Hedging on Wall Street: Clinton's Finance Reforms Reek of Weak-Kneed Populism

Looks like they are fine with populist campaign rhetoric as long as they trust Clinton to have their backs if elected.

http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/07/22/hedging-wall-street-clintons-finance-reforms-reek-weak-kneed-populism

As Bernie Sanders continues to draw record crowds and appears to be winning the battle for small-donor contributions, the campaign of Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton—even as the former senator and secretary of state attempts to strike a more populist tone—continues to show it knows where the deep pockets are: Wall Street.

And as the Associated Press reports on Wednesday morning, the campaign's strategic approach is rather easily documented:

Clinton's economic agenda targets companies that focus on short-term profits and high-speed trading instead of investing in workers. The Democratic presidential candidate's finance operation is going after their executives for another purpose — donations.

A day after proposing higher capital gains taxes on short-term investors, Clinton raised at least $450,000 Tuesday night at the Chicago home of Raj Fernando, a longtime donor. His firm, Chopper Trading, specializes in high-frequency transactions and was recently purchased by Chicago-based competitor DRW.

Clinton's summertime fundraising circuit highlights a central tension of her campaign: how to encourage financial executives to open their wallets for her presidential effort even as she comes out with plans aimed at reining multimillion-dollar paychecks. Since her first presidential campaign in 2008, income inequality has become a bigger force in Democratic politics, with liberal voters clamoring for candidates who will take a sharply populist turn and enforce tough new regulations on Wall Street.

Despite her newly announced proposals, which also include calling for higher tax rates on private equity and hedge fund managers, CNBC reported on Tuesday that all of Clinton's "rhetoric has mattered little" to those who support her in the financial industry.