But of course, he also wants to get rid of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac:
Former Texas Governor Rick Perry is taking a position to Hillary Clinton’s left on financial reform, and pushing for a policy to break up big banks staunchly advocated by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).
The GOP presidential candidate laid out his vision for Wall Street reform in a speech Wednesday. And among his policy proposals, Perry apparently advocated for the return of the Glass-Steagall Act, which established a firewall between traditional commercial banking and investment banking.
Perry’s stance would put him further to the left on that particular point than Clinton, and squarely in the camp of Warren and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).
In remarks delivered in New York, Perry did not mention Glass-Steagall by name, but floated among several policy proposals one that is practically identical.“We could once again require banks to separate their traditional commercial lending and investment banking and related practices,” he said, according to prepared remarks.
Perry also floated an alternate idea of requiring large banks to hold additional capital as a cushion, but the idea of cleanly separating commerical and investment banking was a signature provision of Glass-Steagall.
Liberals like Warren have pushed for Glass-Steagall’s return for years, after it was repealed under President Clinton. Former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, who is also running for president, argued that its return should be a central plank of any Democratic presidential platform.
Some GOP lawmakers have signed on to the effort, but Perry’s remarks make him the first in a crowded GOP field to float the idea.
And while he criticized her as newfound “proponent of Warrenism” due to her recent proposal to increase capital gains taxes, Perry’s particular position also puts him to the left of Hillary Clinton. The Democratic frontrunner has struck a cautious tone about the law, saying the matter of “too big to fail” is more complex than one single law.
H/t MD Truck Accident Lawyers Price Benowitz LLP.
