Hi friend,
There is no doubt that this is an extremely tumultuous and dangerous time. The Trump administration and special interests are trying to remove financial protection rules that make a real difference in the lives of Main Street Americans, and reckless deregulation is moving us toward what will almost certainly be another devastating financial crash.
I want you to know that our team is not backing down from this fight. In this chaotic and perilous political moment, when those in power are redefining who the government works for and who it stands up for, the struggle to protect hardworking Americans, to fight for an economy that works for all Americans, and ensure that the financial system supports the real productive economy is more important than ever. While those objectives have a short term horizon, we must always be mindful that the medium and long term are as important, which is why we focus on the structural drivers that will create a durable, sustainable economy that improves the lives of all Americans.
To this end, I’m proud to say we’ve made some important additions to the Better Markets team to help make our impact event greater.
Lisa Gilbert, co-president of Public Citizen, has joined the Better Markets Board of Directors. Lisa has spent her career promoting the public interest and fighting for an economy that serves the American people. I know that her long record of exceptional leadership and advocacy in financial reform and consumer and investor protection will be invaluable in supporting our work.
Amanda Fischer, after serving as Chief of Staff to the Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and in multiple senior positions in Congress, is now our Policy Director and Chief Operating Officer (COO). She will oversee the organization’s policy program areas, lead Better Markets’ team of policy experts, and guide the development of impactful strategies to advance economic security, opportunity, and prosperity for all Americans.
Phillip Basil, after serving at the Federal Reserve for more than a decade in several roles and at JPMorgan Chase as an Executive Director, is now our Director of Economic Growth and Financial Stability, having previously served as our Director of Banking. This is a newly created position that will focus on economic and financial matters that are crucial to Main Street families, workers, investors, consumers, community banks, and small businesses.
Lisa, Amanda, and Phillip’s experience, expertise and commitment to an economy that works for all Americans will prove invaluable in the months and years ahead. And, stay tuned: we’ll have more announcements soon!
Thank you for your continued support.
Best,
Dennis
Dennis Kelleher
Co-Founder, President and CEO
|
|
|
On Friday, March 21, The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Crypto Task Force held its inaugural roundtable, “How We Got Here and How We Get Out – Defining Security Status.” Our Benjamin Schiffrin, Director of Securities Policy, is a member of the Task Force and participated in the roundtable. One of Ben’s key points was that retail investors deserve the protections of the federal securities laws in the crypto markets.
|
|
|
Paul Atkins, President Trump’s nominee to be the Chair of the SEC, has a remarkably long and disreputable record of being vigorously if not adamantly opposed to the very reasons the SEC exists, including protecting investors and the integrity of our markets. Ahead of Atkins’ confirmation hearing, we released a Fact Sheet highlighting ten of his past actions and statements inconsistent with the SEC’s mission and mandates.
|
The SEC has won almost 100% of its cases against the crypto industry because, in most cases, the crypto industry is knowingly and intentionally breaking well-known, longstanding securities laws. In light of its virtually unanimous win record, the SEC’s recent actions dismissing crypto industry cases are shocking, unprecedented, and dangerously undermine the rule of law. The SEC appears to have a new role: the crypto industry’s advocate.
|
As the CFTC celebrates its 50th anniversary, we reflect on its role in protecting the public from excess speculation in commodity markets by imposing position limits, especially at a time when families are struggling with the rising cost of basic necessities like food, gas, and electricity. We urged the CFTC to provide a report, required by law, showing whether or not position limits are actually working.
|
|
|
Better Markets in the News
|
|
|
| [Abandoning ongoing crypto enforcement cases] shreds the S.E.C.’s credibility, integrity and reputation, and sends the message that it’s a political organization that acts based on the most recent election.
|
| |
|
Thought Leadership by the Better Markets Team
|
|
|
Fighting for the Public Interest at the Rule Writing Agencies
|
|
|
Each month our legal team outlines some of the top cases we're keeping an eye on, the Amicus "Friend of the Court" Briefs we have filed, and why everyone with a bank account, credit card, mortgage loan, or retirement loan should be interested in those cases.
|
| March was a busy month on Capitol Hill as lawmakers continued to push forward dangerous legislation covering un-stablecoins, held hearings covering the CFTC and important nominations, and responded to the lawless firings of independent commissioners at the FTC.
|
|
|
Two years ago, Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank, and First Republic Bank failed, caused a banking crisis, and got bailed out by taxpayers. In a new report we discussed how these were three of the four largest bank failures in U.S. history and directly cost Americans more than $40 billion in bailouts and as much as $300 billion in indirect costs from credit contraction and related implications. This month, we held a webinar with an all-star lineup to discuss the impact of the 2023 crisis on Main Street American families and the looming threats ahead.
|
|
|
©2024 Better Markets, Inc. All Rights Reserved
2000 Pennsylvania Avenue, Suite 4008, Washington, DC 20006
|
|
|
Manage your preferences | Opt Out using TrueRemove™
Got this as a forward? Sign up to receive our future emails.
View this email online.
|
1825 K Street NW Suite 1080 | Washington, DC 20006 US
|
|
|
This email was sent to .
To continue receiving our emails, add us to your address book.
|
|
|
|
