARP regulatory-capture financial-sector congressional-corruption campaign-finance lobbying
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Office of Strategic Services Created, Wall Street Lawyers Build Intelligence Apparatus

| Importance: 8/10

President Franklin D. Roosevelt issues a military order on June 13, 1942, establishing the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) under William “Wild Bill” Donovan, a Wall Street lawyer, Medal of Honor recipient, and well-connected Republican. The OSS becomes America’s first …

William Donovan Franklin D. Roosevelt Allen Dulles Office of Strategic Services Wall Street +1 more intelligence-apparatus national-security-state elite-networks covert-operations wall-street-government-revolving-door
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Joseph Kennedy Appointed First SEC Chairman - Wall Street Insider to Police Wall Street

| Importance: 7/10

President Roosevelt appoints Joseph P. Kennedy, a wealthy Wall Street speculator known for stock manipulation and insider trading, as the first chairman of the newly-created Securities and Exchange Commission on July 2, 1934. The appointment shocks New Deal reformers and delights Wall Street, …

Franklin D. Roosevelt Joseph P. Kennedy Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Wall Street regulatory-capture new-deal sec financial-regulation revolving-door
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Gold Reserve Act Nationalizes Gold Holdings and Devalues Dollar Over Wall Street Opposition

| Importance: 8/10

President Roosevelt signs the Gold Reserve Act on January 30, 1934, nationalizing all gold holdings in the United States, transferring ownership of Federal Reserve gold to the U.S. Treasury, and authorizing the President to set the gold value of the dollar between 50 and 60 percent of its previous …

Franklin D. Roosevelt U.S. Congress Federal Reserve Wall Street banking industry +1 more new-deal monetary-policy gold-standard financial-regulation corporate-resistance
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Securities Act of 1933 Establishes Federal Securities Regulation

| Importance: 9/10

President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the Securities Act of 1933 into law on May 27, 1933, establishing the first major federal regulation of securities markets and requiring that investors receive financial and material information about securities offered for public sale. Often called the …

Franklin D. Roosevelt Huston Thompson Federal Trade Commission Wall Street Securities Industry financial-regulation new-deal securities-law investor-protection regulatory-victory +1 more
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Legal Tender Act Creates Unbacked Greenback Currency Enabling Speculation and Inflation Despite Constitutional Questions

| Importance: 7/10

Congress passes the Legal Tender Act on February 25, 1862, authorizing the issuance of $150 million in United States Notes (popularly called “greenbacks” for their distinctive color) to finance the Union war effort after spiraling costs rapidly deplete gold and silver reserves. The …

U.S. Congress Abraham Lincoln Edmund Dick Taylor Wall Street currency fiat-money financial-manipulation speculation inflation +1 more
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