Learn How Wall Street Has Been Rigged Against You

Here's a link to a recent interview of Michael Lewis by Terry Gross about his latest book, Flash Boys.  Lewis outlines the problem and how a group of traders figured out how things were rigged and started a new exchange to even the playing field for investors.

http://www.npr.org/2014/04/01/297686724/on-a-rigged-wall-street-milliseconds-make-all-the-difference

From the interview summary:

You'd be surprised to hear what investment banks do to get that nanosecond edge, and how they often use it in ways Lewis describes as predatory. The victims range from some investment houses to individual investors. Lewis says high-frequency trades can end up hurting the returns on your retirement accounts. The FBI, Wall Street regulators and New York's attorney general are investigating high-frequency trading, and whether it has created an uneven playing field.

A Meaning of "Rent" That Many Aren't Familiar With

In his post at Triple Crisis, James K Boyce quotes one of the clearest explanations of the economists'  term "rent" that I've seen:

Rent isn’t just the monthly check that tenants write to landlords. Economists use the term “rent seeking” to mean “using political and economic power to get a larger share of the national pie, rather than to grow the national pie,” in the words of Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz, who maintains that such dysfunctional activity has metastasized in the United States alongside deepening inequality.

When rent inspires investment in useful things like housing, it’s productive. The economic pie grows, and the people who pay rent get something in return. When rent leads to investment in unproductive activities, like lobbying to capture wealth without creating it, it’s parasitic. Those who pay get nothing in return.

The entire article is worth reading and can be found here:  http://triplecrisis.com/rent-in-a-warming-world/

New Focus for Involved Voters Blog

The new focus for this blog comes largely from my recent reading of The Bankers' New Clothes: What's Wrong with Banking and What to Do About It.

This 3 minute video clip by co-author Anat Admati will give you an idea of what the book contains: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDRpZvCOVrc

It's my aim to help all of us understand how essential reform of the US (and global) financial system is to our economic health and stability, and get involved by applying political pressure for reform.  I'll be posting links to groups and resources related to financial system reform.  Your suggestions via email are welcome.