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Political courage needed on Wall Street reform

by Jesse Walker

A recent conference report vote on the Wall Street reform legislation provides a key distinction between Pennsylvania’s congressional Democrats and Republicans that should be duly noted by voters this November.

The legislation, the American Financial Stability Act of 2010, begins to combat key catalysts of the 2007-2008 economic meltdown. The bill makes many unregulated derivatives transparent and sold on an exchange, forces banks to spin off CDS (Credit Default Swap) operations, and implements new rules and oversight aimed at executive pay and the infamous golden parachute. Irresponsible Wall Street practices and a lack of oversight contributed significantly to the loss of over half a million Pennsylvanian jobs, far fewer opportunities for displaced graduating college students and young professionals, steep declines in the Commonwealth’s revenue intake, and depleted retirement account savings.

In 2010, we are still recovering from the economic collapse and we should never forget the collective anger that all hardworking Pennsylvanians shared, the outrage that our dignity had been trampled on when Wall Street’s reckless practices held hostage our government and taxpayers to prevent systemic failure. Our dignity was trampled on and can happen again if we place political calculation over courage. The Obama administration, the AFL-CIO, United Steelworkers and others have set out to make sure that this never happens again and have made Wall Street reform a priority. Pennsylvania congressional Republicans pledge to be “against bailouts,” yet engage in partisan voting against meaningful reform of combating Wall Street’s reckless behavior when the chips are down. They “hop the fence” when they scream “no bailouts” yet vote against the root causes. Shouldn’t this cause the Tea Partiers to scratch their heads in puzzlement?

In the 12th Congressional District, our new Democratic Congressman Mark Critz unfortunately voted against the bill. His predecessor and late boss, Congressman John Murtha, voted in favor of the legislation late last year. Critz told The Post-Gazette that he was “pained” to vote against the bill because it had provisions which would lead to increased fees on local banks and credit unions. However, this deficiency is not paramount when stacked up against the global economic uncertainties we face and the positive impacts of the bill aimed at combating key roots of the economic collapse, which has done great damage throughout the Keystone State, including businesses in western Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvanians have suffered through the hardships of the “have-nots.”

Not having consumer financial protection. Not having regulations on derivatives and CDS operations that have led us to the brink. Not having companies hiring. Not having reasonable standards on outlandish executive compensation, while hardworking Pennsylvanians are paid on performance. Not having once robust retirement account savings. Not being able to obtain credit as a small business owner to pay workers. This bill is not perfect, but when the chips were down, Critz needed to vote with the majority of his constituents—to pass Wall Street reform for Main Street.

I hope he reconsiders.

The writer is the western vice president of the Pennsylvania Young Democrats from Westmoreland County.

July 13, 2010 at 9:03 am

--Jesse Walker

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