Handing Jack Kevorkian the Defibrillator: Chris Dodd as an Agent for Financial Regulatory Reform
By Palmer Schoening
As Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) oversaw and perpetuated the financial crisis. Dodd largely ignored calls for the reform of Fannie and Freddie – two “government sponsored” lending machines which made a large number of unwise mortgage transactions possible. As Banking Chairman, Dodd colluded with his friends at AIG as well as other financial institutions in a quid quo pro manner. The fact that Dodd received $223,000 from AIG employees for recent campaigns may be illustrative into the cause of a recent scandal, where Dodd attempted to secure almost $200 million in tax payer funded bonuses for AIG executives. After this story broke, the typical finger pointing and denial game ensued until Dodd eventually accepted responsibility for the last minute insertion.
In the aftermath of the bank busts and scandal, a
Quinnipiac University Poll now shows former Republican U.S. Congressman Rob Simmons leading Dodd 49% to 38%. In addition, former World Wrestling Entertainment executive Linda McMahon is also edging out Dodd at 43% to 41%. The poll found that the most important issue for the voters is the economy.
Desperate times call for desperate measures. Dodd is now attempting to regain his credibility and electability by strapping American shareholders with the “Restoring American Financial Stability Act." Dodd’s new legislation goes even further than Barney Frank’s proposal put forth in the House Financial Services Committee last month; it slaps heavy handed bureaucratic control on virtually all American institutions.
American Shareholders strongly opposes the
Dodd legislation because the legislation has potentially crushing effects on the economy and subsequent negative effects on the shareholders of American companies. According to the Wall Street Journal this week, the Dodd legislation would:
•Create an entire new agency to function as a central economic “systematic regulator”, in addition to the already mysterious Federal Reserve.
•Give the government the power to regulate all companies that include financial institutions “in whole or in part” (this definition will undoubtedly be applied broadly to any institution which participates in any type of commerce).
•Give the Federal Reserve authority to regulate and supervise all large nonbank financial institutions and, if they are in danger of failing, take control of them and resolve their problems outside the bankruptcy system (permanent corporate welfare).
In short: Dodd’s bill would set the stage for even more damaging tweaks, bailouts, and interventions into the American economy, spurring a flurry of even more politically motivated decisions and unintended consequences. Ceding even more power in the hands of Chris Dodd and those responsible for our recent financial crisis is truly akin to handing Jack Kevorkian the defibrillator.
Call Chris Dodd and tell him that you want less power in the hands of government and more in the hands of shareholders. (202) 224-2823
Palmer Schoening
Analyst
Tags: ATR, Federal
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