Both Parties Have it Wrong

Today I have a question for you; make that two questions:

  1. Do you think that financial services should be more regulated or less regulated?
  2. Do you think that the Dodd-Frank Act (Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act), signed into law two years ago on July 21, has hurt:
    1. You personally?
    2. Businesspeople or businesses you know of?
    3. The economy in general?

Here's my opinion; not that it matters that I'm an expert on the subject, or that I have 30 years in the financial services business, or that I own a couple of businesses, or that I'm getting back into the financial services game in a big way (more on that sometime in the future).

It's just my stupid opinion. It really doesn't matter that I'm right, either, because it's just my opinion; did I say that?

The correct answer (according to me) to question No. 1 is itself an economic postulate: "More is always better sooner." As in, we need more and better regulation, sooner rather than later. That's my final answer.

The correct answer, in other words, my answer, to question No. 2 is: no, no, and no.

I'm going to make this short and simple, because I want to hear from you on this subject. (Just click below and leave your answers in the comments section.)

The Republicans are Facing a Quandary

Their man Mitt is a rich fellow. He's basically a Wall Street guy. And, being a Republican, he's all about small government (or if you're a hard-core GOP fanatic, no government, that is, except for a small one run by Republicans).

Now, for Wall Street, "small government" is Street-speak for "free markets," which is Street-speak for a no-holds-barred, get rich on the backs of anyone, kind of free-for-all; "all," of course, referring to all of them and none of you.

Towards their small government nirvana, House Republicans on the House Financial Services Committee and their subcommittees have scheduled six hearings over the next two weeks on the impact of Dodd-Frank on everything from job creation to free markets.

They already had one hearing this week. And it was a blockbuster.

They brandished the results of an online survey (you can find that survey here) that clearly proves that respondents are up in arms about how bad Dodd-Frank is affecting them, or could, or would, or might, or whatever... is definitely going to affect them.

Go ahead, read the survey questions - there are only a few - and answer them too. But, don't bother checking to see if giving the opposite answer elicits a different response. It doesn't. Whether you answer yes or no, the propaganda that accompanies your answer is exactly the same.

But be forewarned, the questions are really tough. The first one, for example, is: "Do you purchase food for yourself and your family?"

Here's my point. Republicans in the House are pushing to repeal a lot of Dodd-Frank, what's already written, and before a lot of it is finally written or ever implemented.

It's not about small government. It's about being owned by Wall Street and pandering to their desire to have free markets - you know what that means, I already explained that.

As far as Mitt Romney, he's got a problem. He wants the economy to sink before the election.

Come on, you know he does. Because if it does, he's going to presume that he can ride in to save us all with less government and less regulation of Wall Street, so they can get back to financing growth in this great country. Because, you know, it's the banks that make America great, and strong, and the envy of the world, and rich, and corrupt.

But Romney's problem will be the Democrats.

The Democrats will rally and ask themselves and everyone else, do we want another Wall Street free-for-all? Is that the answer to our weak economy, to our high employment, to the mess we find ourselves in?

No, Mitt isn't going to have it easy.

The truth is, we're here because of what Wall Street did to put us here. It's not a Republican thing or a Democrat thing. It's a Wall Street thing.

And if you think I'm a Democrat and for Obama, you're wrong there.

I wanted him to be different, but he's turned out to be rather a non-entity.

My beef with Obama is simple. He rode into office with a global mandate - not just an American mandate - to clean up banking and put greedy bankers in their place. Remember where we were in 2008 when he got elected? Remember? We were literally on the brink of a global financial collapse that would have made the Great Depression look like a day at the beach.

And what does Obama do?

Instead of knocking out Wall Street reforms (he should have started by re-implementing Glass-Steagall and then immediately downsizing every big bank in America) in his first 100 days, he does nothing to fix the broken confidence in the engine room of our country's growth, the banks, and capital markets. Instead, he goes about attacking healthcare. And look how productive that has been.

Anyway, my point is this: The Republicans have it wrong, and the Democrats have it wrong.

Where the hell is Ron Paul?

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About the Author

Shah Gilani boasts a financial pedigree unlike any other. He ran his first hedge fund in 1982 from his seat on the floor of the Chicago Board of Options Exchange. When options on the Standard & Poor's 100 began trading on March 11, 1983, Shah worked in "the pit" as a market maker.

The work he did laid the foundation for what would later become the VIX - to this day one of the most widely used indicators worldwide. After leaving Chicago to run the futures and options division of the British banking giant Lloyd's TSB, Shah moved up to Roosevelt & Cross Inc., an old-line New York boutique firm. There he originated and ran a packaged fixed-income trading desk, and established that company's "listed" and OTC trading desks.

Shah founded a second hedge fund in 1999, which he ran until 2003.

Shah's vast network of contacts includes the biggest players on Wall Street and in international finance. These contacts give him the real story - when others only get what the investment banks want them to see.

Today, as editor of Hyperdrive Portfolio, Shah presents his legion of subscribers with massive profit opportunities that result from paradigm shifts in the way we work, play, and live.

Shah is a frequent guest on CNBC, Forbes, and MarketWatch, and you can catch him every week on Fox Business's Varney & Co.

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