In other news: The President signed Wall Street Reform into law

[ProSense]

Background on the President's Bill Signing Ceremony Today

RONALD REAGAN BUILDING

Today, the President will deliver remarks and sign the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act at the Ronald Reagan Building. The President will be joined by a wide array of nearly 400 individuals who were instrumental in passing this historic legislation, including consumer advocates, business leaders, state and local officials, members of Congress, and Americans who will be impacted by reform.

The President will joined onstage at the signing by two Americans who have struggled during these tough times but who would have been protected from massive credit card rate hikes and unexpected overdraft fees by the new consumer protections enacted in this bill. Their stories are below.

Andrew Giordano is a retired Vietnam veteran from Locust Point, Maryland who the President met last year when he participated in a roundtable to discuss the outdated rules regulating the financial sector. Mr. Giordano was saddled with hundreds of dollars in overdraft fees on his veteran’s account because his bank had automatically enrolled him in “overdraft” protection that he never asked for. The new Consumer Protection Bureau will enforce new rules on overdraft programs to make sure that consumers like Mr. Giordano get a real choice and are not unknowingly charged unnecessary fees.

Robin Fox is a 7th grade science teacher from Rome, Georgia who sent an letter to the President in early August because her credit card company retroactively increased the rate on her existing credit card balance from 10.90% to 17.90%, even though she paid her account on time. The increase has been a burden on her family at an already difficult time, after her husband’s landscaping business dried up due to the financial crisis. The new Consumer Protection Bureau will enforce the Credit CARD Act of 2009, which bans arbitrary rate hikes on existing balances and other unfair practices by credit card companies.

STAGE PARTICIPANTS

Vice President Biden
Secretary Timothy Geithner
Chairman Chris Dodd, D-CT
Chairman Barney Frank, D-MA
Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-CA
Senator Harry Reid, D-NV
Senator Blanche Lincoln, D-AR
Representative Collin Peterson, D-MN
Representative Steny Hoyer, D-MD
Representative Paul Kanjorski, D-PA
Representative Maxine Waters, D-CA
Representative Mel Watt, D-NC
Representative Luis Gutierrez, D-IL
Representative Gregory Meeks, D-NY
Representative Dennis Moore, D-KS
Senator Tim Johnson, D-SD
Senator Jack Reed, D-RI
Andrew Giordano
Robin Fox

EXPECTED ATTENDEES
*Below is a representative list.

Secretary Gary Locke
Robert Bowser, Mayor of East Orange, NJ
Martha Coakley, Attorney General of Massachusetts
Lisa Madigan, Attorney General of Illinois
Tom Miller, Attorney General of Iowa
Pam Banks, Consumers Union
Alan Blinder, Princeton
Heather Booth, Americans for Financial Reform
Bill Brodsky, Chicago Board Options Exchange
Michael Calhoun, Center for Responsible Lending
Archibald Cox, Barclays America
Joe Dear, CalPERS/Council of Institutional Investors
Bob Diamond, Barclays PLC
Camden Fine, ICBA
Gerald Hassell, Bank of New York Mellon
Nancy Leamond, AARP
Heather McGhee, Demos
Ed Mierzwinski, US PIRG
Janet Murguia, National Council of La Raza
Vikram Pandit, Citi
Travis Plunkett, Consumer Fed. America
Lauren Saunders, National Consumer Law Center
Paul Volcker, Chair of the President’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board
Elizabeth Warren, TARP/Harvard Law
Ann Yerger, Council of Institutional Investors
Nancy Zirkin, Leadership Conference on Civil Rights

Remarks by the President at Signing of Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act

[Jennicut]

1. Thanks for the reminder!

[derby378]

2. Not that it'll do the average American much good...

Last I heard, it's actually going to make it harder for Americans to be able to buy their own homes. And those exorbitant credit card rate increases? Still in place.

[FrenchieCat]

3. So what did you "hear"?

That it ain't a biggo christmas gift with your name on it,
and everything in the box that you ever wanted?

Sorry about that.

