american bankers association
GRITtv: Whose American Dream, Anyway?
The American Bankers Association annual meeting this week saw activists from progressive groups and labor unions there to greet them. Is the American Dream something for rich bankers to achieve by taking taxpayer dollars to give themselves ever-larger bonuses, or does that money belong to all of us? Joining us are Matt Taibbi, George Goehl, Christina Clausen and Rob Robertson of the Right To The City Alliance and Picture the Homeless.
Email this pageGRITtv: October 28, 2009
Derivatives and credit default swaps might not sound as scary as death panels, but they're responsible, at least in part, for our economic meltdown. The Dow might be back up, but most of the country is still suffering from the aftereffects of the bankers' greed. The Showdown in Chicago protests this week attempted to attract attention to the conference, where bankers attended panels with titles like "Strategies for Acquiring Troubled Banks," "NonInterest Income," and "Unwinding Government Intervention," along with a keynote speech by Newt Gingrich.
GRITtv: Showdown in Chicago: People vs. Bankers
Economist Dean Baker compared the American Bankers Association to termites, saying "it does most of its damage in the dark." But activists from all over the country have converged in Chicago this week for dramatic protests at the ABA's annual convention, designed to drag the bankers' actions out into the light. We'll have updates all week on the actions at the Showdown in Chicago, but here's a look at one of the first actions at the "Bankers' Ball," where activists decided to crash the party. Thanks to SEIU for the video.
GRITtv: Monday, Oct. 26, 2009
Corporations have edged into nearly every area of our lives, impacting decisions we make on a daily basis, from health care to the food we eat to the way we get our news and information. Today on GRITtv we take a look at a couple of places that corporate control is being challenged. The Internet has fundamentally changed the media landscape, allowing everyday people to have their voices heard and connect with one another in new and exciting ways. So it really shouldn't be surprising that corporations want to tighten their grip on the Web and our ability to disseminate information on it. And corporations doing medical research are calling into question the whole idea of where property begins and ends.
