The same industries that in 1997 and 1998 alone gave over $58 million in contributions to political candidates, $87 million to the two parties, and spent an additional $163 million in "expenses."
Here's what "big" Phil said at the signing:
" The world changes, and Congress
and the laws have to change with it.
"Abraham Lincoln used to like to use the analogy that
old and outmoded laws need to be changed
because it made about as much sense
to continue to impose them on people
as it did to ask a man to wear the same clothes
he did when he was a child.
"In the 1930s, at the trough of the Depression,
when Glass-Steagall became law,
it was believed that government was the answer.
It was believed that stability and growth
came from government overriding the functioning of free markets.
(Turns out they were right and you were wrong.)
"We are here today to repeal Glass-Steagall
because we have learned that government is not the answer.
We have learned that freedom and competition are the answers.
We have learned that we promote economic growth
and we promote stability by having competition and freedom.
"I am proud to be here because this is an important bill;
it is a deregulatory bill.
I believe that that is the wave of the future,
and I am awfully proud to have been a part of making it."
and the laws have to change with it.
"Abraham Lincoln used to like to use the analogy that
old and outmoded laws need to be changed
because it made about as much sense
to continue to impose them on people
as it did to ask a man to wear the same clothes
he did when he was a child.
"In the 1930s, at the trough of the Depression,
when Glass-Steagall became law,
it was believed that government was the answer.
It was believed that stability and growth
came from government overriding the functioning of free markets.
(Turns out they were right and you were wrong.)
"We are here today to repeal Glass-Steagall
because we have learned that government is not the answer.
We have learned that freedom and competition are the answers.
We have learned that we promote economic growth
and we promote stability by having competition and freedom.
"I am proud to be here because this is an important bill;
it is a deregulatory bill.
I believe that that is the wave of the future,
and I am awfully proud to have been a part of making it."
So, John, now you want the taxpayers to bale out the industries that you geniuses deregulated, so that the banks could run amok like they did, in the run up to the Great Depression? We don't need a CYA Commission to study that John. It sounds like another **Keating Five moment, but, maybe this Commission will turn out better for you.
Commentary:
The misappropriation of Lincoln's quote didn't take into account that, the Great Depression was a lesson that provided us valuable information, and showed us how to protect ourselves against the rampant greed of a small minority of businessmen, with shortsighted profit potential as their only motive.
It was not an outmoded law, as was suggested by Phil Gramm, it did what government does best, protects its citizens against the ruthless ambitions of the amoral among us. It was a lesson learned and forgotten by the American people, facilitated by paid stooges, that have led us into another debacle. The truth is, there is no expiration date on human greed and governments protection of its citizens is never outmoded.
No one in either party is immune from scrutiny in this current debacle, Republican or Democrat. They were all in on it to one degree or other. There were only eight dissenting votes in the Senate and 57 dissenting votes in the House, when the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act passed. Who was looking out for us? Apparently no one. The words, Phil Gramm, spoke at the signing ceremony, ring hollow and are full of bitter irony in light of the tremendous damage this supposed "deregulatory bill" has caused.
One thing for sure, government regulations are the only protection we have against the ruthless, rich and greedy. And that the Republican mantras': free markets, deregulation, tax cuts for the rich and government is the problem, are empty self serving bullshit.
John you have been working for decades to weaken the agencies that should have been watching these industries like hawks. And now you want, the American tax payer, to bale out your rich friends? And elect you as President? What Chutzpah!!
**A similar failure of the S&Ls in 1980s, in which John McCain played a prominent role, was precipitated by the deregulation of the savings and loan associations, allowing them to make highly risky investments with their depositors' money, such as buying land, taking equity positions in real estate development projects, and buying high-yield junk bonds.
The failure and subsequent government bale-out, prompted a Congressional investigation which focused on the President of the Lincoln Savings and Loan and five U.S. Congressmen, who became known as the Keating Five. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keating_Five
If you want more details here's where to start looking:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gramm-Leach-Bliley_Act#cite_note-3
http://partners.nytimes.com/library/financial/102399banks-congress.html
http://partners.nytimes.com/library/financial/102399bank-lobby.html
http://partners.nytimes.com/library/financial/102399bank-impact.html
http://partners.nytimes.com/library/financial/102399bank-analysis.html
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