Bank Reform Five Years Later: Still Incomplete

5. Wall Street money still dominates our politics.

The banks still "frankly own the place," in Sen. Richard Durbin's immortal words. Sen. Elizabeth Warren has only begun to unveil the revolving door between Wall Street and its regulators that often neuters the law. Wall Street continues to deploy legions of lobbyists to avoid sensible regulation. It remains the leading source of dough for the leading presidential candidates in both parties. The Wall Street Journal reports that in the first month of reporting, Clinton raised about $300,000 from people working in the six biggest banks, while Bush pocketed $144,000 from Goldman Sachs employees alone. And that's not counting the big money donations for their superPACs.

That's why all progressives should be pushing for greater reforms, even while fending off efforts of the bank lobby to cripple the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, to cut budgets of regulatory agencies, and to weaken or repeal core elements of Dodd-Frank. You don't have to be an expert to demand that the next president -- and the next nominee of both parties -- pledge at least the following:

-- Too big to fail banks are too big to exist -- and must be broken up.

-- Gambling with taxpayer guaranteed deposits must be limited: so a new Glass-Steagall bill as introduced by Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders is needed.

-- Independent regulators are vital, so every candidate should pledge to appoint only those already demonstrated to be independent of the bank lobby and Wall Street's agenda. The Federal Reserve governors should include leaders who represent not just finance but consumers and workers.

-- Consumers should not be gouged by extortionist interest rates imposed by payday lenders or credit and debt card peddlers. Merchants should not be fleeced by excessive fees based on monopoly power, not market competition.

-- Bankers who break the law, conspire to fix markets, or defraud consumers should be held individually liable. Banks that violate the law repeatedly should lose their privileges. The corrosive culture of Wall Street will not change until bankers realize they are not too big to jail.