April, 30, 2010

Could it be that Congress is capable of working together for the public good after all? So it appears — if the people make their wishes clear enough.Senate Republicans who seemed bent on blocking anything out of the Obama administration have changed their tune on Wall Street reform. Their resistance to regulating the financial industry made them appear to be in the pockets of the institutions that plunged the nation into crisis in 2008 — and that, with elections coming up, was the wrong side to be on from voters' perspective. So they have dropped their filibuster and appear to be working toward a compromise.

So far talks have been positive. The plan to establish a $50 billion fund in anticipation of future bailouts is gone. It was a proposal from Congressional Democrats that President Barack Obama hadn't favored any more than Republicans did. Talks are continuing on the consumer protection provisions, where there should be room for compromise.See, this is the way government is supposed to work. California Legislature, take note.