As 158 year old Lehman Brothers stands on the cliff of bankruptcy, insurance giant American International Group struggles to restore investor confidence, and Merrill Lynch desperately seeks a buyer for itself, tomorrow may go down in history as "Black Monday" on Wall Street and John McCain's primary financial advisor, Phil Gramm sponsored the deregulation legislation responsible for much of it:

Gramm-Leach-Bliley Financial Services Modernization Act
- 53 Republican Senators including John McCain - AYE
- 44 Democrats no Republicans - NAY

Economists have criticized Gramm-Leach-Bliley and its repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act as contributing to the 2007 subprime mortgage crisis which has now snowballed into a full-fledged financial system crisis. It has been described as "corporate welfare for financial institutions and a moral hazard that will make taxpayers pay dearly".

Are these the guys we want running our economy?

CNBC special report on right now.

"Thank God the economy is not as bad as you read in the newspaper every day." - Phil Gramm in 2008

This is history happening, people. It raises doubts about our entire system of credit and debt.

It's all in our head, remember?

If you believe McCain and Bush it is in your head. Of course you have to remember where they sit each day in their financial realm. Once you consider that war has made them and their friends richer instead of poorer and the cost of fuel and food, etc... is of no consequence to them.

Of course it must be in our heads.

McCain said it himself the middle class income starts at 5 million a year.

What else was it that moron Gramm said... oh yea, A nation of whiners...

the government officials do not know how to cut spending. they dont.

i would so love to see the offical senator retirement plan. the kind of insurance cards they carry. not to mention where most of the cabinet members have their stock intrests and portifolios. this would be interesting info.

Who's the only member of Congress to turn down the lucrative pension and health insurance plan?

im not sure...but the man would have to be crazy and dumb to turn down such a lucrative plan

Or how about a true conservative, who is following his oath to the Constitution and doing all Americans a favor by not taking a vastly unfair and socialistic program thats not offered to the average citizen... or even the Janitor that cleans up the capitol building.

By the By, when someone does what they say their going to do, thats not stupid or crazy, thats being a stand up person and following through on their word, their promises.

Dr.Paul is that guy.

It just goes to show that some regulation is good.

If REPS throw the baby out with the bathwater then DEMS stifle growth with too much regulation.

I hope McCain/Palin will get us back on track. A clean sweep of congress would not be such a bad idea either.

So you're OK that Phil Gramm (R-TX), a primary architect of this mess, is John McCain's chief financial advisor?

well, with the amount that congress makes annually, these folks could afford the best healthcare known to man. I mean if kidneys, hearts, or lungs ever went for sale.

THESE are the people we look to for a BUDGET????



I do wonder if hiliary's idea of socialized healthcare IF the american people woulda had the same benefit package that she has.
Im kinda doubting it.

I have to laugh everytime that I am reminded about the middle class income starting at 5 million a year. What planet is he talking about?

wow!!!!


let's see here.

1. these firms collapse on the heels of speculative rises in the price of oil which fell apart and institutional investments made in this commoodity and others fell apart with oil and these firms caved in.

see a parallel? they get what they got.

2. when an ARM , written and underwritten to unqualified buyers unable to sustain the note's requirements on reset if the collateral cannot be sold for more than the purchase price before that reset, then default is inevitable.

most of the country assumed the conventional lack of wisdom that suggested housing proces would always rise. Wishful thinking and greed driven laziness inspired, no doubt.

see a parallel to collapses in mortgage equity positions of carriers due if housing sales stumble/

see a parallel when inventory exceeds demnd and prices tumble to get out of a losing position ahead of the pack?

avarice and greed, not hard work abused by government policies, brought the corrections.

The light of day put on these problems is a spotlight on the falsehoods associated with making profits on the backs of others without regard to the health of those backs so burdened by coaxing to keep pace with trends out of fear of falling furthe behind.

My take is that excuses are tendered by those that won't admit culpability for getting caught with their hand in the cookie jar of wishful thinking, not storehouse of sound judgement.

Government doesn't have the answer for avarice nd greed, and the avaricial and greedy will always find opportunu=ity to twist any law for advantage in due time.

Those falling when the jig is up are the ones exposed for doing a lot of the twisting of the law in its spirit.


Look for more failures in investment brokerage firms as they try to unwind the speculative margins and positions in the corrections of over leveraged speculation in the margins put in futures markets.

look for more failures in mortgage notes for two more years as the "resets" of these ill written ARMs seek to break the back of the little guys so inclined to hop on board the speculative wishful thinking tha real estate is the free ride offering escape from working hard for ones sounf financial and fiscal health.

the innocents in all of this debacles are the tradesmen and craftsmen that have to deal with the lack of work because there is a collapse in the buying of new construction, autos, and related support structures to their historic role as fooundational productivity that fuels the economic engine of this country.


None of these acts of Congress address that hardship.

None of the attention is on those individuals suffering, only on the suffering of the "smart ones" and the "laisse faire" white collar brainiacs.

Why is that?

and why are illegal aliens allowed to be ignored as a problem for tradesmen and craftsmen to deal with in this country?

Because we can't be replaced with offshore cheap labor?

White collar mentality that disrespects blue collar traditions is an example of biting the hand that feeds you.

but continue on in delusions and point the finger at legislative machinations. Avarice and greed will find other opportunities to destroy markets wholesale while looking for that elusive windfall.

wishful thinking is gambling.

gambling is wishful thinking.

fair and balanced.

pun intended.

Hey Woody, nice new Obama pic! May the force of real change be with you, bro.

If it weren't for deregulation peddled by the Republicans since Reagan, these institutions would not have been able to build their house of cards. As for commodities, I don't think that wave has really hit yet.

I have to agree with you here. Deregulation is killing us.

DEM solutions are not the answer though. Too many strings attached & too nonsensical.

"Is this the best you can do? Simplistic answers?" Any specifics to share on what you don't like on Democratic regulatory proposals? I think not because I doubt any specifics are formulated, although Barney Frank (D-MA) may have some ideas.

Please don't simply dismiss "DEM solutions" when you don't know any specifics.