For 5 years, Lake Research Partners and Chesapeake Beach Consulting have polled the public on Wall Street reform. For 5 years running, they have found broad, bipartisan support for the goals of the Dodd-Frank law — and more.
The 2017 AFR/CRL poll reveals strong, bipartisan support for further regulation of Wall Street, and widespread agreement with the mission of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
“Wall Street banks are already expert tax-dodgers. According to Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy data, nine of the largest and most profitable U.S. banks paid an average federal tax rate of only 18.6% between 2008 and 2015–far less than the statutory rate of 35%. …Tax plans from President Trump and House Republicans would only make it easier for Wall Street to rig the tax code and avoid paying their fair share.”
“Hard data on bank earnings and lending should lay to rest any notion that financial regulations are holding back the American economy, or getting in the way of American banks making money. These claims are just an excuse to to dismantle hard-won protections for consumers and financial stability.”
” ‘The Volcker Rule And Market Making In Times of Stress’ paper does not represent the official view of the Federal Reserve, and is not a Federal Reserve Report. …It is simply false to present this paper as demonstrating that the Volcker Rule has created market costs that exceed its risk reduction benefits.”
In January 2017, Americans for Financial Reform released a report compiling votes cast by members of the 114th Congress on a selection of important bills, amendments, and resolutions related to the structure and regulation of the financial system. The votes listed and described here are, in the first place, a record of actions by lawmakers facing