Editorial Roundup Shows Opponents of Reform are on the Wrong Side
Cleaning up Wall Street: Las Vegas Sun Editorial, May 25: “It is notable that Republicans continue to raise a fuss about the legislation… [Their] comments are also disingenuous. There is no government takeover. Nor is there some “superbureaucracy” in the works to manipulate the way financial institutions lend money. The legislation in Congress would help protect investors and taxpayers from the egregious actions of financial firms, which — as the nation learned — can be calamitous to the economy. The Republicans might remember that millions of Americans were badly burned…Republicans have misplaced their disgust. While they are upset at regulation, Americans are calling for it.”
There’s hope for a good financial reform bill to emerge on Capitol Hill: New Jersey Star-Ledger Editorial, May 24: “As the Senate measure is merged with one the House passed last year, compromises will be made and certainly the final bill won’t be ideal. But the signs are good that it will contain some key fixes for our troubled financial system.”
The Springfield Republican (MA) Editorial, May 23: “Passage of the regulatory reform bill is just the beginning of the financial reform process, but it represents a victory for Americans who have suffered because of Wall Street’s excesses…passage of this bill is an important insurance policy against another catastrophic financial disaster.”
Congress correct to move while Wall Street frets: Palm Beach Post (FL) Editorial, May 23: “The bills are similar enough to ensure that the compromise bill will contain solid, beneficial reforms…Most Republicans have opposed the bills even while insisting that they don’t want to coddle Wall Street. That tactic isn’t working for them, and shouldn’t.”
Shorter reins on Wall Street: Cape Cod Times (MA) Editorial, May 23: “In the end, the bill, though not the best it could be, is generally worthwhile…perhaps fewer of those risks will be taken with consumers’ money and problems will be detected earlier. If Congress abstains from a new period of deregulation, the next crisis could indeed be comparatively small.”
Chattanooga Times Free Press (TN) Editorial, May 22: “The GOP propaganda against a “government takeover” of the banking industry aside, the bill offers many useful and desperately needed rules to insulate the general economy and innocent consumers from the risks of the banking industry’s casino market trading. It would force big banks to spin off some of their lucrative trading businesses into separate subsidiaries, and it would require registry and full market transparency in most trading in derivatives and swaps.”
Wilmington News Journal (DE) Editorial, May 22: “The bill now goes to a conference committee with leaders from the U.S. House of Representatives. The House passed a much more lenient bill in December. That reverses the usual order of things. But the Senate bill is better. It will give consumers better protection and it eases the threat of another “too big to fail” financial collapse.”
Fixing the financial flaws: Los Angeles Times Editiorial, May 22: “On Thursday, the Senate passed a bill that would set important new regulatory boundaries for financial companies…One of the Senate bill’s biggest contributions would be the creation of a new agency designed to protect consumers of financial products. Existing regulators’ prime responsibility is to monitor the safety and soundness of banks, and they’ve proved that they can perform that task while remaining indifferent to how banks treat their customers…The Senate measure also includes several provisions to avoid future bailouts. It calls for new rules to deter large, interconnected institutions from posing a risk to the entire financial system.”
St. Louis Post-Dispatch Editorial, May 21: “The bill is the most assertive reform of the banking and financial industry since the New Deal. It reforms banking practices. It gives government regulators broad powers to monitor systemic risk to the financial system and wind down troubled financial firms without taxpayer bailouts. It creates a Consumer Financial Protection Agency to police the credit card, auto loan and mortgage industries.”
Trying to tame the financial system: The Oregonian Editorial, May 21: “This is change that most Americans have hungered for…Banks are no longer too big to fail. Hedge funds will be out in the open. Derivatives will be traded on exchanges or markets, where they can be more clearly valued. Insurers will still be regulated by the states, but also overseen by a federal agency that will assess their operations for signs of systemic risk. And consumers will have a new advocate in the form of a federal agency that will oversee mortgages and household credit and debit instruments.”
Grim experience invites the toughest federal financial reforms: Seattle Times Editorial, May 21: “Reconciling the legislation, with an eye toward getting it to President Obama by early July, requires vigilance and care. The wailing echoing from Wall Street and the banking industry over new regulations suggests lawmakers are headed in the right direction. As a rule of thumb, where the bills differ, go with the strictest enforcement…Anyone shocked by rigorous federal oversight, ought to be equally dismayed it is so obviously needed.”
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