Hamptons Institute: Soros, Warren and Greenberger on FinReg

You may know that over the summer, the Roosevelt Institute partnered with Guild Hall to put on the Hamptons Institute, a gathering of prominent thought leaders in politics, economics, media, and the arts. In case you missed out on the event, full footage of the panels is now online.

The first panel featured ND20 contributors George Soros, Elizabeth Warren, and Michael Greenberger. Moderator Joe Nocera asked each to reflect on the victories or challenges embodied in the financial reform bill, which had just passed the Senate. In the above video, Soros sums up his feelings: “I think it’s good to have it done. But it doesn’t really address the problems of the system.” Warren, whose work helped create the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (which she is now helping to get started), echoed the sentiment by saying, “I’m pleased,” then adding: “It’s not perfect.” Both agreed that the most important — and what Soros deemed “urgent” — piece of the legislation was the new bureau.

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Michael Greenberger felt the same about the CFPB. But he was perhaps the most optimistic about the entire bill:

While he gave it a “B minus,” he added, “I view the B minus as a midterm grade.” The battle for meaningful reform continues — but we now have the tools to fight it.

The event went on to tackle issues such as Europe’s economy, building a new Green economy, and investing in the arts and in culture. You can find the rest of the video footage here.