New York (CNNMoney.com) - On Sept. 15, 2008, America woke up to its worst financial meltdown in generations.
Nearly two years and thousands of pages of legislation later, it is still unclear whether the government has found a way to prevent a similar collapse from happening again.
The Senate passed a financial reform bill Thursday with the aim of stopping future crises before they start. The bill addresses several leading causes: crazy lending practices, risky bets by banks, inflated credit ratings on junky assets and an inability to wind down collapsing financial institutions.
Will it prevent the next crisis? Even proponents of the legislation concede it might not.
The Senate bill - and a similar House measure - would do much to make the financial markets safer and fix many of the problems that arose. But it falls short of fundamentally changing the way that financial institutions do business.
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From CNN Politics
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Are you kidding? With Dodd as the author?
The President and the Congress really don't care if this bill will prevent another financial crisis. All their concern is to further government control over our economy, and our lives and chip away at our freedoms.
If Barney Frank and the other libertards decide that the banks need to make loans to people who can't pay them again, then it won't do any good. Until Barney Frank is in jail, Obozo is out of office and the libertards are a very indistinct minority in congress, we are subject to financial problems. It will take decades to clean up the mess they made in the four years since they took control.
The reform will not prevent the next crisis, the WH is in the tank with wall street. The president is 'all talk and no action". Very few understand business in this administration and the only jobs they create are the kinds of jobs offered to representative Sestak (political favors for political favors).
America is sinking on all fronts, and the Chicago boys are running "business as usual."
A preemptive comment to those who'll complain about how long the financial reform legislation is:
The financial industry has done its best to create complicated and confusing "financial instruments" in its efforts to fleece its investors. If the financial industry were more transparent, up-front and honest in its dealings, we wouldn't need lengthy regulation to reign in its abuses.
To put it simply: If Wall Street wasn't run by a bunch of greedy jerks intent on stealing instead of actually working for a living, we wouldn't need this regulation. They've proven they're untrustworthy and in need of strict oversight.
I just wish the legislation went even further than it does!
No .... America is a country that is ALWAYS fighting the LAST WAR ... not the NEXT War.
The problem is that Congress is comprised of Attorneys. Attorneys create NOTHING ... they react .... they feed of the carcasses of others. We need people with morals, ethics & smarts combined ... lawyers are genetically not up to that task.
If we are going to turn this country around, we need people with ENGINEERING and MBA degrees .... not JDs ... in the House & the Senate.
republicons did their industry loving best to gut the bill. Especially troubling is the fact that republicons got away with scrapping the plan to have BANKS pay into a resolution fund to be used when BANKS fail, instead leaving TAXPAYERS on the hook for industry failures. However, given the millions that big banks and other republicon supporters are throwing into lobbying against this bill the chances are good that it is a good thing for the nation. If you want to know who benefits – follow the money. Banks feel they will continue to make a killing off We the People if they can water down or defeat this bill, which is good enough reason to pass it.
I certainly won't hurt. I recall the maxim, "In a deadly crisis action, even the wrong action, is bettter than inaction. The wrong action might end up being right while inaction is certain death."
The Republicans were,as you recall, were for certain death. Karl Rove is still rooting for it.
Who and what will protect the American jpeople from the federal government? Freddie and Frannie where not included in the measure!
The proposed reform legislation will not prevent another meltdown because the bill will be watered down by those in Congress who are owned by the Wall Street and the big banks. Wall Street has many friends in Congress on both sides of the isle.
The Country can thank the Repubs. for all of the help that they gave in addressing this serious issue. They all followed the lead of John McCain & Sarah Palin & put "Country First" instead of trying to make this another "Waterloo" for PRESIDENT Obama.
The Senate passed a financial reform bill Thursday with the aim of stopping future crises before they start. The bill addresses several leading causes: crazy lending practices, risky bets by banks, inflated credit ratings on junky assets and an inability to wind down collapsing financial institutions.
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Crazy lending practices? Do they mean like Federally subsidized mortgage bank home loans to folks that do not qualify for the loan? Risky bets by banks? Do they mean like banks forced to make home loans to people that do not qualify for the loans and have no cash equity in the property at closing? Do they mean like manipulating bond companies into giving triple A ratings on worthless paper?
How about this one, enforce our laws and ethical standards, prosecute corruption. That is the Fed's job, period!
Absolutely not. Its just another long line of worthless legislation for this congress and the Obama administration. Morgan & Goldman love the bill if they gives you any insight.
When wall street starts crying for a bailout this new bill is going to be like the immigration bill and ignored .
Nope this only protects the taxpayer from the known methods of fraud; these Wall Street criminals who get away with fraud without going to jail will find newer and better ways of conning away the savings of hard working Americans.
Reform will only prevent another disaster for the time being. Wall St is always looking for "new ideas" or as I call it, scams to make as much as possible off of Main St. That is why govt. needs to review their laws periodically to make sure that this does not happen again.
It goes without saying that the members of the GOP will vote no, twist the meanings of what's in the bill or like in the past just outright LIE about the bill.
Vote NO in NOvember to the party of NO.
It is a start. The big companies have been of the radar for a long time , do what ever they want, shower themselves with bonuses at the expenses of the investors. Now the shield is off and we are keeping our eyes on you. I just do not understand how they can lead the lavish life by robbing the ordinary investor. I hope trust and integrity will be back in our financial institutions oath to the public and as human beings to be truthful and clean.
Oh, heavens no it won't!! The elites will not be tied down. Until the Fed is audited this reform has no teeth.
They didn't include Freddy Mac and Fannie Mae in the legislation.So some of the biggest contributors of the meltdown are still around and were not reformed. So while this may satisfy the people that don't pay attention to what's happening in politics today it's not going to change a darn thing.
No one knows, until the details come out......and we see how much was given away to the special interests, and cleverly camouflaged.