Government loses their magic wand once again. :(

[derby378]

5. Well, it IS a Christmas gift - for Wall Street

They watered down the original bill in the same way that health insurance companies watered down what could have been a decent reform bill.

[Yavin4]

38. Uh Oh, You Posted A DU Bad Word

Watch out.

[DJ13]

6. Derivatives are still traded in leveraged quantities without oversight

And the TBTF banks remain TBTF.

[derby378]

8. Eeeeeeexactly!

We voted for change, we get more of the same. Wonderful.

[ProSense]

9. "We voted for change, we get more of the same." Yeah,

remember when Bush signed that massive regulatory package that established the first ever consumer protection bureau?

Like old times.

[derby378]

12. How much in the way of bite does this new bureau have, though?

Methinks it'll depend on who is actually tapped to run it.

[ProSense]

14. Let's see what

Elizabeth Warren has to say:

“Today, the President will sign into law the strongest set of financial reforms in three generations. It was a hard fight, but the leadership of the President, Chairman Frank, Chairman Dodd, and so many tireless, hard-working advocates for reform has paid off. For the first time, families will have a tough, independent cop in Washington to help clear out the tricks and traps hidden in consumer credit agreements.”

Think we should take her word for it?

[DJ13]

15. Think we should take her word for it?

Only if she's heading it instead of another DC insider.

[derby378]

20. Or, God help us...

...someone from Bank of America.

[Better Today]

21. Exactly right, and I'm quite surprised to read that she said that, since

only about a month ago I saw her interviewed and she said it was a step but that it wouldn't solve any of the problems that caused the meltdown. I guess she's decided that it's time to mind her words, so maybe she can get that job. I hope she does. She's the only honorable person in Obama's admin as far as I'm concerned.

[ProSense]

24. When was that?

Not June 9 or June 26.

Link?

[ProSense]

22. Right,

otherwise her words are just empty talk?

Are you sure you want her leading the agency?

[impik]

25. She's a sell-out! I knew it!

[Cha]

35. It's a good start.. that the gNOps want to repeal to get back to

the good ol bush days.

"Because of Wall Street reform, we will ensure that Americans applying for a credit card, a mortgage, or a student loan will never again be asked to sign their name under pages of confusing fine print. We will crack down on abusive lending practices and make sure that lenders don't cheat the system -- and create a new watchdog to enforce these consumer protections.

And we will put an end to taxpayer-funded bailouts, giving us the ability to wind down any large financial institution if it should ever fail.

The passage of Wall Street reform is at the forefront of the change we seek, and it will provide a foundation for a stronger and safer economy.

It is a foundation built upon the progress of the Recovery Act, which has turned 22 months of job losses into six consecutive months of private-sector job growth. And it is a foundation reinforced by the historic health reform we passed this spring, which is already giving new benefits to more than 100 million Americans, ushering another 1 million Americans into coverage by next year." President Barack Obama

[impik]

17. Not that you read the bill or anything...

[CaliforniaPeggy]

4. It's a very good step.

[vaberella]

7. Prosense no one gives two-shits about this...Back to DRAMA OBAMA!!

Ugh, thanks Prosense for the dose of reality and importance. I'm extremely happy this is happening. Many people were tired of the bank bailouts, they wanted reform. Then people said it wasn't strong enough. We have a relatively strong bill which will be tweaked as the months drudge along and I'm glad for it. Because we've laid the ground work for some massive oversight and bloody change.

[derby378]

11. The pundits said the same thing about the health reform bill, too

No changes yet, though.

Don't wait on anything for forever
You just might wait for forever

- The Hope Trust, Two in the Bush

[ProSense]

13. "No changes yet, though."

Right, tell that to the people who are going to be covered by the high risk pools for the first time in who knows when. Tell that to all the people who will no longer be charged copays for preventive care.

[derby378]

23. We're all still being charged copays for medical visits...

...and where I work, everyone's premiums just went up. Again.

[ProSense]

26. The policy

is effective in September, which is why I said "will."

