Finally, a REAL filibuster!

Apparently, trying to get those much needed changes to the financial regulation bill aren't that important. After threatening to literally hold votes throughout the night, Republican leadership just announced that they would agree to let the bill come to the floor for debate. Senators got to get some sleep.

Let's hope the Republicans didn't succeed at getting rid of the $50B resolution authority, paid for by special taxes on big banks. They call it a "bailout fund" when it really allows the Feds to purchase the failed bank, own it for a couple of hours to a day or two and then sell the assets to another more stable banking institution (most likely at a loss) hence the need for the fund.

But again, let's say Bank of Ernie goes under. The entire board of directors gets fired, the shareholders and their investments are wiped out, all of the staff are fired -- unless the bank that's purchasing my bank wants to keep them. The $50b in the fund goes to protect the depositors who are insured under FDIC and goes to soften the debts to counterparties that would be of systemic risk to the U.S. economy as a whole. Then Bank of Ernie ceases to exist.  See? No bailout here, just a "selling a bankrupt bank probably isn't going to garner a profit" fund.