I have always been committed to the principle that it is not the duty of government to bail out and reward those who act irresponsibly, whether they are big banks or small borrowers. Government assistance to the banking system should be based solely on preventing systemic risk that dell precision m70 battery,dell y4367 battery would endanger the entire financial system and the economy. I thought he said he wasn’t going to play election year politics with the housing crisis?

He’s a real nowhere man

The Glass-Steagall Act was enacted to remedy the speculative abuses that infected commercial banking prior to the collapse of the stock market and the financial panic of 1929-1933, by separating banking and investment. Because of the repeal of the Act, banks now can make loans without regard to risk or concern about financially shaky borrowers who may have a hard time paying an adjustable rate mortgage. Banks no longer concern themselves because they sell the loans to companies like Bear Stearns and will not be there when the loan goes into default. Admittedly, everyone bought into the false expectation that home prices would continue to rise indefinitely.

On April 6, 1998, Sandy Weill of Travelers Ins. and John Reed of Citicorp announce a $70 billion stock swap merging Travelers (which owned the investment house Salomon Smith Barney) and Citicorp (the parent of Citibank), to create Citigroup Inc., the world’s largest financial services company, in what was the biggest corporate merger in history.

The transaction would have to work around regulations in the Glass-Steagall and Bank Holding Company acts governing the industry, which were implemented precisely to prevent this type of company.

Following the merger announcement on April 6, 1998, Weill immediately plunges into a public-relations and lobbying campaign for the repeal of Glass-Steagall and passage of new financial services legislation (what becomes the Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999). One week before the Citibank-Travelers deal was announced, Congress had shelved its latest effort to repeal Glass-Steagall. Weill cranks up a new effort to revive bill.

Weill and Reed have to act quickly for both business and political reasons. Fears that the necessary regulatory changes would not happen in time had caused the share prices of both companies to fall.

As the push for new legislation heats up, lobbyists quip that raising the issue of financial modernization really signals the start of a fresh round of political fund-raising. Indeed, in the 1997-98 election cycle, the finance, insurance, and real estate industries (known as the FIRE sector), spends more than $200 million on lobbying and makes more than $150 million in political donations. Campaign contributions are targeted to members of Congressional banking committees and other committees with direct jurisdiction over financial services legislation.

After 12 attempts in 25 years, Congress finally repeals Glass-Steagall, rewarding financial companies for more than 20 years and $300 million worth of lobbying efforts. Supporters hail the change as the long-overdue demise of a Depression-era relic.

On Oct. 22, Weill and John Reed issue a statement congratulating Congress and President Clinton, including 19 administration officials and lawmakers by name. The House and Senate approve a final version of the bill on Nov. 4, and Clinton signs it into law later that month.

Just days after the administration (including the Treasury Department) agrees to support the repeal, Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, the former co-chairman of a major Wall Street investment bank, Goldman Sachs, raises eyebrows by accepting a top job at Citigroup as Weill’s chief lieutenant.

It certainly was successful for Bush !!??!

Every time this guys opens his mouth he reminds me a little more of Reagan — post-Alzheimer’s Reagan that is.

I’m not sure a box on his back will help him. They’re going to have a smart neocon as his VP, and that neocon will be ready to take over after McCain has to step down for ‘health issues’, and then he’ll appoint a tool as VP and really start taking advantage of Dubya’s power grab.

This assumes that the Democrats don’t get their act together and send Hillary packing before August…

Again, you’ve been flagged. I find it very funny that suddenly ‘Master Satan’ shows up spewing your line about socking Dubya in the jaw for all eternity in hell (which I thought was funny the first time I saw it. ;) Not so much the next 49…no, make that 50…), I assumed he was you after being banned, and suddenly you come to ‘his’ defense.

If your goal was to act like there were two of you, you screwed the pooch royally on that. Of course, you COULD have said, “Nah, I didn’t get banned, just wanted to have some fun.” I’d tell you, “That’s called sock-puppeting, and is trollish. Have your fun in other ways, like come up with a new insult for Dubya.” Instead, you spewed your crap.

One of two reasons for that.

1) You really are a righty troll, possibly yet another account of the one troll that comes here and drops right-wing troll turds here. Goal is to make us look bad.

2) You’re a lefty troll. In which case, I’d tell you head to a righty blog, post your crap, get banned, go to the next one, repeat, and so on. You’re making _us_ look bad.

The only reason I’m replying to you is to get you to continue spewing your crap which I then flag, get you to shut up, or ideally, get you to apologize for going after one of your own and reserve your spew for trolls…the ideal solution. Let’s see if you’re smart enough to figure out I’m playing you right now. :)

Wanna bet he gets a special ‘box on the back’?