JUST IN: Obama Vetoes Republican Bill Designed to Rip Off Seniors
President Obama heroically stood up for the American consumer by vetoing a measure which would have given financial advisers wider latitude to rob American’s blind. This was Obama’s tenth veto, which is the lowest veto count since President Harding left office in 1923 where he only served two years. This clearly shows Obama’s tendency toward being dictatorial as Republicans routinely claim.
At issue was The Labor Department’s fiduciary rule that requires financial advisers to act in the best interests of those with retirement accounts. Naturally, Republicans are against a rule that prevents consumers from being swindled and both The Senate and House voted in April to overturn the rule. Obama declared in his veto, “This rule is critical to protecting Americans’ hard-earned savings and preserving their retirement security.” He continued, “The outdated regulations in place before this rulemaking did not ensure that financial advisers act in their clients’ best interests when giving retirement investment advice. Instead, some firms have incentivized advisers to steer clients into products that have higher fees and lower returns — costing America’s families an estimated $17 billion a year.”
One may wonder why Republicans would wish for Americans to be pushed towards risky investments which is a large reason why The Great Recession began in 2007 under President Bush, but the answer is obvious. Republicans don’t care about the average American.
GOP Congressman John Kline of Minnesota snapped back against Obama claiming, “Those who will be hurt the most are the very men and women who need help saving for retirement.” Kline offered this rhetoric while offering no evidence to substantiate his claim. Kline’s colleague, GOP Congressman Phil Roe of Tennessee, attempted to spin the scenario as if Republicans were actually trying to help the American people by stating, “We’ll continue to do everything in our power to protect access to affordable retirement advice for every American.” It shall be noted for the record Roe said nothing about the value, or the integrity of the advice. Only that it should be cheap, just like his party’s moral standing.
