If Barack Obama hoped to pivot to the economy by stirring up populist anger against the very banks he and Democrats in Congress helped bail out over the last two years, he found controversy and a shot across his bow instead.  Mayor Mike Bloomberg lashed out at Obama’s reform proposals, calling them economic doom for his city and an end to the US as the center of Western finance.  Expect layoffs by the boatload if this passes, an angry Bloomberg told reporters yesterday:

President Barack Obama’s demand Thursday that Congress clamp down on the size of banks and their investments got major blowback from New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who said it could cause layoffs and hurt the city.

It’s a clash between the president and the mayor. President Obama wants to whittle away at the size of the financial services industry. …

The mayor was so upset about the move — and a suggestion that Wall Street bonuses be put in escrow, which means the money wouldn’t be spent here, wouldn’t help the city economy — he responded with a proposal of his own for members of Congress.

“Maybe we should hold back their salaries for a decade or so and see whether the laws they pass work out,” Bloomberg said.

The mayor also demanded that the members of our congressional delegation go to the mat to protect the financial services industry, much like senators from Texas protect the oil industry.