I got to wondering earlier today: Would there be a economic crisis if the newspapers and other Main Stream Media outlets were not selling us the gloom and doom by the bushel?
I'll leave y'all with that question for the weekend.
Blog on friends.
Blog on all.
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A house of cards too big to sweep under the bed
A Meek Ending For Mighty Unit That Gutted AIG
"In recent years, Financial Products wrote a series of private contracts that faltered and came back to haunt its parent company in a very public way, leaving the insurance giant on the brink of collapse. Fearing that the failure of AIG could send shock waves throughout the financial system, the federal government stepped in last September with the single largest bailout of a company in U.S. history, a total rescue package of up to $152 billion."
"For years, the firm carved out a reputation as an innovative force envied and emulated on Wall Street. It made billions of dollars in the complex world of financial derivatives. But in 1998, executives approved a break from the firm's cautious past. Financial Products began writing credit-default swaps, which essentially insured a company's debt in case of default."
The Financial Services Modernization Act (of 1999) specifically exempted Wall Street from state gambling laws. As many 'investor' bettors as wanted to could bet on anybody's debt if they could find a counter-party to take the bet. Counter parties could take as many bets as they wanted without regard to their ability to pay if the third-party debt on which they were gambling defaulted.
11/04/99 - Gramm's Closing Floor Statement on Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act
"Ultimately, the final judge of the bill is history. Ultimately, as you look at the bill, you have to ask yourself, Will people in the future be trying to repeal it, as we are here today trying to repeal--and hopefully repealing--Glass-Steagall? I think the answer will be no. I think it will be no because we are doing something very different from Glass-Steagall. Glass-Steagall, in the midst of the Great Depression, thought Government was the answer. In this period of economic growth and prosperity, we believe freedom is the answer.
"This is a deregulatory bill. I believe that is going to be the wave of the future. Although this bill will be changed many times, and changed dramatically as we expand freedom and opportunity, I do not believe it will be repealed. It sets the foundation for the future, and that will be the test.
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