A Wall Street Reform bill was signed into law by President Obama Wednesday. The financial reform bill should change the financial industry more than other things since the Depression. The financial reform bill was called by Obama “the strongest consumer financial protections in history.”. Republicans think the bill will really just bail out Wall Street time and time again when hurting jobs and community banks.
Becoming law is the financial reform bill
The U.S. economy was severely hurt by Wall Street two years ago, and after months of debate, Obama has finally finished signing the bill. Despite the fact that the bill was hoped to be bipartisan be Democrats, it was reported by Politico that it almost didn’t even pass in senate. Most Republicans argued the bill failed to address the root reason for the 2008 financial crisis- the lending policies at mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Republicans also said the bill would force financial firms to move jobs overseas to keep away from stricter oversight.
Attending guests at signing ceremony
. The bill speaks for itself by those who didn’t go to the signing, reports the Washington Post. Jamie Dimon of J.P. Morgan Chase, John Stumpf of Wells Fargo, Lloyd Blankfein of Goldman Sachs, and James Gorman of Morgan Stanley weren’t even invited to the event.
One catch to the Wall Street reform
During the ceremony, Obama challenged criticism from Republicans and Wall Street. In his remarks about the bill he believes strongly in, he said the financial system “only works – our markets are only free – when you will find clear rules and basic safeguards that prevent abuse, that check excess, that ensure that it is more profitable to play by the rules than to game the system.” The president also said that the meat of the financial reform bill can be left to regulators and that Wall Street greed will still have wiggle room to maneuver. Numerous of the rules in the bill won’t take place for a year still.
Bill just to help Wall Street out?
The financial reform bill overcame strenuous opposition from Republicans, who charged that by targeting Wall Street greed, it did not address the root problems that caused the meltdown. As outlined by House Republican leader not invited to the signing John Boehner, the bill “provides permanent bailouts for his Wall Street allies at the expense of community banks and small businesses around the country, while doing nothing to reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government mortgage companies that triggered the financial meltdown by giving too numerous high-risk loans to people who couldn’t afford them.”
Citations
Politico
politico.com/news/stories/0710/40027.html
Washington Post
washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/21/AR2010072101614.html?hpid=topnews
CBS News
cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20011201-503544.html
