Once Upon a Time There was a Financial Meltdown
One of the fundamental tenets of the rapidly disintegrating Republican party is opposition to government regulation. Those on the Democratic team need to make sure that Hillary (and other party leaders) talk more about the relationship between Republican party philosophy and the near catastrophic financial meltdown of 2008. In fact, that should be done at every available opportunity.
Deregulation of the banking system and risky practices in the mortgage industry were directly responsible for creating the conditions that resulted in the global financial crisis. A greater collapse was prevented only by the intervention of the government led by George W. Bush's Secretary of the Treasury, Henry Paulson. The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act brought order to the chaos with a life raft of bank bailouts and corporate rescues. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was signed into law by President Obama in 2009, providing an unprecedented $832 billion for a vast program intended to stimulate the American economy.
The worst economic failure since the Great Depression of 1929 was thus averted. In its wake, millions of Americans lost their jobs, their homes, their savings; businesses collapsed and the stock market was brought to the edge of the cliff.
Nobody ever went to jail for these crimes. One would think that this disaster would have forever discredited the mindset of unregulated greed that is at the heart of this kind of practice. GOP leaders have said that a victory in the November elections will return the nation to the same anti-regulation ideals that are at the root of the Republican party. The consequences for environmental protection and for climate change legislation alone will be devastating. Other industries that would be impacted include food, health, pharmaceuticals, oil, energy and others. It is clear that America's choice this November will be a critical one. The world will be watching.
Deregulation of the banking system and risky practices in the mortgage industry were directly responsible for creating the conditions that resulted in the global financial crisis. A greater collapse was prevented only by the intervention of the government led by George W. Bush's Secretary of the Treasury, Henry Paulson. The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act brought order to the chaos with a life raft of bank bailouts and corporate rescues. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was signed into law by President Obama in 2009, providing an unprecedented $832 billion for a vast program intended to stimulate the American economy.
The worst economic failure since the Great Depression of 1929 was thus averted. In its wake, millions of Americans lost their jobs, their homes, their savings; businesses collapsed and the stock market was brought to the edge of the cliff.
Nobody ever went to jail for these crimes. One would think that this disaster would have forever discredited the mindset of unregulated greed that is at the heart of this kind of practice. GOP leaders have said that a victory in the November elections will return the nation to the same anti-regulation ideals that are at the root of the Republican party. The consequences for environmental protection and for climate change legislation alone will be devastating. Other industries that would be impacted include food, health, pharmaceuticals, oil, energy and others. It is clear that America's choice this November will be a critical one. The world will be watching.
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