There exists an incredibly simple solution to the majority of our financial woes. Instead of bickering and overseeing endless meet-and-greet lunches between the Fed and the Obama administration,(who has granted Bernanke unprecedented new oversight) we simply need to re-instate the Glass-Steagall Act, after repealing the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act.
In short, the Glass-Steagall act allowed the merging of investment and commercial banks. The move was hailed as liberalizing triumph; the lack of regulation would allow efficiency and boundless productivity within the financial sector.
But wait.
Before we take up the oh-so-monotonous-refrain of "good for business, good for all of us," let's consider the implications of what this act meant. Essentially, banks that we all use to "safeguard" our funds and use them in a responsible matter are merged with investment banks, which are casinos in Armani suits with a view of the park. These gargantuan,"too-big-to-fail" monstrosities can then use our deposits on risky derivative and CDS trading. It is, both in theory and now in painful reality, a disaster of precarious speculation.
Let's do the rational thing. Demand accountability from those who serve us. Call your representative and demand that they support the re-reinstatement of Glass-Steagall.
MH
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