ELIZABETH WARREN TO WALL STREET CEOS: Come Clean About The Think Tanks You're Paying
Getty Images/Alex Wong
She wants the American people to know how Wall Street wants its legislators to think - the kind of research Wall Street's supporting, and the numbers and ideas about financial markets that that research is representing as objective.
"When you use corporate resources to support think tanks there are only two possible outcomes from public disclosure - those contributions do not influence the work of the think tanks or those contributions do influence the work of the think tanks' research and conclusions," Warren wrote. "Either way, shareholders have a right to know how corporate resources are spent, and even more importantly, policymakers and the public should be aware of your contributions and evaluate the work of the think tanks accordingly."
Jamie Dimon might call this going "full kimono."
Warren goes on to write that she knows Wall Street firms have the right to contribute to think tanks, but that the same transparency that's applied to donating money to politicians should be applied to donating money to think tanks that influence politicians by influencing the ideas floating around Washington.
That, Warren argues, would be better for lawmakers, their constituents, and bank shareholders. In fact, she spends a lot of time saying that shareholders should know what kind of ideas Wall Street banks support.
That kind of language is an appeal to more than just her populist base, it's an appeal to investors on both sides of aisle looking for more transparency (calling all Tea Partiers?).
Of course, Republicans don't love this. In his morning note, Politico's Ben White quoted a senior DC Republican who said Warren's letter was a "misstep" that smacked of McCarthy's "give names" edict - a clumsy response to a single WSJ op-ed that disagreed with her political positions. It was written by the president and senior vice president of think tank, Third Way.
The Third Way op-ed urged Democrats to reject populist economic policy ideas, like those espoused by Senator Warren and soon-to-be NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio, because they would drive the party "off a cliff."
But surely Warren's heard that before.
You can read Warren's full letter here,
- US buys 81 Soviet-era combat aircraft from Russia's ally costing on average less than $20,000 each, report says
- 2 states where home prices are falling because there are too many houses and not enough buyers
- A couple accidentally shipped their cat in an Amazon return package. It arrived safely 6 days later, hundreds of miles away.
- India Inc marks slowest quarterly revenue growth in January-March 2024: Crisil
- Nothing Phone (2a) India-exclusive Blue Edition launched starting at ₹19,999
- SC refuses to plea seeking postponement of CA exams scheduled in May
- 10 exciting weekend getaways from Delhi within 300 km in 2024
- Foreign tourist arrivals in India will cross pre-pandemic level in 2024
- JNK India IPO allotment date
- JioCinema New Plans
- Realme Narzo 70 Launched
- Apple Let Loose event
- Elon Musk Apology
- RIL cash flows
- Charlie Munger
- Feedbank IPO allotment
- Tata IPO allotment
- Most generous retirement plans
- Broadcom lays off
- Cibil Score vs Cibil Report
- Birla and Bajaj in top Richest
- Nestle Sept 2023 report
- India Equity Market