Rhode Island’s Providence Journal just released this Editorial supporting “the Volker Rule.”  It says:

Wall Street should not again earn fortunes through reckless investing while loading the risks onto taxpayers. It’s time for new rules for this game, and no financial figure is better suited to write them than Paul Volcker, a former chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank.

It also gives a good basic explanation of the Volker Rule:

The Volcker Rule contains two main reforms. One would prevent banks from investing in or sponsoring hedge or private-equity funds, and curb the buying and selling of securities from their own accounts. By both taking deposits and trading securities, the banks left taxpayers with little alternative to bailing them out when their investments went sour. We can reasonably argue that the government gave the banks too much in the bailout, but not that it had an alternative to defending the integrity of bank deposits.

The second element of the Volcker Rule is limiting the size of banks. Under such limits, a bank could fail without jeopardizing the health of the entire financial system. That could put an end to the idea that some institutions, however reckless their behavior, are “too big to fail” and therefore must be saved by taxpayers.

However, this editorial is quick to note that the integrity of financial reform rests heavily on the details and how exact terms are calculated.  To encourage your Senators to make sure the final legislation is strong and effective, click here.