An Ol' Broad's Ramblings
Fox………Hen House
Lawmakers guide Dodd-Frank bill for Wall Street reform into homestretch
Nearly two years after tremors on Wall Street set off a historic economic downturn, congressional leaders greenlighted a bill early Friday that would leave the financial industry largely intact but facing a more powerful network of regulators who could impose limits on risky activities.
The final bill took shape after a 20-hour marathon negotiation between House and Senate leaders seeking to reconcile their separate versions. The legislation puts a lot of faith in the watchful eye of regulators to prevent another financial crisis. New agencies would police consumer lending, the invention of financial products and the trading of exotic securities known as derivatives. Bank supervisors would have the power to seize large, troubled financial firms whose collapse could threaten the entire system. The bill calls for banks to hold more money in reserve to weather economic storms but leaves the details to regulators.
But with a few exceptions, the measure avoids dictating to Wall Street what it can and cannot do. The bill does not break up big banks or ban the trading of derivatives. Nor does it significantly streamline the confusing array of financial regulators in Washington.
The House and Senate are set to vote on the legislation next week, and administration officials said President Obama could sign it into law before July 4.
One would think that the people in D.C. had a clue what they were doing. One would be dead wrong. D.C. creates a crisis, D.C. finds “solutions” to make crisis worse. And don’t you find it interesting that the FDA takes years, even decades, to approve a drug that could save a persons life, yet this Congress is able to ram through bills that will destroy lives? And don’t forget about that ‘seizing’ stuff. Step one to a total takeover? Hmmm…
Once more, we have the fox and the hen house scenario coming out of Congress. God help us, cuz Washington isn’t! Although, ya gotta love the official summary. (insert sarcasm)
Two years ago today, Bear Stearns was collapsing. In the time since, Americans have faced the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. Millions have lost their jobs, businesses have failed, housing prices have dropped, and savings were wiped out.
The failures that led to this crisis require bold action. We must restore responsibility and accountability in our financial system to give Americans confidence that there is a system in place that works for and protects them. We must create a sound foundation to grow the economy and create jobs.
I notice it doesn’t mean any fees and taxes (redundant?) that these institutions are going to be passing along to the consumer. Perhaps I just missed that part. I also notice they don’t mention that the American people have very little confidence, in this bill, or any others they keep foisting on us. As a matter of fact, I keep seeing that We, The People, would very much like for Congress to stop tinkering with things they don’t understand. It’s like watching a 3 year old taking apart a computer, and trying to put it back together. Ain’t workin’!
Why Change Is Needed: The economic crisis was driven by an across-the-board failure to protect consumers. When no one office has consumer protections as its top priority, consumer protections don’t get the attention they need. The result has been unfair and deceptive practices being allowed to spread unchallenged, nearly bringing down the entire financial system.
I think we’ve had about all the “change” we can handle. When you force companies to loan to persons unable to repay, then you get the mess created by Congress. (That started long before Bush got into office, so blaming him is deceptive.) Congress creates mess, Congress creates bigger mess to attempt to clean up mess previously created. I don’t know about you, but my head is starting to spin. I think that’s the intent.
