The financial reform bill currently working its way toward President Barack Obama’s desk for signing is being touted as the biggest overhaul of the banking and investment sectors since the Great Depression.

 

But the new regs won’t be any more effective than the ones they replace in fixing anything or preventing the next major panic for at least three reasons.

 

1. New Watchdog, Old Tricks

They create a new watchdog consumer agency designed to protect consumers from their own supposed stupidity. You’ll now be facing fewer choices when it comes to getting credit cards, loans, and other basic financial transactions.