The last half-century has shown us four things that come with Republicans in power:
- Exploding deficits. (“Reagan proved that deficits don’t matter,” quoth Darth Cheney.)
- Scandal (Not a blow-job-in-the-White-House scandal, but a major outrage, e.g. Iran-Contra, Valerie Plame.)
- Invasion of a country perceived to be unable to defend itself. (Grenada, Panama, Afghanistan/Iraq)
- Taxpayer bailout of financial industry after meltdown brought on by repealed regulation. (Savings & Loan, Derivative Trading)
The current administration has already given us numbers 1 and 2; number 3 is in the works. As sure as Mitch McConnell is democracy’s gravedigger, number 4 is coming.
In the wake of the 2008 financial collapse, legislators made a modest attempt at reigning in the rapacious financial beast. The Dodd-Frank reform act increased regulatory oversight and capital requirements for large banks. It also spawned the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which provides some protection against predatory lenders.
Depending on who does the arithmetic, estimates vary, but the cost to taxpayers was several-hundred-billion dollars.
Post-2008, the banking industry paid $200 billion in fines 
for money laundering, interest rate manipulation and mortgage security fraud. Fortunately for the executive class, stockholders picked up the tab for that. No top Wall-Street banking executives – the people who caused the damage – have received criminal indictments; they haven’t even suffered loss of bonuses.
Wall Street has been seething about Dodd-Frank since its passage but has somehow managed to post record profits since the Act’s inception. The richest 10% of American households increased their wealth 27% since the meltdown. The average income of the top 1% went from $990,000 in 2007 to $1.36 million last year.
Meanwhile, the net worth of the average American family went down 30%. Average income did not keep pace with inflation, going up from $45,300 to $48,800.
The Los Angeles Times observed the ten-year anniversary of Lehman Brothers’ bankruptcy with an editorial titled “Did we learn enough from the Lehman Bros. bankruptcy to handle the next financial meltdown?” The answer, in a word, is “No.”
Wall Street’s Republican lackeys have begun dismantling Dodd-Frank. In May of 2018, the current occupant of the White House signed the ironically named “Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act” exempting dozens of banks from Consumer Financial Protection Bureau oversight. New legislation also repealed CFPB regulation of automobile lending. You may have already seen advertising for Sub-prime auto loans. Can sub-prime mortgages be far behind?
“It’s like déjà vu all over again.” – Yogi Berra
The next financial disaster is in the works and you know who’s going to pay for it. Good luck.