[JuniperLea]

29. This isn't a public option, remember? eom

[derby378]

34. Oh, I remember...

It's the corporate takeover of American healthcare. A big step towards the promise of Reaganism and away from progressive change.

That is what hasn't been changed in this whole "reform" deal.

[vaberella]

18. You need to get a clue. Did you forget about people no fee on some lab tests? Link below:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=433x374975

[Political Tiger]

44. Oh well then, if the pundits say so then it must be true......

:sarcasm:

[bluestateguy]

10. You just have to say thank God this man is the president

Why would we want to go back to where we were just four short years ago?

[impik]

16. Yes, this:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/7/21/886227/-The-new-big-bleeping-deal



I felt so bad for the president today. This should have been his great day. A victory lap.

This country really does not deserve this man.

[Whisp]

19. K&R

[jaxx]

27. A great day for the country and we the people.

President Obama is getting things done that people said would never happen.

Yes We Did!

[Scurrilous]

28. K & R

:thumbsup:

[JuniperLea]

30. WAAAAA??? Oh, that...

I see no noose in that picture... some will be disappointed.

I say, damn good move! The Pubbies must be writhing... not to mention the Banksters.

[derby378]

31. Actually...

Upon passage, the standard response was to publicly grumble but privately rejoice about a bill that could have been far more punitive. But as I asked around over the past few days, there's been a shift: many on Wall Street now view financial reform as a wasted opportunity — to make the rules that govern them even tighter.

They won't say this officially. They might not even say it to their peers, in the same way they won't tell others on the desk they really dig Glee. But privately, one-on-one, the most deliberative Wall Street hitters I know recognize that they need a system that saves them both from themselves, as well as potentially capricious regulators. This new law, while well-intentioned and likely better than nothing, effectively accomplishes neither.

To understand why, it's integral to grasp the Wall Street mindset: a place where more is always good, where manners don't count for much, and where trouble is only defined by whether you get caught. The financial industry, in other words, is basically populated by a few hundred thousand five-year-olds.

And like petulant preschoolers, Wall Street craves — and needs — rules, and the discipline to enforce them consistently. If left to its own self-interest, Wall Street couldn't function. Whereas a group of engineers on a desert island would surely built a little civilization, financial professionals would act out Lord of the Flies, a bunch of kids eating candy all day. Money can be made from markets in almost any global condition — war, famine, euphoria, it doesn't much matter, as long as liquidity is required. What the markets really hate is uncertainty.

http://www.businessinsider.com/wall-street-obama-punishment-2010-7#ixzz0uMPJjq5o

[JuniperLea]

33. You do know that's a blog post, right?

Not really "the news."

[girl gone mad]

40. Why is that relevant?

Thee author is correct. FinReg was a huge wasted opportunity. Everybody on Wall Street knows that is is full of loopholes and easily gamed.

[JuniperLea]

41. Commentary... blogs... opinion...

Not news, that's why it's relevant.

[ProSense]

36. Actually,

there is a lot of good in the bill beyond the consumer protection bureau.

[JuniperLea]

42. AND... simple rule of thumb...

If the Pubbies scream and rail against something, as they have this bill, we are always, without question, better off embracing, elevating, and passing the legislation. Remember, they want this administration (and the country) to fail. That is their key thrust in all matters.

[Cha]

32. Nice Presentation, Pro Sense~

thank you for this BFD!

[BootinUp]

37. So? When are they going to apologize to Ms. Sherrod

for such a weak piece of legislation?

[Yavin4]

39. Obama has Reversed 35 Years (including the Carter Years) of Federal De-Regulation

by signing two huge new federal regulations into law within 6 months, and folks still complain. They have no idea how momentous these two new laws are and how they will affect the national political pysche.

For the first time in decades, passing sweeping new federal regulations are now the norm.

[JuniperLea]

43. Yep...

We are where we are due to LACK of regulation. Putting back the regulations is key in getting us back on track.

[Splinter Cell]

45. Not good enough!!!!!!!!!

What the hell is he doing up there? Why hasn't he cured cancer???????

:sarcasm: