Whatever Happened to Finance Reform?
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The taxpayer bailout of banks that were "too big to fail" was followed up with the promise of finance reform to prevent another Great Recession. Now Republicans in the Senate are threatening to kill a sweeping measure passed by the Congress. Would it go too far? Do Democrats have the strength — or the will — to revive it? Also, students take part in national protest against education budget cuts, and the Pentagon is studying the impact of ending "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," but some Senators want to repeal it right now.
Banner image: Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit testifies during a hearing before the Congressional Oversight Panel that was created to oversee the expenditure of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) March 4, 2010 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images
Making News
Students Join National Protest against Education Budget Cuts ()
Students and professors are challenging administrators and legislators today in more than 100 protests in 32 states. The protest movement was born in California, where the University has seen a billion dollars in budget cuts in the past two years, at the same time tuition and fees have been on the increase. Leah Finnegan is education editor for the Huffington Post.
Guests:
- Leah Finnegan: Education Editor, Huffington Post
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Main Topic
Whatever Happened to Finance Reform? ()
It's more than a year since the collapse of Lehman Brothers. Among the casualties of the Great Recession are millions of home-owning, credit-card holding consumers exploited by banks regarded as "too big to fail." The use of taxpayer money to protect those same banks from their own bad investments was justified with the promise of tough new regulations. The Congress passed sweeping reform, but now it's bogged down in the Senate. An independent agency to protect consumers may be dead on arrival. Banking interests call it a threat to their business. Reformers say a crisis is being wasted. We hear both sides.
Guests:
- Binyamin Appelbaum: National Banking Reporter, Washington Post, @BCAppelbaum
- Felix Salmon: Finance blogger, Reuters, @felixsalmon
- Scott Talbott: Senior Vice President for Government Affairs, Financial Services Roundtable, @scottfsround
- Mike Calhoun: President, Center for Responsible Lending
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Reporter's Notebook
Senate Group Wants Repeal of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' ()
President Obama wants to end "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." The Pentagon has asked more time for review, but yesterday 13 senators -- Independent Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut and 12 Democrats -- introduced a bill to repeal the policy that prohibits homosexuals from serving openly in the military. Carl Levin of Michigan says gays are serving successfully now and ought to be able do so "with integrity." Jen DiMascio is a defense reporter for Politico.
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- Jen DiMascio: Defense Reporter, Politico.com
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