Well, I guess this is “Round 2”. On the same day that the Security and Exchange Commission announced formal charges of fraud against Goldman Sachs, Senator Mitch McConnell (R, Kentucky) announced that he has a “unified GOP” ready to put the brakes on debating Wall Street Reform. Could it possibly be any more OBVIOUS who is “in the pay” of whom? Short of finding ONE rational Republican (Snowe or Collins of Maine come to mind, as well as retiring Voinovich of Ohio) we are heading towards yet another collision course where legislation that seems so obviously required (and urgent!) becomes blocked by the minority totally beholden to their financial masters.
Bear in mind that the Republican stance now is “no, we just don’t want to discuss it.” This isn’t an up-down vote on the Bill itself, but whether to bring the legislation to the floor of the Senate so that debate and amendment can begin to the goal of passing a Bill that the House has already passed (H. R. 4173). Ready yourself for another round of “this Bill is too big!” (The House PDF file is 1705 pages). No doubt they will also sing the outright lie that the Bill somehow encourages continuing bailouts for “too big to fail” institutions, along with other coordinated "talking points" that these virtual parrots are just so good at singing. The proper legislation to pass along with this reform would be a Bill authorizing clear tests for when institutions ARE “too big to fail.” We need to put in place orderly, step-wise procedures for selling off various sections so that the one large “too big to fail” company is broken up into pieces that cannot endanger the U.S. (and/or global) economy. It's time to listen to the qualified "voices of reason" in this debate: a consensus of economists who can bring wise, academic counsel to an industry that has shown its willingness to "bet the farm". Especially, then the consequences seem to bear so little connection to the reality. (Witness the round of exorbitant "bonuses" to the higher echelons of Wall Streeters even following the worst year of financial disasters since the 1930s.) These lemmings are shameless. They'll take the dough even while ushering the general populace off the cliff.
Consolidation (and its cousin “monopoly”) has brought the financial companies to their “too big to fail” state. After bring the U.S. (and global) economies to the precipice of the largest financial melt-down since the Great Depression, it should be clear to everyone that reforms and safeguards are urgently needed so as to avoid simply repeating past mistakes. Only a legislator who is “in the pay” of the vested interests that seek to preserve could possibly be against such reform. But—remember!—these are the folks who worked against Health Care Reform and whose lies and distortions in blocking passage of that legislation should now be seen as the clear distortions and obstructions that they were.
No more! You want to block this (or other) legislation from moving forward? Bring in the cots, Senators. It’s time for a good, old-fashioned filibuster! Do you want to add your voice to those that say "enough, already--get this passed now"? Click here.
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