There’s a difference between making government more effective and making it disappear, and according to financial reporter Catherine Rampell, El Cheato seems to be aiming for the latter. Via the Washington Post:
How do we know? Financial deregulation was one of his major priorities during his first term. He rolled back parts of the Dodd-Frank Act, a law created in response to the 2008 financial crisis. The big banks also took on more leverage while he was in office, suggesting his appointees tolerated more risk-taking.
Since then, President Joe Biden’s appointees have proposed a series of regulations to reduce risk and make the financial system more resilient, including by requiring large banks to have a bigger capital cushion. Wall Street has fought these efforts ferociously, even running ads about them during “Sunday Night Football.”
The banks might soon get their way. Shortly after the November election, financial regulators announced they were pausing any major rulemaking, including on capital requirements, until Trump takes office. Wall Street firms and lobbyists have drafted wish lists of (de)regulatory changes they want the transition team to commit to, Reuters has reported. And more of Dodd-Frank appears to be in the crosshairs, especially if Project 2025 is implemented.
What do you want to bet that if there’s a rerun of the 2008 crash, We The People will be expected to pick up the tab?
Right now seems like a peculiar time for any pre-FDIC-era nostalgia. After all, last year was the biggest year for bank failures in modern history, thanks to a crisis that took down Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank and First Republic. Runs on these regional banks threatened contagion across the rest of the financial system — at least until federal regulators (including the FDIC) stepped in to stem the panic and protect depositors.
MAGA World appears unchastened by either this experience or that of the early 1930s. Or maybe they take it as a challenge: You’ve heard of the Great Depression? Just wait until Trump delivers the greatest one of all.
