Financial Reform, Hurricane Season and Bank Fees
Congress continues negotiations on a major financial reform bill.
Florida Governor Charlie Christ vetoes a bill that would have allowed Florida insurance companies to build up funds in the likely event of future hurricane damage.
Congress has now passed laws restricting and regulating overdraft fees on checking accounts.
1. FINANCE
Congress continues negotiations on a major financial reform bill.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Senior Counsel Hans Bader on how the proposed legislation does not fix financial problems, but does incorporate new racial engineering.
“Congress and the Obama administration refused to do anything about the corrupt government-sponsored mortgage giants, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, even though administration officials admitted that they were at the ‘core’ of ‘what went wrong’ in our financial system. Doing so was just ‘too hard,’ they claimed, and too time-consuming. But they did find time in their financial ‘reform’ legislation to push racial quotas at the Federal Reserve.”
2. INSURANCE
Florida Governor Charlie Christ vetoes a bill that would have allowed Florida insurance companies to build up funds in the likely event of future hurricane damage.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Policy Analyst Michelle Minton on the long-term costs of relaxing standards of solvency.
“While deregulation is always a good thing, we shouldn’t be fooled into believing that the recent news that Florida’s office of insurance regulation has ‘relaxed their standards of solvency’ is anything akin to deregulation or reform. Insurance companies, property owners, and taxpayers remain in a situation as precarious as a beachfront home in the middle of hurricane season.
3. CONSUMER
Congress has now passed laws restricting and regulating overdraft fees on checking accounts.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Senior Counsel Hans Bader on how Congress is destroying free checking accounts.
“Banks can afford to offer free checking accounts with no minimum balance, to responsible people, only because they can charge overdraft fees to irresponsible people. But Congress has now prohibited many overdraft fees, which will result in many banks eliminating free checking, and also require responsible people to subsidize irresponsible people.”