The House of Representatives yesterday passed, by a vote of 237-192,  H.R. 4173, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. Senate action on the Dodd-Frank bill is not expected until after the July 4th recess in mid-July. 

In the upcoming days we will post on the bill, its impacts and how the “big five” issues were addressed during the debate and legislative wrangling that have gone on these past few months. In fact, a very good synopsis of the problems with the bill is contained in an op-ed in today’s Wall Street Journal, by Stanford University Professor John Taylor titled The Dodd-Frank Financial Fiasco.   

But there are two quotes that have stood out in recent days that I would like to highlight. As the Conference Committee was wrapping up its work late last week, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd said: “No one will know until this is actually in place how it works.” Granted, there are times in life when you have to take a roll of the dice. But I don’t think you would step on a plane if the pilot made that announcement to the passengers before boarding a flight. Are we comfortable with leaving our job creation engine to the same uncertainty?

The other is from House Financial Services Committee Ranking Member Spencer Bachus, who said in the debate yesterday that “the bad and the ugly far outweigh the good elements of the bill.” This bill is a collection of the good, the bad and the ugly. Some of the issues that have led to the financial crisis are addressed, but often in manners that greatly expand the role of government, with a chilling effect on the ability of the free enterprise system to work.

Wild swings in stoking or reigning in the economy have been tried before, namely in the sixties and seventies with bad results. Creating a nimble forward-looking regulatory system for the 21st century economy is what we need, and what the Dodd-Frank bill fails to do. 

It seems that uncertainty is not leaving the scene any time soon. Where is Clint Eastwood when you need him?