I'm going to print this out later this afternoon and see what it is all about. I've already read enough to know this doesn't come close to preventing what Numerian discusses here. Here's a summary of Dodd's proposed financial reforms.

Highlights followed by my commentary:

Consumer Financial Protection Agency: Creates an independent watchdog to ensure American
consumers get the clear, accurate information they need to shop for mortgages, credit cards, and other
financial products, while prohibiting hidden fees, abusive terms, and deceptive practices.

Okay, this is a no brainer. But while we're at it, can't we have some usury laws in this country? I mean, a grandma who has paid her bills on time her entire life that gets her rate jacked up to 29%? We can do better.

Ends Too Big to Fail: Prevents excessively large or complex financial companies from bringing down
the economy by: creating a safe way to shut them down if they fail; imposing tough new capital and
leverage requirements and requiring they write their own “funeral plans”; requiring industry to provide
their own capital injections; updating the Fed’s lender of last resort authority to allow system-wide
support but not prop up individual institutions; and establishing rigorous standards and supervision to
protect the economy and American consumers, investors and businesses.

This does nothing, absolutely nothing to end 'too big to fail.' It's a band-aid, feel good measure that only adds another layer of useless bureaucracy without any real enforcement.

As I have said countless times, over and over and over: if it is too big to fail, it is too big to exist. Period. Can we have some anti-trust enforcement? What's the safe way to shut them down when we will face a systemic collapse, similar to the one we faced last year? How? Requiring industry to provide their own capital injections? Look, if industry could have injected their own capital they wouldn't have come a-begging to the government, you know?

Here's a good alternative to Dodd's bill, that would give the Treasury Secretary power to break up a banks or institutions or "any entity that has grown so large that its failure would have a catastrophic effect on the stability of either the financial system or the United States economy without substantial Government assistance." I approve. The bill seems to be gaining steam as well in Congress.

Protects Against Systemic Risks: Creates an independent agency with a board of regulators to identify
and address systemic risks posed by large, complex companies, products, and activities before they
threaten the stability of the financial system. The agency could require companies that threaten the
economy to divest some of their holdings.

What ever happened to the SEC? Why do we need several new layers of bureaucracy? Why not just beef up the SEC's enforcement division? Am I missing something here?

Single Federal Bank Regulator: Eliminates the convoluted system of multiple federal bank regulators to
increase accountability and end unnecessary overlap, conflicting regulation, and “charter shopping;”
keeps in place the healthy dual banking system that governs community banks.

I can't really speak this one, as commercial banking or banking writ large is not my bailiwick. Asset markets, yes. The Fed System? Nope. Numerian?

Executive Compensation and Corporate Governance: Provides shareholders with a say on pay and
corporate affairs with a non-binding vote on executive compensation and director nominations.

Shareholders already have this right. That's why they are called shareholders, you know? A non-binding vote? That's just weak.

Closes Loopholes in Regulation: Eliminates loopholes that allow risky and abusive practices to go on
unnoticed and unregulated - including loopholes for over-the-counter derivatives, asset-backed securities,
hedge funds, mortgage brokers and payday lenders.

Okay, this is a good idea. But I don't see anything here that will lead to the regulation of CDS' or hedge-funds or absolutely criminal equity extraction schemes by 'private' equity firms.

Protects Investors: Provides tough new rules for transparency and accountability from investment
advisors, financial brokers and credit rating agencies to protect investors and businesses.

Question: does this bill gut Sarbanes-Oxley? (If you haven't read this story, do so now. It will make you weep.) If the bill does gut it, well, what's the point of all the rest of the reforms? Talk about pointless.

Enforces Regulations on the Books: Strengthens oversight and empowers regulators to aggressively
pursue financial fraud, conflicts of interest and manipulation of the system that benefit special interests at
the expense of American families and businesses.

This last one is just boilerplate. My question is: why haven't these laws hitherto been enforced? And for those who might quibble with me that I'm not offering solutions, only criticisms, my reply is read this. I've already offered solutions.