We're Just Trying To Make A Buck. Maybe More.

Do you remember how hard the banking industry has been lobbying Congress not to over-regulate them? They've been particularly vocal about the Dodd-Frank bill. They really don't like it. That's the bill that said they cant do the kinds of things they did that helped cause the financial melt-down that led to the Great Recession, of which we're still trying to dig out from under. One of the things it suggested they shouldn't do is bet against their customers. Like when they sell some securities to a customer, they shouldn't then turn around and bet the securities are worthless. Well, the banks have strongly denied that there was any need to regulate them because they knew and know better than to do things like that. Now you'd think that if they say something like that, they'd mean it. You'd think that, but it turns out they didn't mean it and don't mean it. JPMorgan Chase, that whopping big bank that was a shining example of how to be a good citizen, just up and admitted they did what they said they didn't need regulators to tell them they shouldn't do. Now they claim that just because they lost $2 billion in one fell swoop is no reason to regulate them because they admitted it. You know, like a murderer who admits he murdered somebody should be patted on the back and told that as long as he admitted it, there is no reason to bother him further. Somebody like Al Capone. With this sort of thinking, we don't need any laws in this country or even law enforcement. The only question this kind of thinking leaves is, what about the poor lost souls who don't admit they did or do anything wrong? JPMorgan Chase admitted they did wrong. Maybe they felt the had no choice but to admit it. But what about a bank that does it and doesn't admit it. Are they without sin? If you break a rule and don't get caught, did you break the rule? What if you don't get caught right away? What about the company or investor that loses their life's savings, but the company admits it? What happens to the investor's money? There are a lot of questions about how to proceed. Based on the fact that they've been claiming they don't need regulation, and based on the fact that they appear to need regulation, I'd say it's time to get a bit stricter with them. Take away their favorite toys and ground them.