Not If But When The Next Crisis Comes . . .

With mid-term elections on the near term horizon, I expect we will hear various pols and their selected pundits tout Dodd-Frank as not being perfect but as having brought meaningful reform to Wall Street.

Really? I know, politico-speak is more noise than substance but let’s get real.

When there is not a lot to grab onto in terms of truly meaningful political accomplishments, we should not be surprised that any legislation that has been passed will be used as fodder to feed the masses.

So when you hear a pol from either side of the aisle play this game talking about Dodd-Frank, make sure you hit them with the following insider assessments:

1. James Kidney, retiring SEC attorney, in April 2014 said the SEC is nothing more than “a tollbooth on the banksters’ turnpike.”

2. Scott O’ Malia, commissioner at the CFTC, in May 2014 said, “I do not believe that the CFTC’s systems are adequate to oversee today’s fast and complex derivatives markets.”

3. Sheila Bair, former chair of the FDIC, when questioned in May 2014 why we have not seen more reform responded that “the regulators have not had the fortitude to stand up” to the forces imposed on them by the industry and Congress.

4. Alan Blinder, speaking at an investment conference in Boston in May 2014, stated that Wall Street’s mode of self-regulation was a mistake.

5. None other than former Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner when asked in early May 2014 about the ‘too big to fail’ banking model, “Does it still exist?” Yeah, of course it does.”

So there you go.

We largely remain in the same position and with the same predicament that brought on our crisis in 2008.

So, not if but when the next crisis comes, we have no reason to be surprised.

When you see a politician — and especially those on any of the Congressional banking or finance committees — remind them of these insiders’ views on Wall Street reform.