Wall Street Reform

     The following italicized text is taken from a summary by the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs explaining the purpose of the new financial reform bill. The bullets following each excerpt are observations by me about the true purpose of the bill.

     "Ends the possibility that taxpayers will be asked to write a check to bail out financial firms that threaten the economy by: creating a safe way to liquidate failed financial firms; imposing tough new capital and leverage requirements that make it undesirable to get too big; updating the Fed’s authority to allow system-wide support but no longer prop up individual firms; and establishing rigorous standards and supervision to protect the economy and American consumers, investors and businesses."

• The taxpayers didn’t want to write the first big check. In fact we kept telling you not to.  
• We already have a safe way to liquidate failed firms, it’s called bankruptcy.
• Let me get this straight, big businesses are bad for America so the government will create a huge new bureaucracy to determine when a business has become too large?
• Updating the Fed’s authority… is this a new way of saying expanding the government?
• System-wide support? The sounds like more bail outs. I thought this bill was supposed to prevent more bailouts. I guess the part about not propping up individual firms means we will be propping up all firms.
•  Rigorous standards and supervision… more government again?
• Finally how is this bill going to protect businesses? This is a direct attack on businesses. The American economy needs protection from you! 

     "Advance Warning System: Creates a council to identify and address systemic risks posed by large, complex companies, products, and activities before they threaten the stability of the economy."

• What is a systemic risk? If a council, independent of Congress, is to define what a “systemic risk” is or when a company is “large” or “complex” then that sounds like an unconstitutional delegation of the law making authority.
• What standards will be used to determine when a company is a threat to the stability of the economy? That would be almost imposable to define and could easily be abused. After all your decision to support the wrong candidate could “threaten the stability of the economy.”

      "Transparency & Accountability for Exotic Instruments: Eliminates loopholes that allow risky and abusive practices to go on unnoticed and unregulated - including loopholes for over-the-counter derivatives, asset-backed securities, hedge funds, mortgage brokers and payday lenders."

• Transparency and accountability, well we already know what that means!
• I think it is the “loopholes” in the internet filter at the SEC that lets abusive practices go on unnoticed and unregulated.

     "Federal Bank Supervision: Streamlines bank supervision to create clarity and accountability. Protects the dual banking system that supports community banks."

• More clarity and accountability… “Let me be perfectly clear”

     "Executive Compensation and Corporate Governance: Provides shareholders with a say on pay and corporate affairs with a non-binding vote on executive compensation."

• First off internal management of a corporation should be governed by the law of the state under which the corporation is incorporated.
•  Second, there is no need for a law giving shareholders a say in corporate affairs. Shareholders already have a right to vote for the board of directors who controls the internal affairs of the corporation and executive compensation.
• A non-binding vote – well that sounds useless.

     "Protects Investors: Provides tough new rules for transparency and accountability for credit rating agencies to protect investors and businesses."

• Transparency and accountability. It’s so transparent I can see right through it!
• Again, investors and businesses need protection from the government, not by the government

     "Enforces Regulations on the Books: Strengthens oversight and empowers regulators to aggressively pursue financial fraud, conflicts of interest and manipulation of the system that benefit special interests at the expense of American families and businesses."

• More government!
• Unless of course your fraud and manipulation benefits Acorn.

 As you can see the true purpose of this bill is to expand the sope of the government at the expense of capitalism and personal freedom.