Eyes on their profit margins, the Koch brothers have worked tirelessly against Dodd-Frank regulations — first pushing to stop their implementation and later lobbying to stymie its protections. Today marks Dodd-Frank’s fifth birthday, but the Kochs have yet to be deterred from their quest against this important Wall Street reform.
According to the Center for Public Integrity, the Kochs and their lobbyists “worked to favorably shape the bill, and have not stopped working since it was passed.” The Huffington Post reports that Charles and David “have assisted big banks in the lobbying blitz against Wall Street reform for years.”
As we’ve previously reported, it’s easy enough to figure out the reason behind the Kochs’ opposition: the brothers have made an uncounted amount over the years by trading in energy and other commodities on Wall Street. But Dodd-Frank clamps down on the speculative trading that can put the economy at risk, making it harder for Koch Industries to profit.
A provision in [Dodd-Frank] known as the ‘end-user exemption’ is of particular concern to industry groups representing Koch, Lockheed Martin Corp. and Caterpillar Inc. The rule would exempt companies that use derivatives to hedge their risks in commodities, currencies and interest rates from posting margin, or a deposit against default, on over-the-counter trades.
Members of the Koch network have quickly fallen in line and joined in the call to repeal. At an event co-hosted by the Cato Institute and Mercatus Center, the Koch-funded think tanks called into question “what the act has achieved.” Another Koch crony, Representative Jeb Hensarling, went so far as to name Dodd-Frank “a failure” in a Wall Street Journal op-ed.
The reality is Dodd-Frank significantly helped rein in the market issues that caused the 2008 financial crisis. But the Koch brothers have proved repeatedly they have no qualms about risking the larger economy as long as it benefits their company — and their wallets.