Ep. 025 - Why Wall Street Matters with William Cohan

Imagine a world without companies like Apple, or media outlets such as CBS or NBC, without all of the cars and trucks crisscrossing the country, without food provided by the farmer...that's what would happen if Wall Street did not exist...it would all go away, according to this week's Better Off guest, writer William "Bill" Cohan.

Imagine a world without companies like Apple, or media outlets such as CBS or NBC, without all of the cars and trucks crisscrossing the country, without food provided by the farmer…that’s what would happen if Wall Street did not exist…it would all go away, according to this week’s Better Off guest, writer William “Bill” Cohan.

If you’ve read some of his previous books, like “House of Cards,” or “Money and Power”, you know Bill is usually not one to shy away from going after Wall Street and its shortcomings. But in an interesting twist, Bill’s recent book, “Why Wall Street Matters,” is a defense of the industry that he has pilloried.

In our interview, Bill describes a poor decision by Elizabeth Warren as the catalyst that propelled him to write this latest book. He tells us what Wall Street has done well, like providing the necessary capital to companies, which in turn allows them to invest, expand and hire, thus propelling overall economic growth.

Don’t be mistaken: Bill knows that Wall Street and the institutions that occupy the space in Lower Manhattan are imperfect, but he believes that there is far more good than bad — and more importantly, the consequences would be dire if the essential role the industry plays were carelessly curtailed.

Bill had one goal when writing this book: for Wall Street to become understandable to the average American. In this easy to read book, Bill succeeded.  I highly recommend you pick it up.

“Better Off” is sponsored by Betterment.

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