Stories by Les Leopold

Les Leopold is the director of the Labor Institute in New York. His latest books is How to Make a Million Dollars an Hour: Why Hedge Funds Get Away with Siphoning off America's Wealth (Wiley 2013)     subscribe to Les Leopold's feed

Shocking Things Wall Street Financiers Say Off the Record About Their Bloated, Corrupt Industry

Posted on: Jul 19, 2013, Source: AlterNet

A new survey shows how brazenly immoral Wall Street is.

Why Have Student Loans At All? Let's Get the Burdens of Debt off College Students' Backs -- And Make Wall St. Pick Up the Tab

Posted on: Jul 2, 2013, Source: AlterNet

Higher education used to be free for millions of Americans. A transaction tax on the financial houses would make it free again.

Big Lie: America Doesn't Have #1 Richest Middle-Class in the World...We're Ranked 27th!

Posted on: Jun 18, 2013, Source: AlterNet

America is the richest country on Earth. We have the most millionaires, the most billionaires—and a increasingly poor "middle class."

How Did Major Hedge Fund Earn 30% Returns for 20 Years Straight? Lots of Cheating

Posted on: May 23, 2013, Source: AlterNet

There are 8,000 hedge funds, and they are up to their eyeballs in unethical behavior.

America's New Math: 1 Wall Street Hour = 21 Years of Hard Work For the Rest of Us

Posted on: Apr 18, 2013, Source: AlterNet

It's perverse: the top 10 hedge funds managers make as much as 196,000 registered nurses. Here's how we change that.

The Southern State Fast Becoming Ayn Rand's Vision of Paradise

Posted on: Apr 10, 2013, Source: AlterNet

Tennessee lawmakers have elevated hatred for government and disgust for poor people to an art form.

The Ten Most Outrageous Economic Calamities of 2012

Posted on: Dec 28, 2012, Source: AlterNet

From blatant robbery to money laundering, here are the biggest scandals of 2012 banking history.

There's Only One Solution That Might Fix Our Corrupt Financial System

Posted on: Aug 14, 2012, Source: AlterNet

The simple truth is our giant banking system is metastasizing throughout our economy. It’s sucking away our wealth. And it’s out of control.

How Wall Street Drives Up Gas Prices -- Ripping Us Off and Killing Jobs

Posted on: May 2, 2012, Source: AlterNet

Next time you fill up your tank, remember that $10 to $25 is going right from your pocket to the financial sector.

10 Ways Our Democracy Is Crumbling Around Us

Posted on: Apr 5, 2012, Source: AlterNet

The financial rot is deeply impacting our democratic structures.

Where's the Progressive Agenda for the Great Recession?

Posted on: Sep 25, 2009, Source: AlterNet

It's been AWOL thus far.