I really like the image of our President standing up to these titans of finance. It kinda reminds me of TR and the barons of industry. And that is likely how they will be viewed in the history books, with the new regulation seen as the equivalent of TR's trust-busting regulation.
The real solution would have been to let the giant banks fail and let smaller ones appear in their place -- smaller banks incapable of making large-volume, high-risk loans. Banking might as well be a cottage industry again; it worked better when it was exactly that.
I have a feeling new regulations will be made that reflect a sort of modern Banking Act of 1933 (aka Second Glass-Steagall Act), where these sort of large, one-stop shop banks will no longer exist. This should allow for smaller scale, less risky banking to resurface and thrive, while still allowing for the benefits of having larger institutions capable of taking on greater risks. It's a balancing act that I hope Congress and Obama will properly handle. I like the start so far.
