News-Record.com

The LTE writer is referring to the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999, "which served to reduce government regulations in existence since the Great Depression separating banking, insurance and brokerage activities" [read: "deregulation"]

Gramm was very well compensated.

http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/summary.php?cid=N00005709&cycle=2002

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Then there was the 2006 (?) law that allowed substantial increase of leverges (Can't find the link, Maybe Molly has it)

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and let us not forget ...

http://www.freep.com/article/20081020/NEWS07/810200327/1009

"For the numerous writers to this column blaming the Bush administration for deregulating the banking industry, you should learn that the last major banking regulation change was signed into law in 1999 by Bill Clinton and approved in the Senate by Chuck Schumer, John Kerry, Chris Dodd and Joe Biden with a vote of 90-8."

"No new deregulation has occurred since."

I guess the writer is firmly laying the blame on the Republican Congress of '99 and just incidentally Bill Clinton for not vetoing it. He goes on to lay blame on subsequent Republican congress' that had no action on the issues.

I don't want to let these Republican congress' off the hook but, Mr. Harcus needs to get in touch with Alan Greenspan. He (and every economist that I've seen) has missed this and the CRA fairytale that has been making the rightwing rounds. If this story is such a slamdunk of a reason it makes you wonder why John McCain hasn't been shouting it to the rooftops. Might be because it's not more than at best a peripheral issue (if that).

Here's what Greenspan said on the issue.

http://oversight.house.gov/documents/20081023100438.pdf

If Mr. Harcus wants to blame the Republican congress' over the last few years (as he apparently does) he probably needs to look at the amount of oversight that they performed over the Bush Whitehouses oversight of the banking industry. He also needs to look at the Democrats of the last year and a half also.

David,

Wrong. Please research the SEC deregulation that occurred under William Donaldson, that allowed Investment Banks to lower their capital/equity coverage, hence bringing about the $1 equity to $33 in lending. GWB supported and pushed this deregulation through....and the implosion occurred ie ...Bear Sterns and Lehman and others.

Guys, Geore Bush did not take hundreds of thousands of dollars from Fannie and Freddie, and did not make hundreds of millions bonuses by posting phony numbers. Those names include Chris Dodd, senator Obama, Franklin Raines, Jamie Gorelik, Jim Johnson, and Barney Frank among others, mostly Demo-rats.

This is similar to what happended at Enron, the difference being that Enron was considered a Republican entity. Enron is gone, Ken Lay died before going to prison, and top Enron execs are serving prison terms, after being proseucted by the Bush Justice Dept.

Fannie and Freddie, on the other hand, was protected by Dodd, Frank, the entire Congessional Negro Congress (how can we forget the video showing the "brilliant and lovely" Maxine Waters praising Raines for the "wonderful" job he's done at Fannie, other "genius" members of that same "elightened" caucus attacked the regulator for pointing out the corruption. Only one member of that esteemed group has since apologized, whild Barnedy Frank is telling us that it was he who tried to put a stop to the problem! Right! Apparently Barney hasn't seen the videos of Barney denying any problems (literally weeks before thed implosion) at Fannie andFreddie. The rest as they say, is history.

Why aren't the Fannie and Freddie execs in prison as this scandal has made Enron look like petty theft. Why aren't the members of congress (Demo-Rats or Republicans) who took money from Fannie and Freddie then either covered up their misdeeds, or stopped any new regulations called for by Greenspan, McCain in 2005, and Bush, at least a dozen times in 08', being called to testify? I think we know why! And finally, with Enron, there was no massive bailout with taxpayer dollars, and these corrupt entities continue to operate!

Deregulation is not the problem. Corruption is the problem. Many industries have been deregulated over the years providing consumers with more choices, and lower costs. When I traveled to New York for business, I paid $15 each way on People Express, then on US Airways when they matched the price which drove People Express out of business. Deregulation has been a mostly good thing. And try to remember deregulation does not mean NO regulation. The congress is responsible for oversight. They didn't do their jobs, just as the SEC under Chris Cox did not do its job.

Too much government regulation, and the costs involved is mostly what has driven so many jobs overseas where they don't have the associated
high costs of doing business. Excessive, and misguided government regulation which stemmed from the usual knee-jerk reacion of congress to a crisis, gave us Sarbanes-Oxley which has been a major problem, aloong with Mark to Market, which forces the entities holding the now nearly worthless financial istruments, to value or sell them at their worth now, rather than why they might expected to be worth after the recovery. Removing that foolishness would have made the situation must less serious had they simply gotten rid of it and gone back to the old standard.

It was the congress that created this problem, and the reason why the fix is not working as suggested is that the congress is involved in the "fix!"

... now we know why he is know as Tony Baloney.

My baloney has a first name........

It's Toney!