Demos on Sec. Clinton's Wall Street Plan: Good Start But More Needs to Be Done to Protect Americans

Yesterday, Sec. Hillary Clinton announced a financial reform plan to, among other things, introduce a tax on a tactic used by high-frequency trading firms and strengthen the Volcker Rule. Demos President Heather McGhee released the following statement:

“Secretary Clinton’s proposals will limit the misconduct that led to the financial crisis, which had disastrous and lasting consequences for low- and middle-income Americans. They close meaningful loopholes in the Volcker Rule, curb unfair high-frequency trading practices, and punish criminal wrongdoing. Increasing funding to the CFTC and SEC is particularly important, as it will ensure that Dodd-Frank’s reforms are implemented in a real way.

"These proposals don’t do enough to protect the public against systemic risk and institutions that are too-big-to-fail."

"But we need to go further. We need bold, structural reforms that address the problem of corporate short-termism head on and establish a safe and honest financial system. As Secretary Clinton herself noted a few weeks ago, ‘Alongside strong growth and fair growth must be long-term growth. Too many pressures in our economy push us to short-termism.’ 

"These proposals don’t do enough to protect the public against systemic risk and institutions that are too-big-to-fail. The financial system is primed to crash and isn’t producing sustained and equal growth. A true financial transactions tax and other structural reforms would start to address the problem of short-termism.”