bart chilton says we will see changes at the cftc and sec. we can only hope.

By veering too sharply to the right and letting go of the regulatory reins, we provided neither the market nor the consumer a great service. Rather we harmed both, and have a long hike to escape the resulting global economic meltdown. We must be careful not to over-correct — not to go so far in the other direction that we stifle innovation and market growth. But it is clearly time for federal financial regulators to re-evaluate our current statutes and regulations, and to put “common sense rules of the road,” as the president-elect has suggested, in place to protect consumers and bring our economy back into balance.

The SEC isn’t the only federal financial regulator to have failed in serving the public. The Treasury Department appears to have lost its way as well, when a $700 billion bailout package, purportedly written to ensure against unconscionable executive compensation was, within weeks after passage, found to have a loophole allowing such compensation.

Federal banking regulators seem to be off course, permitting casino-like buying and selling of trillions of dollars worth of virtually worthless transactions. When gasoline topped $4 a gallon, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission dropped the ball, unable to oversee speculation’s uneconomic role in the U.S. commodities markets.

http://www.projo.com/opinion/contrib...

Bart Chilton is a commissioner on the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, a Democrat and member of the Obama transition team.