Wall Street sharks don’t play by the rules – NYC citizens

18 July, 2010, 09:46

The US banking system is about to go through its biggest overhaul in over 70 years, but citizens of New York doubt that the people running the city’s financial district can ever change their ways.

RT’s Lori “the Resident” Harfenist took to the streets of Manhattan to find out the public’s opinion on the Dodd-Frank Bill.

The 2300-page bill is being regarded as the most significant financial legislation in the US. It is designed to prevent a repeat of the financial crisis and would limit risky trading activities, consequently reducing bank profits.

Needless to say, the bill is unpopular on Wall Street, with wealthy donors beginning to direct more campaign contributions to the Republican Party.

However, bankers cannot be reformed, people in New York believe, and there are plenty of reasons for that.

First of all, in order to change, the bankers should work on their mentality because what they do is “engrained in their personalities” so a lot of regulation is needed to curb them.

Regardless, the new bill, as always, is about the money. It does not matter whether the government is involved or not because, as one citizen notes, “the government, the corporations and the banks are all one” and “basically it is all a smokescreen”. The bill will be passed anyway because it is in their interest.

People on the street also said that already now the bill is a factor in the next US Presidential Election. President Obama’s supporters say the bill is for the best, while those against the administration claim that the bill is going to bring America down to the level of a third world country.