Austan Goolsbee: Regulatory Reform Decided Long Before Massachusetts

Austan Goolsbee contradicts media reporting that Obama has shifted to a populist position on regulatory reform because of the Massachusetts election. But it doesn't really matter because Congress isn't likely to pass Obama's banking reforms that he laid out yesterday, according to many. Economist magazine's Greg Ip:

BRAND: How likely will this be passed in Congress? Its part of a bigger financial bill that is currently stalled in the Senate. So, how likely is it that it'll get through?

Mr. IP: Right now I'd have to say that the odds are pretty low. What we saw as a consequence of the loss of the 60th democratic vote in the Massachusetts election is that any proposal by the administration that doesnt have bipartisan support is going to have a hard time getting through the Senate this year. And Republicans have already raised significant misgivings about a lot of parts of the presidents existing regulatory proposals. In particular, his plan to create a new consumer financial protection agency by adding in yet another proposal, it doesnt make it easier to get that thing past a Senate. NPR

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