With the collapse of Lehman Brothers, which precipitated the global financial crisis, now a year in the past, it is important not to forget the lessons that the country was forced to learn. As top Wall Street firms are returning to business as usual, doling out lavish bonuses shortly after receiving life support from the tax payers, it is vital for the President and Congress to push harder for regulatory reform. Even as the stock market recovers, it is important to bear in mind that, as the New York Times puts it, the US government is “the nation’s biggest lender, insurer, automaker, and guarantor against risk for investors large and small.” Nine out of ten mortgages are government financed, the government owns 80% of insurance giant AIG, and government spending has reached 26% of GDP.

This unprecedented government intervention into the economy was of course fully necessary and justified. The bold action that was taken undoubtedly prevented the financial crisis from causing a second Great Depression. Still, Americans have a right to be angry that their tax dollars are benefiting Wall Street firms that do not seem to have changed their practices. The crisis proved that the financial sector, like a rebellious child, is unable to regulate and restrain its behavior even when it is in its own best interest.

It’s time to get Wall Street while it’s still down. The financial sector, armed with unimaginable amounts of money and influence, has traditionally been untouchable when it comes to any regulation that might slightly decrease short-term profits. Finance money has even found its way into the pockets of many Democrats. It was under the Clinton administration (though with a Republican Congress) that the Glass Steagall Act, New Deal legislation which prevented commercial banks from gambling with depositors’ money, was essentially repealed and legislation was passed that exempt derivatives and other complex financial instruments from regulation.

Even as the worst of the financial crisis was unfolding, financial firms including Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, and Credit Suisse, got together to form a lobbying group called the CDS Dealers Consortium. This lobbying group already scored a victory when the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act was passed without a provision to allow families facing foreclosure to have their mortgages renegotiated in bankruptcy courts. Though President Obama supported this measure, he sat on the sidelines, not wanting to pick a fight with the finance industry.

If Democrats don’t take on Wall Street now, while the industry is still reeling and Americans are still furious, they will not likely get another chance. Obama’s proposed Consumer Financial Protection Agency, which would ensure that ordinary consumers are not taken advantage of by financial firms, is already running into opposition by Blue Dog Democrats in the House who claim it would be too onerous for banks. Currently, consumer protection is provided for by an inefficient, ad-hoc, patchwork of regulators. Creating a single agency to ensure that ordinary people understand what they’re buying is crucial; many purchasers of subprime mortgages were unaware that they could qualify for ordinary prime mortgages. Banks are in no position to complain about onerous regulation and the President needs to stand firm on this issue.

When it comes to regulating derivatives – the complex financial instruments that helped bring down the financial system – the administration’s plan unfortunately has too many loopholes. Though some derivatives would be regulated and traded on public exchanges to provide for transparency, many “customized” derivatives would still be unregulated. As Senator Harkin (D-IA) eloquently put it “you’d get a loophole big enough to drive a truck through.”

For the good of the American people and even the financial industry itself, it is time for Democrats to take off the kid gloves. For once, someone needs to pick a fight with the bankers.

Dan Smith is the Vice President of the Cornell Democrats