Moneybox

Occupy the SEC Releases 325-Page Comment Letter on “Volcker Rule” Proposals

I naturally have not had time to read these 325 pages’ worth of commentary from Occupy the SEC in response to regulatory agencies’ request for comments on proposed implementations of the Volcker Rule, but I sure am glad to see it. It gets fashionable at times to respond to poor performance from the political system with disengagement from it, but policy fights are won by people who show up. This is the day-in, day-out grind of policymaking—calling legislators, responding to regulatory agencies, learning the issues, encouraging someone good to run for office, etc.

On the merits, I think the Volcker Rule is basically a sideshow as far as the real causes of the 2007 financial panic or the subsequent Lesser Depression are concerned, but for somewhat murky reasons this is what landed on the agenda as a way of limiting the clout of the biggest financial institutions, so it’s worth sticking up for a sound implementation.