As befits any historic event, today’s one year anniversary of the Lehman collapse will be marked by speeches and solemn calls for action. The highlight of the day will be President Obama’s speech in New York’s Federal Hall, in the very heart of Wall Street.

Don’t get me wrong, speeches have their time and place and today’s anniversary is such a time and place. However, if we want to secure a sound financial system for a generation, it is time for America to stop talking and start making the hard choices.

Our financial regulatory system dates back to the Great Depression and in some respects to the Civil War. The Chamber’s Bi-Partisan Commission on the Regulation of U.S. Capital Markets in the 21st Century was formed to investigate and recommend changes so that our regulatory system matched the demands and activities of an ever evolving economy. In light of today’s anniversary, it is worth reading the conclusion of the Chamber’s bi-partisan commission report issued in March, 2007:

The challenges to our capital markets are multifaceted, as are the answers to those challenges. The Commission believes that the time has come to seriously reconsider some of the systems and institutions built over the past 70 years to protect investors and foster capital formation. Historically, most reform in the area took place only after the country faced a crisis. We can-and should-do better. Thus, the Commission’s most fundamental recommendation is that policy-makers and thought-leaders address these problems now before a crisis arises.  

The Commission was not alone in calling for wide sweeping changes to the financial regulatory system, others including New York’s Mayor Michael Bloomberg, United States Senator Charles Schumer and Harvard’s Professor Hal Scott all issued similar reports and recommendations citing the declining competitiveness of the United States.

As we all know the crisis erupted and now one year past it’s high water mark, we are no closer to real financial regulatory reform. The Administration and Congress seem bent on keeping the existing financial regulatory system and adding in a new colossal agency—the Consumer Financial Protection Agency. This agency will create new turf battles, form new angles for regulatory arbitrage, stifle innovation and harm America’s long-term ability to grow the economy and produce jobs. 

The Administration’s stab at a plan is akin to taking a Model T, adding a catalytic converter and calling it a Ferrari. Facts are stubborn things and nothing changes the fact that a Model T is obsolete and an antique.

Real financial regulatory reform requires hard choices, new systems and a vision for vibrant financial markets to support a growing and evolving free enterprise system. We need the Obama Administration to be successful in this effort or we will all—workers, consumers and businesses—suffer in the long run. If the Administration is serious, they would call a summit of all the various voices that have called for reform and get to work before it is too late.

Cassandra issued the warning that the City of Troy ignored leading to its own demise. We still have an opportunity to avoid a future disaster. Let’s work together to get the right solutions in place so that America can get back to work.