Wall Street Wishes and Reform Dreams...

Every since the financial crisis began, I have been waiting to see what response would be rendered by Congress and the White House.

Reform is eminent ! I said to myself. The taxpayer and the individual should be given some kind of protection against the greed machine that is Wall Street.

I watched for years as my money in my mutual funds would creep up ever so slowly for years, and then once worth something - would lose half the value in three months. Enough I said. I took my money out and paid bills with it. Was I losing money because I had the wrong funds in my portfolio, or was it due to fees ? I used to think it was because my ignorance. Nope. Fees. Wall Street greed.

So, our government had a REAL chance of making a difference in how our financial institutions operate. I was looking for a return to the Glass-Steagall days, when the government actually governed.

Well, it looks like they blew it. Again. The two most important issues, banks to stop trading with their own money, and the requirement to move derivative operations to separate companies - appear to have been squashed.

Shahien Nasiripour with the Huffington Post reports that the nation's largest banks now appear to have MORE capital available for speculation under the new reform bill. I would say the House and Senate negotiators should have went home and got some sleep instead of voting in favor of the reform garbage compromises at 5:40 AM that for sure will lead us to another financial crisis in the future.

Wow. My question is - "who runs this country - the citizens or the businesses that hold their money ?"

I am afraid I know the answer, as I am sure you do as well, dear reader.

Now we just have to sit back and wait to see what the next financial disaster is going to look like...