#6) Tax trading of stocks, bonds, derivatives and options. A small micro-tax applied to large firms would slow high-risk speculation and provide significant revenue, allowing reduction of income taxes, withholding taxes and adequately fund government operations.
#7) Corresponding to our second objective, close the casino by reinstating both a modernized version of the GlassSteagall Act, which separated commercial and investment banking, and a strict Net Capital rule that limits wild risk-taking and speculating.
#8) Shut the revolving door and put up a strict firewall between finance executives and government regulators and officials.
#9) End usurious credit card and pay day loans. Cap interest rates and get rid of hidden bank fees.
#10) Create an empowered and independent Consumer Protection Agency (CPA). Investigate predatory lending schemes, liar's loans and put a moratorium on home foreclosures, as the first steps in what will be many investigations into abusive practices. Credit rating agencies should be regulated by the CPA and function independently of the firms producing the products being rated.
#11) Urgently hire 1,500+ white-collar crime investigators to enforce existing laws.
#12) Fire, investigate and prosecute government officials like Tim Geithner, Ben Bernanke, Larry Summers and John Dugan, and investigate Hank Paulson, Alan Greenspan and Robert Rubin, all of whom played a significant role in the financial collapse and the massive "transfer" of wealth to the finance industry. Also investigate and prosecute, under RICO statutes, top executives in financial firms who engaged in fraudulent activity. Appoint people like Elizabeth Warren, Simon Johnson, Joseph Stiglitz, William Black and Ron Paul to positions of authority over the economy.
These are our primary objectives and the necessary steps that must be taken to take OUR economy back. If the financial reform bill, that has been two years in the making, doesn't live up to this 12-step program, we will know that our politicians have sold us short once again.
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