LETTERS

Re “Wall Street isn’t buying reform plan,” June 18

So Wall Street moans about the president’s plan to curb financial industry excesses. Quelle surprise! After decades of free rein (make that “reign”) that led us to a very predictable disaster, the supposedly super-brains that got us into this mess want the same-old, same-old so they can repeat the performance unfettered. They’re the very ones who recoiled in horror as the catastrophe unfolded, asking, “Who could have seen this coming?” This old geezer, for one!

I’m no genius, but I do pay attention to history. It was obvious to me more than four years ago that we were heading for a severe recession. If no real reforms are put in place, I predict another meltdown in 10 to 15 years.

Ken Fermoyle

Woodland Hills

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Wall Street’s negative reaction to President Obama’s plans for wholesale financial reform is a warning. The last reform attempt, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in 2002, was also roundly booed by the financial community. Some years later, when subprime loans started to become delinquent, a little-noticed clause therein, “mark to market,” put Lehman Bros., a profitable and functioning bank, in violation of legal reserve requirements. A bank run that could have been stopped by the Federal Reserve and the U.S. Treasury instead was allowed to destroy Lehman.

Wall Street, fearing more federal “laissez-fail” ineptitude, went into a panic that destroyed other banks and brokerages and choked the global financial system. The damage triggered by Sarbanes-Oxley will be felt for decades.

Rapid, large-scale changes are extremely dangerous; there is always the potential for unintended consequences.

Andrew K. Gabriel

South Pasadena

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Lost in the confusion to reform Wall Street is the involvement of lobbyist-bought lawmakers who opened legal loopholes resulting in this economic meltdown. Unless Congress is forced to adhere to stricter rules and regulations on how lobbyists influence their legislating, true reform will never be attained.

Gene Dorio

Santa Clarita

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Wall Street’s reaction to Obama’s proposed reforms should hardly come as a shock. As someone who worked in market regulation for 16 years, I have never come across a single regulated entity or individual who either agreed with or accepted the concept of government regulation.

In fact, I would be more concerned if Wall Street supported the new efforts.

Ken Marcus

Los Angeles