Inland Empire Progressive

Rep. Gary Miller likes to go on and on about the full repeal of the Frank-Dodd act, but offers no substitute legislation to regulate Wall Street and hold them accountable. Like many of his Conservative allies, he probably believes it was all the regulator's fault by not being competent enough to understand what was going on. But what Conservatives fail to point out is the revolving door between regulators and Wall Street and that financial institution shop for the most lenient regulator. I think the reality is that Mr. Miller does not want to bite the hand that feeds him. Wall Street and the financial industry are big contributors to his campaign coffers and any sense of holding them accountable for misdeeds is thrown out the window. The most glaring fact is that to date, not one financial executive has been arrested our charged with fraud and sent to jail. You would think that someone would be held responsible for the Global Collaspe of the enconomy. It would seem as if legisl...

After 9/11, Republicans argued forcefully that the expansion of the National Defense Authorization Act and the PATRIOT Act were necessary safegards for the protection of the American people. This dramatic expansion of Executive Power was unprecendent in recent history. Warrantless wiretapping and targeted assassinations was something unheard of before that fateful day in 2001. When Democrats tried to add civil liberties amendments or roll back some provisions, Rep. Gary Miller and the Republicans accused them of having a Pre-9/11 mentality. However, when the economic crisis hit, Congressional investigations into unlawful and unethical behavior was left unchecked. The Frank-Dodd Act's weak regulation of the financial left the To Big To Fail banks in place and did nothing about derivatives, credit default swipes, and other dangerous financial instruments. Rep. Gary Miller, a senior member of the Financial Services Committee, and his Wall Street allies argue ...