President Obama (Photo by Pete Souza/The White House)
The White House did it again. The Obama administration effectively pushed a sweeping piece of legislation through the Senate and House with barely a muster of Republican support. This time it’s not a $787 billion stimulus bill. This time it’s not an overhaul of the health care system to the tune of covering 32 million uninsured. This time it’s an overhaul of the U.S. financial regulatory system. (Exactly what we need during this time of joblessness. Right…)
2,319 Pages
One could indeed say that the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 is the most overwhelming revamp of U.S. financial regulation since the Great Depression. (Read all 2,319 pages by clicking above on the bill’s title).
Now, get this. The Dodd-Frank Act demands a measly: 533 required regulatory rulemakings, 93 special reports, and 60 studies. By contrast, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 only had 16 rulemakings, no special reports and six studies. My how the world has changed. Get ready for regulation, regulation, and then a little more little regulation.
I can tell you one thing – Wall Street is definitely getting ready. What does this mean? More lobbyists, of course! (Exactly what the president campaigned against in 2008.) From The Hill:
Consumer advocates and financial lobbyists are already preparing for years of debate before federal regulatory agencies are required to issue new rules. “Game one over,” said Richard Hunt, president of the Consumer Bankers Association. “Game two, regulators, beginning.”
It may be true that on the campaign trail, Obama promised that lobbyists “won’t find a job in my White House.” Two things. 1) There are at least a dozen former lobbyists in the current White House, but that’s a moot point compared to the 2) onslaught of lobbying jobs that are about to open up on account of this White House and their financial ‘reform’ bill. Nice work!
Strike Three
What is interesting is this: Despite the three major legislative victories that President Obama has scored in his 1.5 years in office, the president’s approval rating continues to plummet to the new low of 44 percent. (Please note that this data point is coming from CBS News as opposed to the Wall Street Journal or a conservative think tank.) CBS sums up the situation succinctly:
So what’s the problem? In a word, jobs.
Watch it here: CBS Poll: Despite Wall Street Bill, Obama’s Approval Rating Continues to Sink
The irony of this all is that you, the American people, want more jobs. President Obama knows this – and instead of a massive jobs bill, we now have a 2,319-page financial regulatory colossus and the promise of new lobbying positions. That’s one way of solving the unemployment problem and appeasing the populace. Correct?
Sarah Lenti is the blogger behind NMPolitics.net’s The Savvy. E-mail her at sarah@nmpolitics.net.