Morgan Stanley is blocking employee access to a site that's critical of the banks

By Kathy G.

For me, when it comes to following the financial crisis, one of the go-to sites has been The Baseline Scenario. It's written, in part, by Simon Johnson, an M.I.T. economics professor, who has been a relentless critic of the banks. Time and again, Professor Johnson has made the argument that the political power of the banks has grotesquely distorted our economy and our democracy, and that in order for sane, fair, and effective economic policies to prevail, the banks must be broken up.

Today, Johnson reports something disturbing: Morgan Stanley is blocking employee access to this invaluable site.

Access to our site has been blocked in the past by China - for reasons that should be obvious (if you want to pretend there is no global crisis).  But what kind of firm would not want its employees to access our macroeconomic analysis, Financial Crisis for Beginners, or your continuing debate about how to handle the world’s myriad financial sector problems?

Oh, yes…

Morgan Stanley.

No doubt there is a simple and reasonable explanation that has nothing to do with our views on banks, their executives, and the political power of the financial sector.  And it must be pure coincidence that Morgan Stanley was mentioned in a less than completely positive light during my February interview with Bill Moyers.

When it comes to the banks, there is so much to be outraged about these days that this may seem like a minor matter. But it's illustrative of just how profoundly out of touch and divorced from reality the financial sector has become. Morgan Stanley won't even allow their own employees to have access to a site that consistently mounts powerful critiques of the financial sector and the public policies that involve that sector. How can Morgan Stanley possibly defend itself successfully when its own employees don't have a clue as to the nature of the criticisms against it?

The corrupt cronyism and astonishing insularity of the financial sector has bred a level of denial so deep that I believe it will be death of them, in the end.

As someone once wrote in a not dissimilar context, "Give them enough rope, and they'll hang themselves."

Comments

[Daniel]

Pretty disturbing stuff.

[Ninja Zombie]

Wideband content filters block minor blog! News at 11. In addition to baseline scenario, they also block youtube, reddit, 4chan, gmail and wordpress.

Note: wordpress is hosting baseline scenario.

Morgan Stanley wants their employees to spend time working rather than blogging, sending themselves confidential files via hotmail, or watching videos of puppydogs. OMFG, how corrupt!

[Barry]

NZ, aren't you supposed to be 'going Galt'?

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