Senators put federal regulators, not JPMorgan, on the hot seat

[RitchieRich]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/senators-put-federal-regulators-not-jpmorgan-on-the-hot-seat/2012/05/22/gIQAPmv8iU_story.html?hpid=z2

"...JPMorgan Chase has spent upward of $20 million on lobbying and campaign contributions in the past three years. On Tuesday, the bank received a healthy dividend on that investment.

Its chairman, Jamie Dimon, has admitted that the firm was “sloppy” and “stupid” in making trading bets that lost $2 billion. But Republicans on the Senate Banking Committee wouldn’t hear of it; they preferred to blame government.
...
Shelby’s performance was worth every bit of the $72,950 JPMorgan Chase and its employees have given him in the past five years, making the bank his second-largest source of campaign cash. It was a remarkable bit of jujitsu: The trading scandal at JPMorgan highlighted the urgent need for tougher regulation of Wall Street, but Shelby’s harangue was part of a larger effort to use the scandal as justification to repeal regulations.
...
Banking lobbyists managed to weaken the Volcker rule in 2010 by securing exemptions. Even the watered-down version has been slowed by a barrage of objections from executives — none louder than Dimon. And regulators ­haven’t had the funds to keep up with the workload. The result is that key parts of the law haven’t been implemented.
...
According to data compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics, most senators on the Banking Committee have received sizable checks from JPMorgan and its employees over the past five years. They are the largest source of funds for Republicans Bob Corker (Tenn.), $61,000, and Mike Crapo (Idaho), $33,982, and the committee’s Democratic chairman, Tim Johnson (S.D.), $38,995. They gave $108,800 to Mark Warner (D-Va.), $34,800 to Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and lesser amounts to three other members. The group also found that 38 members of Congress, including three on the committee, were JPMorgan shareholders as of 2010.
..."

[RitchieRich]

1. Good justification for previous independants (like me) to keep voting straight "D"

This really should be surprising. It should make me sick. I guess its like starting smoking: eventually you just get used to it and don't turn white or get pukey.

[JoePhilly]

2. GOP cuts regulation, then blames regulation, then demands regulations be cut more.

[Lawlbringer]

3. Standard Right Wing views.

Throw the baby out with the bathwater.


"Hey, the traffic light on the corner isn't working. TAKE DOWN ALL TRAFFIC LIGHTS!"