COLUMN: And the winner is … not us, unless Congress acts!

There is not a category at the Academy Awards for unappreciated movies. If there were such an honor, Jim Carrey’s The Truman Show, set in pre-Watercolor Seaside, would certainly be on list of nominees. You cannot find Carrey’s latest project on the silver screen; rather it is at www.FunnyorDie.com.

Ron Howard (Opie) directs Presidential Reunion, a Web video where six Saturday Night Live stars and alumni trot out their presidential roles in a late night visit/dream sequence with President Obama (Fred Armisen).

Howard’s aim is to focus public attention on the stalled effort to implement the Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA), which could protect taxpayers and consumers.

If you think bipartisanship is dead, then think again. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) and Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) have joined forces to thwart the modest proposal, which sailed through the House of Representatives with nary a Republican vote. Howard lined up every actor who had a presidential role in SNL skits with Carrey taking the late Phil Hartman’s Ronald Reagan.

To no one’s surprise, Carrey steals the scene with his risqué advice to Amisen/Obama to act forcefully when dealing with opposition to the Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA).

Although Darrell Hammond’s Bill Clinton gets honorable mention drawling “Maaan, Michelle has got some legs on her” while he fondles his cigar.  President Obama (Amisen) points out to Will Farrell (Bush 43) and Hammond’s Clinton, “You two are the ones who stripped out all of the regulations. Why would I want advice from you?”

Get over it Democrats, it’s true. 

Hammond leers at Maya Rudolph playing Michelle Obama and answers, “Dude, it was the 90s … people did all kinds of … crazy things.”  Farrell’s Dubya defends himself, “When I put the Iraq War on my credit card, I didn’t know I would be paying 28 percent in interest rates. Astronomical.”

The House bill has been watered down in the Senate, but a half a loaf is better than none. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce (no surprise) does not support the legislation but smaller groups like the U.S. Women’s Chamber of Commerce and U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce have joined forces with consumer groups urging Congress to act.

Kathleen Day, spokesperson for The Center for Responsible Lending, is adamant regarding the necessity for an independent consumer agency to oversee bank accounts, credit cards, mortgages and some student and auto loans. Opponents say that it is unnecessary and state regulation is sufficient. 

However, Day points out that the subprime crisis was not brought on by state regulated banks but rather national banks that funded 50 percent of the subprime loans.

These lousy loans sparked the current crisis. The banking industry which had no problem taking billions of dollars in government loans is now spending millions to thwart efforts to make sure taxpayers won’t have to bail them out again. Lax lending requirements led to the subprime crisis, whose impact was raised exponentially by zero regulation of exotic debt instruments like credit default swaps.  The net effect was the near collapse of our financial system.

One tool to prevent another meltdown is the Consumer Financial Protection Agency. With 41 emblazoned on his cap, Dana Carvey warns Amisen without regulation that the bubbles keep growing and “Pop! Money goes to the weasels.”

Satire sometimes says it best. If we don’t want it to happen again, we need to make changes or Carvey will be right and American taxpayers certainly won’t be the winners.

Buz Livingston is a certified financial planner. He operates Livingston Financial Planning Inc. focusing on hourly financial planning and investment management. Contact him directly at 850-267-1068 or at buz@LivingstonFinancial.net.