To: United States Congress
From: The 99%
Subject: End too-big-to-fail. Restore Glass-Steagall!

We’re tired of settling for an unemployment rate at its highest since the Great Depression, all-time high corporate profit and average hourly wages that haven’t increased in real terms in 50 years. We want an end to too-big-to-fail banks and Wall Street gambles with OUR MONEY. We want an end to unfettered greed.

It’s time for Congress to serve the welfare of people and the economy and not big banks.

There was a reason the Glass-Steagall Act was passed in 1933 in the wake of the Great Depression and remained on the books for seven decades. It separated banks into commercial banks that accept deposits and make loans from investment banks that issue and underwrite stocks and derivatives. It prevented massive speculation by banks with other people’s money. The rationale behind Glass-Steagall was that reckless practices by the nation’s financial giants helped bring about an economic catastrophe. In 1999, Congress repealed the part of Glass-Steagall that split up the banks, allowing Wall Street to gamble with OUR MONEY.

We urge you to re-institute the Glass-Steagall Act to break up too-big-to-fail banks and prevent the same Wall Street over-speculation that led to this financial crisis. We demand leadership on this issue.

Sincerely,
The 99%