Election 2012, Wall Street reform and why we must continue to protest

Looking ahead to the 2012 Election, don’t expect much in the way of Wall Street reform from the crop of Republican presidential candidates, writes Joel Kotkin for Politico. Setting aside the numerous other follies that have tended to characterize much of the recent GOP debate, candidates’ willingness to enact continuing Wall Street reform could play a key role in their electability, particularly among undecided voters and others who lean right of center.

Newt Gingrich and the Freddie Mac pack

In a classic case of “he was against it before he was for it,” Newt Gingrich has been difficult to pin down when it comes to the issues surrounding Occupy Wall Street. As Kotkin notes, Gingrich’s first reaction to the TARP bailout was to label it socialism, yet later he supported the legislation.

Considering that Gingrich received $1.6 million in consulting fees for working with disgraced mortgage financier Freddie Mac, the change of heart doesn’t seem surprising. Gingrich also supported the wholesale deregulation of the financial industry when he served in Georgia’s 6th congressional district, which was very much in line with what Wall Street wanted – and what most financial experts believe led to America’s financial crisis.

Tea Party upended

Tea Party candidates such as Michele Bachmann and Rick Perry appear to have largely self-destructed. In terms of policy ideas, Kotkin suggests that the candidates’ ignorance of the nation’s economic workings and ultra-conservative agendas have proven to be a fatal combination in early polls.

Left critical of Obama’s ‘gentry-friendly’ policy

While the Democratic party seems unlikely to offer a challenger to Barack Obama leading up to Election 2012, it isn’t because the party as a whole is pleased with the president’s economic policy. Populists on the far left are disturbed by what they believe to be “gentry-friendly” policies that have done too little to punish Wall Street for its brazen financial speculation with the masses’ money and too much to aid Wall Street in its rebuilding – a reconstruction that some believe will only serve to bring back the same faulty system of speculation as before.

Subsidies and the progressive faction of the GOP

Silicon Valley venture capitalists who fly the Republican flag – those Kotkin refers to as a “progressive faction” of the party – lean toward even greater deregulation of Wall Street. Not coincidentally, they also lean toward Obama, as the president has paved the way for $14 billion in subsidies for green ventures. By giving VCs the green thumbs up, Obama implicitly supports their position in America’s future economy and indicates he may not be as gung-ho on Wall Street reform as he lets on.

Eighty-one percent of consumers can’t be wrong

A recent Gallup poll found that 81 percent of Americans aren’t happy with the financial status quo. Buoyed by the media presence of Occupy Wall Street, they desire change that the “hope and change” president has largely failed to provide. Tax system reforms are needed, not handouts for those allegedly “too big to fail.” It appears that only through continued public protest against those who would hinder Wall Street reform will anything get done. Candidates on both sides of the aisle for the 2012 election need to be sent a message that resounds.

Obama, Occupy Wall Street and the 2012 campaign

Sources

AARP

Obama for America

Politico