Nomi Prins new book, "It Takes A Pillage (http://www.nomiprins.com/)," is making headlines, world-wide. In an unprecendented review of who is really responsible for the biggest economic crisis of our time, Ms. Prins not only names, names, but connects the dots and draws maps of all of the players from Harvard to Goldman Sachs to Government. A must read!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mowoVe6zSK8

I hope I understand this correctly
C/P from the internet [googled "What Is The Glass-Steagall Act"]

In 1933, in the wake of the 1929 stock market crash and during a nationwide commercial bank failure and the Great Depression, two members of Congress put their names on what is known today as the Glass-Steagall Act (GSA). This act separated investment and commercial banking activities. At the time, "improper banking activity", or what was considered overzealous commercial bank involvement in stock market investment, was deemed the main culprit of the financial crash. According to that reasoning, commercial banks took on too much risk with depositors' money. Additional and sometimes non-related explanations for the Great Depression evolved over the years, and many questioned whether the GSA hindered the establishment of financial services firms that can equally compete against each other. We will take a look at why the GSA was established and what led to its final repeal in 1999.

Reasons for the Act - Commercial Speculation
Commercial banks were accused of being too speculative in the pre-Depression era, not only because they were investing their assets but also because they were buying new issues for resale to the public. Thus, banks became greedy, taking on huge risks in the hope of even bigger rewards. Banking itself became sloppy and objectives became blurred. Unsound loans were issued to companies in which the bank had invested, and clients would be encouraged to invest in those same stocks.

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It Takes a Pillage: Behind the Bailouts, Bonuses, and Backroom Deals from Washington to Wall Street


The Pillage People, [A.K.A. The Federal Pillage Trio]
© Nomi Prins, LLC 1
by Nomi Prins and Krisztina Ugrin
November 4, 2009
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