The Breakdown: Will the Financial Reform Bill Prevent Future Meltdowns?

The Breakdown: Will the Financial Reform Bill Prevent Future Meltdowns?

The Breakdown: Will the Financial Reform Bill Prevent Future Meltdowns?

Obama signed the Frank-Dodd bill into law this week. What does the bill do to reform Wall Street, and will it prevent bailouts? Finance blogger Mike Konczal joins Chris Hayes to tackle these questions on this week’s edition of The Breakdown.

Copy Link
Facebook
X (Twitter)
Bluesky
Pocket
Email

Nearly two years after a global financial crisis almost crippled our economy, President Obama this week signed into law the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, otherwise known as the financial regulatory reform bill. The bill is supposed to prevent such a crisis and the subsequent bank bailouts from ever happening again, but will it really accomplish that? And more broadly, what does it do to reform the financial system that made Wall Street’s abuses possible in the first place? The Nation’s Washington DC Editor Christopher Hayes and finance blogger Mike Konczal tackle these questions on this week’s edition of The Breakdown.

The Breakdown Nearly two years after a global financial crisis almost crippled our economy, President Obama this week signed into law the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, otherwise known as the financial regulation bill. The bill is supposed to prevent such a crisis and the subsequent bank bailouts from ever happening again, but does it really accomplish that? And more broadly, what does it do to reform the financial system that made Wall Street’s abuses possible in the first place? The Nation‘s Washington DC Editor Christopher Hayes and financial blogger Mike Konczal tackle these questions on this week’s edition of The Breakdown.

Related Links

More information on our guest Mike Konczal.

Konczal’s initial thoughts on the bill.

An article by Christopher Hayes and Nomi Prins explaining the financial crisis.

Time is running out to have your gift matched 

In this time of unrelenting, often unprecedented cruelty and lawlessness, I’m grateful for Nation readers like you. 

So many of you have taken to the streets, organized in your neighborhood and with your union, and showed up at the ballot box to vote for progressive candidates. You’re proving that it is possible—to paraphrase the legendary Patti Smith—to redeem the work of the fools running our government.

And as we head into 2026, I promise that The Nation will fight like never before for justice, humanity, and dignity in these United States. 

At a time when most news organizations are either cutting budgets or cozying up to Trump by bringing in right-wing propagandists, The Nation’s writers, editors, copy editors, fact-checkers, and illustrators confront head-on the administration’s deadly abuses of power, blatant corruption, and deconstruction of both government and civil society. 

We couldn’t do this crucial work without you.

Through the end of the year, a generous donor is matching all donations to The Nation’s independent journalism up to $75,000. But the end of the year is now only days away. 

Time is running out to have your gift doubled. Don’t wait—donate now to ensure that our newsroom has the full $150,000 to start the new year. 

Another world really is possible. Together, we can and will win it!

Love and Solidarity,

John Nichols 

Executive Editor, The Nation

Ad Policy
x