From the latest Newsweek:
Roughly 3,000 lobbyists were engaged in the fight over Dodd-Frank, according to the Center for Public Integrity—more than five lobbyists for every member of Congress. But as popular anger at the banks raged, Dodd-Frank only grew stronger. The consumer-protection agency, for instance, was initially conceived as a five-person commission with limited rule-making authority. In the end, Congress created a strong, independent agency to be run by a director with broad powers.
Today, demand for lobbying firepower continues to grow, making Washington’s so-called Gucci Gulch one of the country’s few high-job-growth areas. Scott Talbott, the head of government affairs at the Financial Services Roundtable, says the reason is simple: the signing of Dodd-Frank last July represented “halftime” in the debate. Now opponents must fight a two-front war that has them trying to persuade elected officials to rethink decisions while influencing the regulators whose job it is to implement Dodd-Frank.
Newsweek’s interpretation? The 2,319-page Dodd-Frank legislation represents a daring, courageous piece of legislation that will safeguard the American people, unless those evil corporate lobbyists get their way.
Another interpretation? Dodd-Frank, like every other piece of overly long and overcomplicated federal regulatory legislation, was written largely by the regulated industry itself. It’s a process often described by the catchy phrase “Baptists and bootleggers.”
Worse than most other legislation crafted in this manner, Dodd-Frank leaves hundreds — if not thousands — of implementation details in the hands of unelected bureaucrats. Who will influence the bureaucrats? Companies large enough to hire lobbyists. So the American consumer is bound to lose, thanks to a partnership between Big Government and Big Industry. Welcome to crony capitalism.
