Occupy the SEC
In February, Occupy the SEC put together a 325-page comment letter picking apart the Volcker Rule and identifying loopholes within the proposed legislation that rendered it less powerful than they thought would be ideal. “The Agencies involved in the Volcker rulemaking process have an historic opportunity to redress many of the economic wrongs of the past, and create a future that privileges the interests of the many rather than the few,” they wrote. With its formal letter, Occupy the SEC sought to counteract the wave of letters from industry groups and lobbyists seeking to protect bankers from new regulations. Many Occupy the SEC members have worked, or still work, on Wall Street, and at least one is a former SEC regulator. Reuter’s business writer Felix Salmon called their letter “absolutely astonishing” and its authors “whip-smart.” Since then, they have updated their comments and sent letters to various congressional committees.