Politics
Out of context: Reply #534
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- hallelujah0
"The American economy is being wrecked by conservatism. Something like one trillion dollars has evaporated almost overnight, George Bush is apparently hiding in the White House, banks and brokerage houses fall, investment bankers think of leaping off tall buildings cushioned by a golden parachute, and taxpayers are on the hook for these serial conservative failures to the tune of hundreds of billions and counting. There's plenty of blame to go around the entire GOP. But if we have to choose just one, the ringleader in the economic failure of conservatism -- the man who called this horrific economy a mental problem and those of us worried about it a 'nation of whiners' -- is a lesser known figure by the name of William "Phil" Gramm:
Gramm spearheaded efforts to pass banking reform laws, including the landmark Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act in 1999, which served to reduce government regulations in existence since the Great Depression separating banking, insurance and brokerage activities. ... critics of Gramm point out that this same legislation may have been pivotal in encouraging the corporate practices that led to the 2008 mortgage crises in America.
In a just world, Mr. Gramm would spend the rest of his life in abject poverty, marching from town to town begging forgiveness of the millions of Americans whose lives he helped ruin. In John McCain's bizarro world, Phil Gramm remains a trusted economic advisor and close personal friend. John McCain is entitled to choose his friends as he see fit. But politically, given Gramm's indisputable role in the unfolding economic meltdown, if McCain is serious about regaining any credibility at all, he must jettison the failed conservative ideology that landed us in this mess. McCain could at least start by immediately and publicly disavowing the corrupt influence of Phil Gramm."