By Esther Kiaaina – The recent headline-grabbing $2 billion J.P Morgan Chase mistake is the latest proof of the need for federal lawmakers to curb excesses at government-backed banks and protect consumers.
The blunder clearly provides Congress with more sway in the debate over tighter restraints on banks’ in-house trading activities.
The 2010 Dodds-Frank law promises to overhaul our entire financial regulatory system in five key ways:
- Creating the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
- Regulating derivatives;
- Requiring firms which bundle mortgages into securities to maintain some of the risk;
- Prohibiting taxpayer funded bailouts of any single firm;
- Monitoring overall risk to the financial system.
At the same time, congressional Republicans continue to undermine meaningful financial reform and obstruct the implementation of Dodd-Frank by seeking cuts to funding for two primary agencies that will implement the financial reform law.
Republicans are doing everything possible to also undermine the newly established Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and limit its powers to curtail financial reform.
The primary mission of the CFPB is to protect consumers when dealing with financial institutions, whether they are applying for a mortgage, choosing among credit cards, or using any number of other consumer financial products.
From my perspective, it is clear that the “Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act” must be fully implemented to truly effect needed change in our nation’s banking and financial industry.
Esther Kiaaina is seeking the Democratic nomination for Hawaii’s 2nd Congressional District seat.
How about cleaning your own house first? Stop Obama and his incompetent team from “investing”, especially in projects like Solyndra et al. Stop backstopping Freddie and Frannie, and sell them off to the private sector.
Get government out of micromanaging the economy. It doesn’t have the MIdas touch, but rather, something else.
Given that Dimon knew and approved the actions of that led to the JPMC fiasco is telling. The locked-in-place secrecy of the financial industry and the locked-in-place level of ineptitude of our government to do anything but guarantee a taxpayer bailout to them can only end one way.
The buyout of our elected officials on both sides by the financial industry (and other corporations in just about every other industry) is tantamount to treason on the part of the elected officials.
Government does little, if any, actual management of the economy, micro or otherwise. To try and put the onus of what’s wrong with our country on one administration is purposely dishonest and shows a lack of knowledge of clarity of what is going on.
But then, we know there is no economic problem that can’t be fixed by more tax breaks for the rich, right?
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