Tell Wall Street Bankers - No

Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner is pushing a settlement with the big banks and Wall Street firms that caused the mortgage crisis—letting them get away with a slap on the wrist.¹

Wall Street bankers have not faced any serious punishment for the widespread fraud that crashed our whole economy—pushing bad loans, lying to investors, forging foreclosure documents—and banks are making profits again while homeowners continue to suffer.²

Unbelievably, Geithner wants state attorneys general to agree to a sweetheart deal where these banks would pay only $20 billion—a fraction of what they could owe if fully prosecuted—and would get immunity from investigation and prosecution of the criminal greed, negligence, and fraud that caused this crisis. This would eliminate any leverage regulators have to pressure banks to help out the homeowners they've hurt.³

This settlement is only possible because it's flying under the radar. So we're joining with Rebuild the Dream to send a strong message. If we can shame Geithner and the Obama administration with a massive public petition, we can stop Wall Street from getting a get-out-of-jail-free card. 

Tell Treasury Secretary Geithner, "No more sweetheart deals for Wall Street. Let states investigate and prosecute the crimes that crashed our economy."

By pushing bad loans and peddling risky mortgage-backed securities as safe investments, these banks cost the world economy $7.7 trillion. Their widespread fraud and corruption also cost millions of hardworking Americans their jobs, their homes, and their shot at the American Dream. And instead of making them pay the price for their actions, we handed Wall Street nearly $2 trillion in loans to get back on their feet, while every day Americans are still struggling to make ends meet.⁴  

Thankfully, some state attorneys general are standing up to Geithner and Wall Street. They refuse to settle with the banks until a full and real investigation exposes the role these banks and their executives played in the crash of our housing market and economy.

Eric Schneiderman and Beau Biden, the attorneys general of New York and Delaware, are holding strong despite enormous pressure from the administration to accept the deal. Schneiderman's insistence that these crimes be investigated and prosecuted has now gotten him kicked off the settlement committee.⁵

Owning a home is part of the American Dream, and justice for homeowners is part of the American Dream movement. We have to stand behind Schneiderman, Biden, and other state attorneys general, and not let Geithner and a yes-man settlement committee brush banks' criminal behavior under the rug. 

Tell Treasury Secretary Geithner, "No more sweetheart deals for Wall Street. Let states investigate and prosecute the crimes that crashed our economy."

Thanks for all you do.  Move on. org