Scott Brown: ATM For The Big Banks
During the Dodd-Frank financial reform debate in early 2010, newly
elected Senator Scott Brown of Massachusetts was referred to as an ATM
for the bankers – meaning that whenever they needed some more cash, they
would stop by his office. It was not paper money he was handing out,
of course, it was something much more valuable – rule changes that
conferred a greater ability to take on reckless risk, damage consumers,
and impose higher future costs on the taxpayer.
Mr. Brown had this ability because he represented the final vote
needed to pass Dodd-Frank through the Senate. He could have asked for
many things – including greater consumer protection, a more thorough
investigation into mortgage practices, and reforms that would have
cleaned up unscrupulous lenders. He asked for none of those changes –
or anything else that would have made the financial system safer and
fairer.
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