While I might have been somewhat disappointed in the financial regulation bill that was passed because I felt it did go far enough, it is curious to here the spin in the right-wing community. Somehow, regulating the bankers and Wall St. some is going to hurt all of us, the little people. Even after getting a watered down version Wall St. and their Corporate apologists have made one thing perfectly clear. They wanted the old system they crashed to remain intact. Now, they are relegated to spreading worthless propaganda once more.
Here is the transcript from what Nina Easton had to say:
EASTON: It's fascinating, because this bill, which as you said was going to be the cracking down on fat cats of Wall Street, has got small community banks concerned, farmers concerned who deal in derivatives for their business. It's got something like 533 rule-making proceedings are going to be going in, which creates lots of uncertainty and lots of fear. It's interesting this week, the president in an interview said, look, I'm -- when he was talking about poll numbers -- look, I'm facing 9.5 percent unemployment. He's got an unpopular economy, the same way President Bush in 2006 had an unpopular war. We grant him that. But what's interesting is that these landmark pieces of legislation that the White House thought would help them in November are actually not -- possibly not going to help him. You've got stimulus that most people don't think helped. You've got a very divisive health care reform. And now, fascinating to us you've got this Wall Street reform, that doesn't really -- it's really -- it doesn't look like it's going after Wall Street.
And she is not alone among the Conservative media. All across the airwaves they spout the nonsense that regulating the behavior that caused the economic crash and precipitated their own bailout is bad for YOU. You see, this folks have no-risk investments on your backs. Of course they wanted it to stay the same way because under the old system you took all the risks and they took all the profits and of course have their little propaganda trolls in the right-wing media convince many that it is in their own good.
In fact, Community banks support this bill, and it could save them much money that they could use for lending to better the lives of their communities:
ICBA: Provisions in the financial reform bill "will save community banks roughly $4.5 billion over the next three years." In a June 25 press release, ICBA chairman Jim MacPhee stated that a "change in the deposit insurance assessment base, which ICBA advocated, will save community banks roughly $4.5 billion over the next three years." Additionally, MacPhee stated that the bill's "provisions will go a long way to help community banks continue to do what they do best -- serve the needs of their local communities."
But you see to the opponents of reform it is always about saving the profits of the very few. That is what is so bad about this bill to them, because it puts greater costs and restrictions on the so-called "superbanks" and actually protects community banks for their irresponsible activities:
Senate Banking Committee: Financial reform bill imposes "greater costs and restrictions on the superbanks" while "allowing community banks to continue serving their communities." A March 29 press release from the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs highlighted the differences between Wall Street firms and community banks, noting that "[s]ome giant Wall Street firms abused their customers and took enormous risks that nearly brought down our economy while our nation's nearly 8,000 community banks have been responsible actors who have paid dearly for big banks' mistakes." The release went on to state that "[t]he financial reform bill reflects those differences, imposing greater costs and restrictions on the superbanks, reining in the abuses that caused the crisis, but allowing community banks to continue serving their communities."
While I definitely believe the bill we got was perfect it was better than doing nothing. We definitely needed what reforms we did get. The last thing we need is to let what changes we did get slip away and we must keep up pressure to have more regulations added as we go.
