The MReport Webcast: Monday 7/13/2015

Witnesses at a recent House Financial Services Committee hearing testified the Dodd-Frank Act has "reduced financial stability" and made Americans worse off financially in the controversial law's first five years of existence. The hearing was the first in a series of three full Committee hearings to examine the impact Dodd-Frank has had on American consumers and the country's financial system and economy since President Obama signed it in to law in July 2010

The focus of Thursday's hearing was on how the 400 new regulations enacted in the 2,300-page law is a threat to the country's financial stability. One of the witnesses said that American families were not better off five years after Dodd-Frank went into law. While supporters of Dodd-Frank say the law has put an end to "too big to fail," members of the Committee said Dodd-Frank placed "too big to fail," into law, leaving taxpayers exposed to the risk if the economic stability of financial institutions designated as "too big to fail" was to be threatened.

Like-kind exchanges in the real estate market are an important factor for property acquisition and disposal, and they also support the nation's financial growth, job creation, and economy, according to a new survey from the National Association of Realtors. The survey found that Realtors are active participants in like-kind exchanges, with 63 percent noting that they participated in a like-kind exchange transaction between 2011 and 2015. The survey also found that these like-kind exchanges in which Realtors participated created between 10 and 35 new jobs.