Dimonpalooza
Both Democrats and Republicans dislike being reminded of the shortcomings of the effort for financial reform. One senator, in a pro-Dimon moment, commented: “You said you don’t know what the Volcker Rule is. Well, neither do we.” Those are sobering words from the committee that had a large hand in crafting the Dodd-Frank financial reform bill.
Indeed, about halfway through the hearing it became clear that few men – or women – in the room would stand up for the US’s regulatory reform efforts. Dimon’s testimony only gave lawmakers a chance to hold a wake for the Dodd-Frank financial reform bill, which has a good chance of sliding into oblivion in a deeply divided election year such as this one.
In case you didn’t have anything to be angry about this morning, Heidi Moore has a nice recap of Dimonpalooza—one of the worst live shows ever.
The Volcker Rule is that financial institutions can’t gamble with their clients’ money unless their clients specifically ask them to.
Congratulations! If you read and understood that sentence, you’re now smarter than a member of the Senate banking committee. Apparently.
This Matt Taibbi article is a good one to read, if you don’t mind swearing and the occasional overblown simile: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/how-wall-street-killed-financial-reform-20120510