Here's What Elizabeth Warren And The SEC Are Really Fighting About

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) stunned Wall Street this week with a scathing letter to Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Mary Jo White. The letter said White had been soft on high finance felons, but raised eyebrows in the nation's capital for another reason -- publicly accusing White of "misleading" Warren in a private meeting.

White identifies as a political independent and frequently votes with the SEC's Republican commissioners, creating a 3-2 majority that thwarts the agency's Democratic appointees. The commission has granted a host of waivers shielding big Wall Street...