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On the other side of the issue falls the Main Street Alliance, a network of 10,000 small-business owners in 15 states. That group has been sending letters to members of Congress arguing in favor of, among other things, a strong and independent Consumer Financial Protection Agency. Why? Because consumer is just another word for customer, and when people wind up with less money because of things like predatory mortgages, payday lending and, yes, overpriced car loans, there's less for them to spend at their neighborhood small businesses.
Another hotbed issue is how to reform the market for derivatives, the sophisticated financial instruments that contributed to the downfall and bailout of insurer AIG. Many big companies use derivatives to hedge day-to-day business risks; a firm that sells its wares overseas may trade currency derivatives in order to offset the risk of spending American dollars to make its goods but collecting European euros or Japanese yen when it sells them. Business lobby groups like the Chamber of Commerce have pulled together some 180 large corporations to make the case that they should be guaranteed special treatment under such rules since their main use of derivatives isn't speculation.
But other segments of Big Business have come forward to support the efforts of Senator Blanche Lincoln, who has proposed the most stringent overhaul of derivatives yet. In mid-April, the CEO of Delta Air Lines wrote to Lincoln explaining how rampant speculation in the derivatives markets for oil had wreaked havoc on the airline's ability to manage costs in 2008 and contributed to the firm's layoffs of 10,000 employees. Delta, for one, is happy to have regulators exercise discretion about which companies should get special treatment.
The bottom line is that when it comes to a topic as complex as financial reform, any sweeping statement is almost sure to be wrong. Will businesses be burdened by financial reform? Yes, some will. For many, the benefits will outweigh that additional burden, but for others, they won't. The point isn't to listen to the companies that can shout the loudest but to make decisions that do the most good for the most actors in the economy, now and for years to come.