December 23, 2009

The following editorial appeared in the San Jose Mercury News on Monday, Dec. 21:In a year filled with outrageous political stunts, the financial industry's $300 million lobbying campaign to block an overhaul of the financial regulatory system may top them all. As National Economic Council Director Lawrence Summers so aptly put it last week, the strategy is "frankly a bit rich.It's as if Wall Street forgot that its risky investments brought the U.S. economy to its knees, forcing American taxpayers into a bailout and creating shock waves that are still being felt around the world.

Now banks are rushing to pay back the bailout dollars - not, it appears, out of civic duty but in hopes that they can return to their old practices, such as dishing out huge bonuses.The House voted on Dec. 11 to impose more stringent financial oversight. That was long overdue. If anything, the Senate should make the reforms tougher in January.Lobbyists for the banks have adamantly opposed the sensible proposal for a Consumer Financial Protection Agency.