Bill’s been talking with lawyers, journalists, politicians, former bank executives and veteran regulators to better understand what happened before, during and after the financial crisis. While the Great Recession may be behind us, Americans are still struggling, and many questions remain about the ethical behavior of big banks, the executives who run them and their ties to Washington. Watch the videos below for more and visit our work and economy spotlight page for our latest blogs and videos.
William K. Black on the Washington/Wall St. Alliance
Former bank regulator William K. Black, who exposed the so-called Keating Five, lays bare how Washington and Wall Street are joined in a culture of corruption. (Aired on October 3, 2014)
Sen. Elizabeth Warren on Fighting Back Against Wall St. Giants
The Massachusetts senator talks about taking on the entrenched political and Wall Street interests that have rigged the game against the rest of us. (Aired on September 5, 2014)
Too Big to Fail and Getting Bigger
Our banks are larger than before the 2008 crash and they’re still living dangerously, economist Anat Admati tells Bill. (Aired on June 13, 2014)
Gretchen Morgenson on Why Banks Are Still Too Big To Fail
Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times columnist Gretchen Morgenson tells Bill that, five years after the country’s economic near-collapse, banks are still too big to fail, too big to manage and too big to trust. (Aired on May 24, 2013)
Neil Barofsky on the Need to Tackle Banking Reform
Neil Barofsky, who held the thankless job of special inspector general in charge of policing TARP, the bailout’s Troubled Asset Relief Program, joins Bill to discuss the critical yet unmet need to tackle banking reform and avoid another financial meltdown. (Aired on October 26, 2012)
Matt Taibbi and Chrystia Freeland on the 1%’s Power and Privilege
Journalists Matt Taibbi and Chrystia Freeland discuss how far America’s super-rich will go to keep the 1% in charge. (Aired on October 9, 2012)
Sheila Bair on Keeping Banks Honest
Bill talks with financial expert Sheila Bair about the lawlessness of our banking system and the prognosis for meaningful reform. Bair was appointed in 2006 by President George W. Bush to chair the FDIC. During the 2008 meltdown, she argued that in some cases banks were NOT too big to fail — that instead of bailouts, they should be sold off to healthier competitors. (Aired on July 13, 2012)
Gretchen Morgenson on Corporate Clout in Washington
Moyers talks with Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times reporter and columnist Gretchen Morgenson on how money and political clout enable industries to escape regulation and ensure high compensation for executives at the top. (Aired on March 9, 2012)
Matt Taibbi and Yves Smith on the Follies of Big Banks and Government
Former Rolling Stone editor Matt Taibbi and Yves Smith, creator of the finance and economics blog Naked Capitalism, join Bill to discuss the folly and corruption of both banks and government, and how that tag-team leaves deep wounds in our democracy. (Aired on June 22, 2012)
John Reed on Big Banks’ Power and Influence
Bill Moyers talks with former Citigroup Chairman John Reed to explore how the mid-1990’s merger of Citicorp and Travelers Group – and a friendly presidential pen — brought down the Glass-Steagall Act, a crucial firewall between banks and investment firms that had protected consumers from financial calamity in the aftermath of the Great Depression. (Aired on March 16, 2012)
Byron Dorgan on Making Banks Play by the Rules
Bill talks with former Senator Byron Dorgan about making sure that big banks play by rules protecting consumers from financial calamity, and how those big banks continue to leverage power and influence to avoid responsibility while maximizing profits. (Aired on March 16, 2012)
