In recent months there has been a dangerous and growing shift in Washington towards deregulation of the nation's financial and economic systems across the board. Our leaders are at risk of making the same mistakes that led to the Great Depression at the beginning of the 1930's, the Savings and Loan Crisis and the Financial Crisis of 2008, all of which had devastating impacts and consequences on the economy and livelihoods of all Americans. This regulatory preference will be the impetus for the next financial and economic crisis and will lead to disastrous economic consequences in the years to come.

One of the most accurate explanations of the financial crisis is the fact that in the decades prior to the crisis starting as early as the 1980's, there was significant financial deregulation, giving banks and other financial institutions large discretion and oversight into accruing large volumes of risk over time. These policies were initially championed by then Chairman of the Federal Reserve, Alan Greenspan, and were then continued by Presidents Bush Sr., Clinton and W. Bush. One example of this policy manifested in the fact that financial institutions had much lower leverage ratios that needed to be met, or rather the amount of cash available to support the amount of debt it owed to its consumers. This also manifested in the weaknesses of the regulatory agencies in overseeing financial activity. As a result this built the foundation for the most disastrous financial crisis in history.

Today in Washington the President of the United States has voiced open opposition against the Dodd-Frank Consumer Financial Reform Act which is seen uniformly as the solution to the deregulation problem that occurred in the United States earlier. There has been a bill proposed in the House of Representatives that would seriously cripple many of the regulations put in place in the aftermath of the fiscal crisis by President Obama that would allow most financial institutions to engage in the same sort of risky behaviors that caused the crisis in the first place. These approaches are being taken because of the flawed conservative argument that less regulation equates to more economic growth and success, but as history has shown, less regulation equates to economic collapse and failure. In order to have a sound regulatory policy for the financial industry within the United States there must be a balance between common-sense and far-reaching financial regulation that keeps financial institutions in check and makes sure that the pillars of our financial industry stand strong while also allowing business to continue and flourish at a strong rate of success. The flow of money throughout the financial system does not need to be unrestricted in order to yield significant returns.