Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Chris Dodd thinks we need consumer protection

Well, we do, but the protection we need is protection against losing our jobs rather than protection for credit card fees. Senator Chris Dodd, chairman of the Senate banking committee, recipient of sweetheart mortages, and a man who bears great responsibility for Great Depression 2.0, was on the radio this morning pushing a "consumer protection agency". He spoke as if this was the holy grail and we would all get to heaven as soon as it was passed.
I disagree. We truly need regulation of the banking practices that caused Great Depression 2.0 and threw enormous numbers of us out of work. These practices are the buying and selling of mortgages, creation and sale of "securities" backed by nothing, credit default swaps, and calling worthless paper "capital". Plus a horde of accounting industry scams. These practices brought down the economy. Not credit card fees and balloon note mortgages.
Dodd must be hoping we voters will forgive his many sins if he beats up on credit card and home mortgage issuers.
I want someone to beat up on the Wall St gamblers who wrecked the economy.

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