Now that the financial reform bill has based the Senate and moved to the President’s desk, what types of change can consumers realistically expect to see in the near future?

The answer to that question largely depends on who you believe. Tea party enthusiasts, right-leaning libertarians, and conservatives, of course, predict the downfall of American business. It would be easier to tolerate their fear-mongering if there was an opposing side on the left claiming that the reforms will stabilize the economy and protect consumers.

Unfortunately, there aren’t many people saying that. Those that are sound just as wacky as those who think that increased financial regulation will cause some kind of economic apocalypse.

It’s impossible to really know how the reform will affect consumers because it largely depends on how the new regulations are implemented. After all, deregulation wasn’t the only factor that led to the current crisis. The collapse was also caused by a persistent refusal to enforce regulations. Whether you call it corruption or common-sense politics, the results hurt just about everyone.

In the below YouTube video, Young Turks corespondent Cenk Uygur presents a pessimistic attitude towards the reform. I have to agree with most of his analysis. He gets a few details wrong (such as claiming that the media has consistently hailed the bill as the greatest financial reform since the Great Depression, which I’ve seen very little of), but the meat of his perspective is pretty accurate.

Obama’s campaign focused on the possibility of chance. So far, there hasn’t been as much change as his supporters thought they were voting for. There certainly have been some disappointments, such as the move to open off-shore drilling and continuation of some Bush policies that limit the individual freedoms of US citizens and non-citizens.

If real change financial change is imminent, then we should see someone serious put in charge of a newly formed consumer protection agency. If its Elizabeth Warren, then something could actually happen. If not, then it’s time to become wary of all promises of change. After all, the so-called healthcare reform bill got passed, but failed to provide the protection that election campaigns promised, largely because it focused too much on insurance and too little on healthcare.

We’ll just have to see how the current bill is interpreted and enforced before we know how well consumers will be protected. Unfortunately, it looks like the new regulations don’t seem strict enough to prevent another economic meltdown from occurring in a couple decades.

(Image via: Stock Market Newz)