Wall Street vs. Main Street

by   |  September 18, 2008

Working families and Main Street businesses are suffering because of the misdeeds of Wall Street profiteers. We are seeing what happens when the government doesn't adequately regulate financial markets and corporate boards are not accountable to shareholders. Eight years of increasing deregulation have exploded into a global financial crisis. This is why, for years, AFSCME has fought to make Wall Street more open, accountable and responsible. The latest headline, an $85 Billion bailout of AIG is a good example of what went wrong. AFSCME sued AIG several years ago to force them to accept an independent director on their board. We won the court case, but the SEC stepped in and reversed our rights helping to lead to this mess. People with AIG insurance and other service products don't need to worry because those businesses are safe and coverage will stay in effect. But individual and pension fund investments in AIG are basically wiped out. Pension funds can afford to absorb the losses, people relying on IRAs and 401k plan may be badly hurt. Robert Willumstad, the latest AIG CEO who contributed to the crash of the company has just been paid an estimated $14 million golden parachute for three months of work. Martin Sullivan, the prior CEO of AIG, walked away with nearly $50 million. Because the system is out of control, big-time corporate CEOs get paid outrageous sums whether or not they do a good job. For them it's the Heads-I-Win-Tails-I-Still-Get-Rich system. AFSCME is fighting every day to protect the interests of working men and women. If you'd like to learn more about what working families should know about investments click here. Richard Ferlauto, AFSCME's Director of Corporate Governance and Pension Investment was interviewed addressing these issues in the Wall Street Journal.