Did Bush Cause the Financial Crisises?...BBC

[Stuart G]

Did Bush cause the financial crisis?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7814704.stm

By Greg Wood
BBC North America Business Correspondent, New York

"Consider the terrible consequences of the 'anything goes' Bush Administration, whose irresponsible non-regulation of financial institutions has led to this crisis."


Those words, from the Democratic Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, sum up the charge against George W Bush - that in the eight years of his presidency he actively pursued policies of deregulation which caused the biggest financial and economic meltdown since the Great Depression.

It is a grim legacy for President Bush to contemplate as he enters his final days in office - but is it true?

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Now running on the BBC. We all know it is true, but at least the BBC is asking this question world wide..

[WillieW]

1. Yes, the moron caused it.

[Le Taz Hot]

2. From the article:

Many see the repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act as a major, direct cause of the current financial crisis.

But it was signed by a Democratic President, Bill Clinton, and supported by many other Democratic politicians, among them the scourge of Bush deregulation Nancy Pelosi.

If we don't hold "our own" accountable, this Democracy is dead.

[Lasher]

6. The Glass-Steagall Act of 1933 was repealed by Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999.

The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999 was introduced in the Senate by Phil Gramm (R-TX) as S.900 and in the House of Representatives by James Leach (R-IA) as H.R. 10. S. 900 was passed along party lines 54-44 in the Senate by Roll Call Vote 105 on by May 6, 1999. A different version (H.R. 10) passed in the House without objection (no roll call vote) on July 20, 1999. But the two chambers could not agree on a joint version of the bill until Republicans agreed to strengthen provisions of the Community Reinvestment Act and address certain privacy concerns, which won the support of Senate Democrats.

The bill was returned from conference for final votes in both Houses as S. 900. It passed 90-8 in the Senate on November 4, 1999 by Roll Call Vote 354 and passed 362-57 on the same day in the House by Roll Call Vote 570.

This effectively dismantled Glass-Steagall Act of 1933, allowing financial services institutions to merge. The Act was veto proof by the time it reached President Clinton but he would have signed it anyway.

The deregulation was distinctly a Republican initiative. Democrats capitulated mainly to get CRA enhancements. But nearly all members of Congress were complicit when the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933 met its demise. Congressional Democrats and the Clinton Administration lost their way when they failed to defended this New Deal safeguard.

Republicans Propose a Deal on Financial Services - New York Times - October 13, 1999

This discussion is not complete without some mention of The Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000, also known as The Enron Loophole. This legislation arguably did more to trigger the current financial meltdown than The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999. With his wife Wendy standing by as a member of Enron's Board of Directors, Phil Gramm was a key player in the push to get derivatives trading deregulated by passage of the CFMA. This led directly to the fraud brought about upon electricity consumers in California. Thence the term, 'Enron Loophole'. But even more damage has been done by the unregulated credit default swaps that have ensued.

Most thought the CFMA dead that year, but Gramm slipped it into a must-pass omnibus spending bill during the final days of the Clinton Administration.

That is how all this got set up. Then on January 22, 2001 along came The Decider to show us all what the Invisible Hand could really do for us.

[Le Taz Hot]

7. Translation:

The Democrats compromised. Again. The end result is the same and, as is stated in your post, the vote was 90:8 in the Senate.

If we are not going to hold "our" representatives accountable, who will?

[Lasher]

8. Yes, I was hoping to have made that clear.

Democratic leaders are way too quick to go all bipartisany. The GOP had been trying for years to hand that prize to their rich benefactors and Democrats let them do it. Not the brightest moment for Congressional Democrats or the Clinton administration.

[Lasher]

3. I don't know, who's been president for the past 8 years?

Whoever it was, that's the person responsible. Buck stops here and all that, ya know.

[Beer Snob-50]

4. i think this whole financial mess

started with the great communicator ronny reagan and every president forward has done something to worse. deregulation has been proven not to work and we needed someone in government to say so!!

[SpiralHawk]

5. "I dood it. Smirk." - Commander AWOL (R)

"Shock & Awe, baby. Me and my 'elite' fatcat republicon cronies got OURS socked away in our Swiss Bank Accounts. Too bad about you noisy, low-class, hard-working American Proles. I'll be this Financial Crisis shit is TORTURE for you. Bwaaa ha ha ha ha ha. Smirk."

- Commander AWOL (R)

[ThomWV]

9. How is Bush different than Hoover? Hoover let it happen ...