CBS host John Dickerson looked thoroughly confused when former Texas governor and just-announced Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry denounced the punishing effects of the 2008 Dodd-Frank banking reform bill on small businesses while also condemning Wall Street bankers “getting sweet treatment.”
“There is nothing too big to fail … when it comes to banks or big corporate entities,” said Perry.
“I think Americans are fed up — I am — we’re fed up when we see Wall Street get treated specially and you can’t even get a loan from your community bank because of Dodd-Frank banking regulations,” Perry said. “All that has to change. Americans are fed up with that type of inside, where the rich get richer and folks out on Main Street have to pay bills.”
“What are you going to do about Wall Street, then?” Dickerson asked.
“Well, regulate them,” Perry said. “Regulate them, make sure that that doesn’t happen. If they make bad decisions, let them live with those bad decisions, don’t bail them out.”
“But isn’t that what Dodd-Frank is, regulations?” asked a confused Dickerson. “You were just saying that was bad?”
“Dodd-Frank is killing the community banks [with] over-regulation,” Perry said, explaining that the Dodd-Frank bill “codifies into place” rules that make it impossible for small banks to lend while helping Wall Street and its lawyers.
