A Sign Occupy Wall Street Is Having Political Impact | Matt Taibbi | Rolling Stone

A Sign Occupy Wall Street Is Having Political Impact Matt Taibbi Rolling Stone

For those saying that Occupy Wall Street hasn't had a concrete effect, take a
look at this. It's not much, but it's a little something. The leaders of the
House Financial Services Committee announced yesterday that they will be holding
hearings on the SEC's practice of concluding settlements with Wall Street
defendants without forcing the accused to admit to wrongdoing.
This whole thing seems to be the creature of ranking
Republican Spencer Bachus. From
his site:

"The SEC’s practice of using
'no-contest settlements' has raised concerns about accountability and
transparency, and I’m pleased the Committee will examine these concerns in a
bipartisan manner," said Chairman Bachus.

If they actually do something
about this, then it'll be time to give them a pat on the back. But in the
meantime, we can expect to see a lot of things like this in an election year
marked by an absence of a real galvanizing message coming from either party.
With OWS and populist anger generally filling that messaging void, there are
going to be a lot of politicians who will look to capitalize by doing things
like, for instance, beating up on the SEC in a few days of well-publicized but
ineffectual hearings.Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/blogs/taibblog/a-sign-occupy-wall-street-is-having-a-political-impact-20111219#ixzz1h760gu1F