Financial Transparency Coalition

On Tuesday this week, six-term Senator Max Baucus (D-MT) announced he would not seek reelection next year. The decision will end his thirty-six year long and influential career in the Senate; one which included over a decade as the top democrat in the Finance Committee and a co-authorship of the 2010 health care law. In his planned retirement, Senator Baucus will join other senior Democratic senators, including Senator Carl Levin (MI) and Senator Tom Harkin (IO). In the wake of Senator Baucus’ announcement, the pundits, commentators, and even some Democrats have been calling his legacy “mixed.” Democrats are quick to...

PANAMA CITY — The month-old government here is expected to announce as soon as next week the first steps toward breaking with decades of banking secrecy that have drawn both tax-allergic customers and global rebukes.

Embracing populism and criticizing free trade on the campaign trail were the easy part. But now that Barack Obama is negotiating actual trade pacts, he’s learning why this issue has become a third rail for Democratic leaders.