Good luck trying to understand the financial reform bill that the House is debating this week. The extremely complex piece of legislation, which could be altered by any of hundreds of proposed amendments, is intended to prevent another financial meltdown. If history is any guide, it will eventually fail.

There is far too much in this bill for a simple dissection. But its most controversial provision is the creation of a new federal Consumer Financial Protection Agency. Depending on whom you believe, CFPA will be either an effective advocate for consumers or a dead weight on banks that will further gum up the free flow of credit. The new agency would both replace and supplement consumer protection roles currently held by an entire alphabet soup of agencies and organizations.