Wall Street = ant? Reform = nuclear?
In an interview with the Pittsburgh Tribune Review, House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) said of the Wall Street reform bill, “This is killing an ant with a nuclear weapon.”
Wall Street, an ant? You mean the bankers who have been spending more than a million dollars a day on lobbyists to kill the bill? You mean the gargantuan institutions whose reckless, predatory actions caused the near-collapse of the financial system and plunged us into the Great Recession? Sorry, I’m really not seeing anything ant-like here.
And then he says the reform bill is like a nuclear weapon. I guess he’s trying to say it’s too strong. Yeah, there are some good, strong regulations in the bill, like the consumer financial protection bureau and increased transparency in the derivatives market.
But, much to the dismay of many pro-reform progressives, it doesn’t break up the big banks or end “too big to fail.” Boehner’s buddies (with help from some disappointing Democrats) made sure of that. But this battle can be fought and won another day.
So nope, nothing nuclear here. If anything, supporters of Wall Street reform are anxious about whether the bill is equal to the task. Most agree it’s a good first step.
So what are we to make of Boehner’s babbling? Unless he’s making an out-of-context reference to Them!, the B movie classic with mutant ants the size of buildings rampaging across New Mexico, this really makes no sense.
No one should listen to Boehner’s nonsensical comments. Instead, tell your members of Congress to pass the Wall Street reform bill. Nobody likes compromises, but there’s a lot to like about this bill, and Congress should pass it.
