Forum Post: Wall Street Manifesto - Part 5

(Hypothetical speech by a prominent Wall Street banker to the 99%)

Then there is financial regulation. This legislation almost spun out of control, but our lobbyists convinced elected officials to back off and water down the bill. We believe that less government regulation is best because regulation strangles innovation. The banking industry is quite capable of policing itself, contrary to what others may believe and contrary to the recent meltdown of our economy. We know we can reach out to various regulatory agencies to convince them that we are able to conduct business without the need for oppressive oversight. One only has to look at the copious benefits that accrued to the banking industry after the onerous Glass-Steagall Act was repealed in 1999 to know that less regulation always trumps more regulation. Unfortunately, there are certain individuals who are demanding the reinstatement of Glass-Steagall because of the current economic downturn. Rest assured that this is never going to happen, if Wall Street has anything to say about it.