Take on Wall Street facts for kids

Take on Wall Street is a group of worker organizations and activist groups in America. They work together to turn public feelings about big banks and financial companies into pressure on politicians. This group started in 2016.

The idea for Take on Wall Street grew from Bernie Sanders' 2016 presidential campaign. During his campaign, Sanders often talked about how some politicians, like Hillary Clinton, took money from big financial companies like Goldman Sachs for speeches.

Unlike another group called Occupy Wall Street, this new coalition has very specific goals. They want to break up very large banks. They also want to bring back a law from 1933 called the Glass-Steagall Act. This law used to keep regular banks separate from investment banks, but it was removed in 1999 during the time of President Bill Clinton.

What is Take on Wall Street?

Take on Wall Street is a group that wants to make sure the financial system works for everyday people and families, not just for very rich people on Wall Street. They believe that big banks have too much power and that rules are needed to make things fair.

Their Main Goals

The group has two main goals:

• Breaking up big banks: They want to make sure that banks are not so huge that if one fails, it doesn't hurt the entire economy.
• Bringing back the Glass-Steagall Act: This old law helped prevent banks from taking too many risks with people's money. It separated regular banking (where people keep their savings) from investment banking (which involves riskier investments).

How They Work

In May 2016, Take on Wall Street started a special request, called a petition. This petition asked the U.S. Congress to stand up to the big financial companies. It asked Congress to "build a financial system that works for Main Street and working families, not just Wall Street billionaires."

Many important people signed this petition. These included Senator Elizabeth Warren, the head of a big worker organization named Richard Trumka (from AFL-CIO), the head of a teachers' union named Randi Weingarten (from American Federation of Teachers), and Congressman Keith Ellison. Their support showed that many leaders agreed with the group's goals.