Republicans, with the assistance of 16 Democratic senators, voted to roll back part of the banking restrictions put in place after the 2008 recession.

I recommend the film The Big Short for anyone who would like an entertaining and accessible way to understand the issues in the 2008 financial crisis.

Here’s the incredible amount of money banks have been fined since the financial crisis.  It’s $243 billion!  To be fair, the new looser rules do not affect the biggest banks, which were the ones listed here in the fine totals.  Still, we need to learn from the last crisis to avoid the next one.  Sad!