“bank tax” on The Daily Caller

UPDATE – 7:20 P.M. – Sen. Olympia Snowe, Maine Republican, announced late Monday she will support the financial regulation bill, in what appears to guarantee passage of the measure into law. (more)

President Obama Tuesday professed total confidence that the financial regulation bill awaiting a final vote in Congress will not be endangered by the death of Sen. Robert Byrd, West Virginia Democrat, but a key Republican swing vote announced he will not vote for the measure. (more)

G20 finance ministers have said the recovery from the global economic crisis has been faster than expected, but significant challenges remain. (more)

With news that financial reform legislation is headed for the Senate floor, it is time to officially scrap the administration’s proposed Financial Crisis Responsibility Fee—the “bank tax.” Now, before the populists with pitchforks and torches start after me, let me emphasize that, sensibly, the TARP law says that the taxpayers must be given a path to recouping their losses. (more)

Since the bailout of Wall Street, the populist drum in Washington has been beating faster and louder. The outrage over executive pay is nothing new on Main Street. When taxpayer dollars used to save the skins of executives who put their companies in peril are now getting bonuses- the fury of Main Street can be understandable. In this “new normal” where many Wall Street legends like Peter Cohen are expecting a reshaping of the financial industry based on returning to an environment of a more client-oriented business, the Obama administration has set out an aggressive plan for Congress to reshape the financial system as we know it. But are they tackling the true root causes of the financial meltdown or are they pandering to populism? (more)

White House Budget Director Peter Orszag didn’t exactly sound bullish about the prospects for health care reform when asked Monday how its passage, or non passage, would factor into the federal budget deficit. (more)

Wall Street’s main lobbying arm has hired a top Supreme Court litigator to study a possible legal battle against a bank tax proposed by the Obama administration, on the theory that it would be unconstitutional, according to three industry officials briefed on the matter. (more)