Byron Dorgan: “We cannot possibly end this discussion without addressing the central issues that caused the near collapse of our…”

“We cannot possibly end this discussion without addressing the central issues that caused the near collapse of our economy, one of which is the unbearable speculation, the speculation in exotic financial instruments such as credit default swaps that, by the way, now is on the rise. It is not receding, it is on the rise. The fourth quarter of last year the credit default swaps were up by 8 percent, $14 trillion in notional value, up 8 percent in the fourth quarter of last year alone. I also feel very strongly that the issue of too big to fail is a real issue. We cannot just brush it away saying: I wish it was not an issue. The too-big-to-fail companies have gotten bigger, much bigger. Well, that is not a solution for this country's economy. The issue of betting in the lobby of our banks, as I have said, they might as well put in a Keno table or a blackjack table and wager that way. These are bets, not investments. There are tens of trillions of dollars' worth of these bets. Because we want to tighten the laces a little on this, this amendment would ban naked credit default swaps over a period of time.”