Bank and special interests

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Peninsula readers' letters: April 11
From Daily News Group readers mercurynews.comPosted: 04/10/2012 07:26:06 PM PDTApril 11, 2012 5:17 AM GMTUpdated: 04/10/2012 10:17:19 PM PDT


Banks and special interests
Dear Editor: The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act was passed two years ago in the wake of our disastrous financial meltdown. The president signs it into law, but then we discover the fight's just begun, because the special interests immediately set out to win back what they lost when the reform became law. They spread money like manure on the campaign trails of key members of Congress. They unleash hordes of lobbyists on Capitol Hill, cozy up to columnists and editorial writers, spend millions on lawyers who try to rewrite or water down the regulations required for enforcement. And before you know it, what once was an attempt at genuine reform creeps back toward business as usual.
Especially vulnerable is a key provision of Dodd-Frank known as the Volcker Rule -- an attempt to keep the banks in which you deposit your money from gambling your savings on the banks' own sometimes very risky investments. It will come as no surprise that the financial industry hates the Volcker Rule and is fighting back hard. It stops them from doing speculative trading.
Ted Rudow III, MA
Palo Alto