Summary Of All The Presidents Bankers By Nomi Prins

In All the Presidents' Bankers, Nomi Prins argues that the associations between the leaders of the largest banks and the presidents of the last century influenced economic policy in the U.S. and other countries. The presidents and the bankers worked together to make the U.S. the most powerful nation in the world. However, the bankers wanted power and profit without regard to the harm they caused people in the U.S and other countries. Although Prins’ commentary is biased, her arguments are well-supported and based on extensive research.

Prins’ book is well-organized chronologically by time periods in history and presidents. The short sections in the 19 chapters help the reader understand the text, which is sometimes complex. In the beginning

Even though the bankers had their own interests in mind, the economic policies benefitted regular people as well (Prins xvi). For example, during the 1950s, President Eisenhower worked closely with the bankers to expand in other countries as well as in the U.S. In other countries, Eisenhower made allies to prevent Communism, a threat to the U.S. position of power in the world. In the U.S., Eisenhower supported programs in which Americans benefited economically. And the bankers were not only taking deposits and lending money to Americans, but also to people in other countries (Prins 197). The close association between President Eisenhower and the bankers benefited them

government positions of influence. For example, President Truman chose the President of Chase Bank, Winthrop Aldrich, to be on the Financing Foreign Trade Committee. This committee made important decisions about trade policy for the U.S. (Prins 179). And Presidents Reagan, Clinton, and Bush chose bankers for the position of Secretary of the Treasury (Prins 33). These positions gave the bankers more influence and power than they had before. Prins says “Our choice is simple: either we break the alliances, or they will break us” (Prins 423). That is, if we do not stop the associations between U.S. government officials and bankers, financial crises will continue to