Decatur, Ala. | Saturday, May 25, 2013
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Strange fights for Wall Street
Decatur Daily

Seemingly awash in funds and enjoying a surplus of lawyers, state Attorney General Luther Strange joined yet another lawsuit against the federal government Wednesday.

This one, Strange assured taxpayers in a news release distributed the same day, was essential to protect Alabamians from arbitrary federal “decisions that will affect Alabama families and businesses.”

The suit attacks the constitutionality of the Dodd-Frank Act, which Strange called “Obamacare for the financial sector.” There is no logical relationship between the two laws, but apparently he hopes to tap into popular resentment of the Affordable Care Act, also signed by President Barack Obama.

While Strange’s news release focuses on the law’s alleged delegation to U.S. finance officials of the ability “to liquidate banks with only 24 hours’ notice and no notice to creditors or shareholders,” one of the main challenges in the lawsuit is against the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

The law is imperfect, but its purpose was to prevent another financial meltdown. A major cause of the recession was deregulation of financial institutions during the administration of former President George W. Bush. In a race for short-term profits and ever-larger bonuses, bank officials took reckless actions that led to a near collapse of the banking system in late 2007 and triggered a recession that cost thousands in Alabama their jobs and their homes.

Before taking office, Strange was a registered Washington lobbyist for clients that included Mortgage Bankers Association of America, Wachovia Bank and Bank of Alabama.

In case Strange is worried, the financial wizards of Wall Street are doing fine. They have recovered nicely from the recession they helped to start. It is the rest of the people — especially in Alabama, with a 16 percent poverty rate and a median per-capita income of $22,711 — who continue to struggle.

Dodd-Frank is an annoyance to banks, including the Texas bank that initiated the suit Strange joined. It requires banks and other financial institutions to be more transparent than they would like. It also takes steps to prevent a domino effect that destroys multiple banks, crippling the economy, when one fails. Many experts believe Dodd-Frank is not nearly stringent enough.

The law also created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the sole function of which is to protect consumers from unfair financial practices. Some in Congress are frustrated because they want more control over the bureau, and no wonder. The bureau protects consumers from the same financial institutions that lavish campaign contributions on members of Congress.

Strange’s suggestion that his latest lawsuit against the federal government is designed to benefit Alabama families is insulting. Faced with a decision on whether to support the financial institutions that helped cause the economic crisis or the consumers who suffered most, the former lobbyist sided with Wall Street. The greatest irony is that any litigation costs will be borne by the struggling Alabama residents that Dodd-Frank was designed to protect.

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7 comments on this item

Typical republician siding with the rich and with that idiot w that started this mess in the first place. America was on sound financial footing. W emptyed the treasury & started a two front war. Most of the Obama bashers have short term memerory loss anyway. Most of the alabama voters that voted for republician couldn't tell you what the republician political machine has done to America. The ression that started in 2007 with the nearly collapse of the banking industry was under w's admin. The great depression was under hoover's admin. Nixon was a crook & that idiot ford pardoned him? W got America in a lie of a war in Iraq with a lie( WMD - What A Joke). Hid the cost of that war until right before he & that super idiot chaney left office. It took w 8 years to get America in the shape it was in when Obama took office, It's going to take more than 8 to get it out. With alabama's elected officals like this strange's siding with the one's that helped get America in this mess it's going to take a lot, lot LONGER to get it out.

test

Don't believe the first comment.

Here is the truth.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPSDnGMzIdo

dontg believe thomas.

here is the truth.

http://youtu.be/4smim2MNvF8

Thomas if that is what you belive then you are a typical BRAIN-WASHED republician than wouldn't know the truth if it fell on you.

Sandra, if were brain washed I'd put a Obama sticker on my car.

Here is the truth spoken by your own political idols. Fall on it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxMInSfanqg

The Federal Government's total revenue from taxes started to decline when the domocrats took over congress.

and it was a political vaccuum for years before that? the democrats reaped the harvest of crap rethuglican policies. how about some blame where it is due, or are you too brainwashed to even admit that obvious fact?

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