A week ago, the U.S. Senate passed S.2155, the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act (also known as the “Bank Lobbyist Act” or “Crapo Bill”) with a 67-31 vote. The official name of this bill is Orwellian for it will have an effect that is the opposite of what it promises. Also, the vote came 10 years to the day that Bear Stearns collapsed.
As this bill was being debated in the Senate, there were a total of 17 Democrats (actually, 16 Democrats and one independent) in the chamber who voted for cloture. The same group of senators voted with Republicans to approve the bill. For their efforts, they were already being called the “Bailout Caucus.”
Why is S.2155 a bad bill? For one thing, nicknames for this bill suggest that the legislation 1) will mainly help large banks at the expense of consumers 2) is a load of crap. (Sorry, I couldn’t help myself). Here is a breakdown.
Continue reading “Come on, Man! Senate Democrats Vote to Pass the Bank Lobbyist Act”
Shmaltz and Menudo 