News outlets around the country are reporting today that President Obama will propose a new bill this afternoon that will give the government unprecedented regulatory control over the financial sector. The article in the Washington Post offers a preliminary overview of what Obama is expected to announce.
It is my feeling that even as mere consumers we should oppose this bill in any way possible. Rather than expand the reach of government we should go back to having ethics in business and finance. The recent market slump is far more attributable to the poor exercise of ethics than to lack of governemnt regulation. Since the end of the Great Depression in the late 1930s, our country has functioned well and we don’t need new regulations now!
I have two main fears.
First, government does not need any further involvement in or incentives toward financial gain! This will only produce further corruption and scandal in our government! If you think a banker is unethical and sleazy, just wait until a government politician is running the bank!
Second, the Washington Post article offers this quote, which is very insightful: “This consumer protection agency would be deciding how people get to live as opposed to people getting to decide for themselves,” said Kelly King, chief executive of BB&T, a large commercial bank based in North Carolina. ”
The availability of a diverse variety of loan and credit options will go by the wayside if this bill passes. That doesn’t seem like a good idea to me.
I invite your comments.
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