Republican Anti Regulation Attitudes

A two billion dollar loss at JP Morgan Chase may not be much for the behemoth bank, but its leader has been considered one of the geniuses of the industry. In front of his nose, the loss happened. What about other banks? Just as we turn a corner from severe financial distress and a deregulatory atmosphere toward at least rhetoric for change, another scam, yes scam occurs, jolting our confidence in the financial sector. The President has been calling for tighter reigns on the industry and the public seems to endorse this, but no matter what happens, short of a repeat of 1929, Republicans will fight tooth and nail, anything that regulates or controls banks. Even Dodd/Frank, ridiculed by Republicans, is giving us a watered down approach to regulatory needs. Many Democrats in fact avoided support for the tougher controls that we need. The problem is that we as citizens think of banks as safe havens for our money, for our mortgages, for small business loans and for our basic money needs. What has happened, is that they have become purveyors of financial scams that we simply do not understand. Ask the average citizen about synthetic derivatives as hedges against loss and they would think you are speaking Klingon. As such, we have become slaves to an industry that develops portfolios and risky financial ventures that go unchecked and unexplained. Why the Republicans continue to shy away from needed reform and why Mitt Romney endorses such recklessness is reason enough to condemn this approach and stay the course with the President. Good Luck to my AP Government students who are about to take their test. They worked hard and my thoughts are with them. Where are you Americans for reason and truth?