Todd Zywicki posts an essay carrying the above title:
This is congressional testimony provided to the United States House of Representative Committee on Financial Services at a hearing entitled, “The Dodd-Frank Act Five Years Later: Are We Freer?” Although much has been said on the impact of Dodd-Frank on the economic and financial system, little has been observed on the impact of Dodd-Frank on individual liberty. Yet the freedom of the financial system is intertwined with the ability of individuals to pursue their goals in life: to gain access to capital to start and grow a business, freedom to buy a home and provide for your family’s financial security, freedom to choose those whom you entrust with your hard-earned money provide the means for pursuing the American dream.
The massive bank bailouts taken in 2008 shredded the rule of law and replaced the system of market competition with a system of crony capitalism in the banking industry. Instead of reversing and resolving those issues of arbitrary government discretion and political favoritism on behalf of well-connected special interests, however, Dodd-Frank reinforces the system of crony capitalism and entrenches those movements away from the rule of law. The result has been to further entrench the concept of “Too Big to Fail” in the American financial system, to increase the arbitrary discretion of government regulators (such as the Consumer Financial Safety Bureau), and to disadvantage community and other smaller financial institutions in the competitive marketplace.
In short, Dodd-Frank entrenches the system of picking winners and losers in the financial system and reinforces the market power of large banks that are of sufficient size and influence to deal with the cost and uncertainty of the current financial regulatory regime.
Here's what I think is the money quote:
The freedom to plan your financial future, buy a home, or open a bank account, is being crushed under an avalanche of costly and arbitrary rules and a regulatory system so complex that only well- lawyered multi-billion dollar banks can survive. On issues ranging from which financial insitutions are considered “Too-Big-To-Fail” to the loan terms of your new car, a handful of unelected Washington bureaucrats are prying into your wallet and bank account to make those decisions for you.
If you want to understand why everything Liz Warren says about financial regulation is wrong, you need to read this essay.
