RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:
Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders traveled to the heart of America's financial sector yesterday to issue a scathing denunciation of Wall Street. Speaking in New York, Sanders repeated his calls to break up the nation's biggest banks, and he had some tough words for the Federal Reserve. NPR's Jim Zarroli reports.
JIM ZARROLI, BYLINE: Sanders isn't one to mince words about the financial sector. And here, just a few blocks from some of the world's biggest banks, he let loose again.
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BERNIE SANDERS: Greed, fraud, dishonesty and arrogance - these are some of the words that best describe the reality of Wall Street
ZARROLI: As an enthusiastic crowd of several hundred cheered him on, Sanders repeated a litany of promises about how he will deal with Wall Street - break up the big banks, send executives who are responsible for financial meltdowns to jail, place limits on credit card interest rates and ATM fees.
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SANDERS: Our goal must be to create a financial system and an economy that works for all of our people, not just a handful of billionaires.
ZARROLI: At one point, Sanders read headlines from press reports about financial scandals to make the point that no one involved had been sent to jail. He also took on the Federal Reserve, saying it needed major structural reform. After the financial crisis, he said, the Fed had acted urgently to rescue the big banks.
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SANDERS: We need the Fed to act with that same boldness today, that fierce sense of urgency to combat unemployment and low wages.
ZARROLI: At another point, Sanders seemed to aim a dart at his rival, Hillary Clinton. She was asked at the last debate whether corporate America should love her, and she said everyone should.
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SANDERS: Will the folks on Wall Street like me? No. Will they begin to play by the rules if I am president? You better believe it.
ZARROLI: All of this was wildly popular with the crowd, which laughed and applauded and even, at one point, finished his sentence for him. Janice Wright (ph) of New York came to the speech and liked what she heard.
JANICE WRIGHT: You know, you look at him, you think grandfather. But by what he says, he means - he's no-nonsense. And he means what he says, and he'll follow through.
ZARROLI: Her friend, Janice Caban (ph), agreed. Did she think Sanders could accomplish everything he promised?
JANICE CABAN: I think people trust him, and he's very sincere. And I'm hoping that he can do what he says.
ZARROLI: At the end, a large crown waited for Sanders in subfreezing temperatures and then followed him through the streets of Manhattan while he did an interview. Jim Zarroli, NPR News, New York.