Sunday, July 14, 2013

Banking Bill - Senator Warren

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Banking Bill
From Senator Warren
           


When I learned last winter that I would have a seat on the Senate Banking Committee, I was very happy because I knew it would give me the opportunity to ask tough questions and push for some accountability from Wall Street and its regulators.  In the last six months, that’s exactly what I’ve tried to do.

Again and again, I’ve been making a simple point to anyone who will listen: we need to learn from the financial crisis of 2008 and, moving forward, to prevent the kinds of high-risk activities that made a few people rich but nearly destroyed our economy.


Now it's time to launch the next push. I joined forces with Senators John McCain, Maria Cantwell, and Angus King to introduce the 21st Century Glass Steagall Act of 2013 to reinstate and modernize core banking protections.


Banking should be boring. Savings accounts, checking accounts -- the things that you and I rely on every day -- should be safe from the sort of high-risk activities that broke our economy.

The way our system works, the FDIC insures our traditional banks to keep your money safe. That way when you want to withdraw money from your checking account, you know the money will be there. That’s what keeps our banking system safe and dependable.

But the government should NOT be insuring hedge funds, swaps dealing, and other risky investment banking services. When the same institutions that take huge risks are also the ones that control your savings account, the entire banking system is riskier.

Coming out of the Great Depression, Congress passed the Glass Steagall Act to separate risky investment banking from ordinary commercial banking. And for half a century, the banking system was stable and our middle class grew stronger. As our economy grew, the memory of the regular financial crises we experienced before Glass Steagall faded away.

But in the 1980s, the federal regulators started reinterpreting the laws to break down the divide between regular banking and Wall Street risk-taking, and in 1999, Congress repealed Glass Steagall altogether. Wall Street had spent 66 years and millions of dollars lobbying for repeal, and, eventually, the big banks won.

Our new 21st Century Glass Steagall Act once again separates traditional banks from riskier financial services. And since banking has become much more complicated since the first bill was written in 1933, we’ve updated the law to include new activities and leave no room for regulatory interpretations that water down the rules.

The bill will give a five year transition period for financial institutions to split their business practices into distinct entities -- shrinking their size, taking an important step toward ending “Too Big to Fail” once and for all, and minimizing the risk of future bailouts.

This is an important bill that will learn from the 2008 crisis and make sure we hold Wall accountable. Show your support for the new 21st Century Glass Steagall Act now.

When people like you and me work together, we can stand up to even the most powerful interests. That’s how we got the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in 2010. That’s how we won our election in 2012. And that’s how we’ll pass the 21st Century Glass Steagall Act.

Thank you for being a part of this,

Elizabeth





9 comments:

  1. Either Sen. Warren is too lazy to know the truth or she is too glib to care. The banks that were "too big to fail" were not under G-S, even before repeal. She should consult Bill Clinton, who has said G-S was no longer necessary.

    This new bill appeals to the worst emotion a self-governing people can have: self pity. Blaming problems on big banks is not helpful. Increasing the power and scope of government is costly. Both financially and in the loss of freedom. The arguments for this new bill are poor - Sen. Warren's most memorable line "to stop banks from doing crazy things" is a little light on substance. The government is no better than the "greedy" bankers. They want more and more control over every aspect of our lives. The best defense is to be a smart consumer. Just because a bank will loan you a large sum of money may not be good reason to sign that mortgage.

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  2. Mark,
    What would you suggest if an updated Glass Steagall is not to your liking? Continue as is?

    In my opinion this bill is a start. The real problem is the Federal reserve system. Coming up on 100 years and never had an audit. Time to get control of the money supply and not leave it in the hands of a few master manipulators.

    I believe the next step will be to create a global currency in order to devalue the dollar even more. Can't get enough of that quantitative easing!

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  3. Hi Julie
    As I said, I don't think government is the answer to any problem an individual may have. You spoke about educating youth about finances more than once. Teach them to not buy these bad deals if their parents cannot. Teach them they are not victims. Victims need Lizzy Warren to help them. Free people do not.

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  4. Hi Mark,

    Free people are not spied upon by their own government. I agree that bigger government is not the answer. But how do you take back control of a badly broken financial system? The "free market" is anything but. Every major industry is heavily subsidized by our tax dollars - education, energy, banking, automotive, food. "Too Big to Fail" has burdened future generations.

    I do not think we are as "free" as many people assume and as government would like us to continue thinking we are.

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    1. Julie - I don't think that because Obama spies on us is good reason to create another bloated government agency. Notice how comrade Warren blames the 1980s for weakening G-S? Because she wants to forget it was bill Clinton who was president when it was repealed. And President Clinton had it right. It was time for that law to go. Too big to fail and bailouts have nothing to do with your checking or savings account.
      I do agree about losing freedom. I am in favor of any law that regulates the government from grabbing more power. That's why I am mostly in disagreement with the carpetbagger from Oklahoma. She thinks government is good for us peons. And I don't.

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    2. We should have voted in Ron Paul. I have been a Republican all my voting life. I will be changing that to Libertarian very soon. The Government is way too controlling. That is one big reason the school system is in the crapper. The state mandates all these SPED programs and we get to pay. Along with those mandates come the highly paid school administrators...
      Another good old "government grab your money" is coming..Check out GRA = Guaranteed Retirement Account - yep the Big O is after your 401K and IRA.
      Sharon Manty

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    3. http://www.americanthinker.com/2013/02/the_feds_want_your_retirement_accounts.html

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    4. http://www.americanthinker.com/2013/02/the_feds_want_your_retirement_accounts.html

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    5. http://www.americanthinker.com/2013/02/the_feds_want_your_retirement_accounts.html

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