Clinton did it (and others helped)

[Beacool]

Commentary: How would effective financial services reform look? Like 1999

By David Weidner, MarketWatch
June 23, 2009

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- On Wall and Main streets they call William Jefferson Clinton the "comeback kid," but it's not because of some election-day surprise.

It's because most everything he did regarding financial services regulation has come back to haunt us.

If it wasn't apparent before, the former president's handiwork became clear last week when President Obama announced sweeping financial services reform. The plan's efforts to bring fair dealing to the mortgage markets, rules to the derivative marketplace and restraint to big financial firms underscored the missteps of the second Clinton term.

That's because we had weakly regulated markets when Clinton took office. When he left, they were an invitation to lawless dealing where, for the ease of it, Willie Sutton would have traded his gun and mask for a briefcase and necktie.

During his final three years in office, Clinton created a fertile environment for home-lending charlatans, hiding places for Wall Street swindlers and a regulatory structure that had served the financial marketplace so well for more than six decades.

Clinton bashing -- like Bush bashing -- is often a cop out, but he made some critical mistakes when it came to dealing with the financial industry. Three poor decisions stand out.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/bill-clintons-legacy-is-our-financial-disaster

[jgraz]

1. An object lesson in why we can't afford another stealth Republican in the White House.

[RaleighNCDUer]

7. Did you MISS this part?

"...last week when President Obama announced sweeping financial services reform."

[jgraz]

11. Yeah, I missed the "sweeping" part

Any plans to restore Glass-Steagall? To break up "too big to fail" institutions? What about requiring banks to keep 100% of the loans they write, instead of allowing them to sell off their bad loans?

Was there anything in those "sweeping changes" about restricting trade in derivatives? And does he have any plans to reform the rating agencies that committed fraud by rating garbage securities AAA?


Nope. It appears that causing a global financial collapse still isn't enough to keep Obama from merely nibbling around the edges.

[RaleighNCDUer]

14. Obviously, you did

"The plan's efforts to bring fair dealing to the mortgage markets, rules to the derivative marketplace and restraint to big financial firms underscored the missteps of the second Clinton term."

Your hatred of Obama is blinding you to reality.

[jgraz]

16. You have no idea what's actually in the plan, do you?

If you did, you wouldn't have had to copy-and-paste a quote from a reporter repeating administration spin.

[RaleighNCDUer]

17. Please - enlighten me. Obviously you have DEEP knowledge of

the plan, to be so critical of it.

[jgraz]

18. Yes, I do. But you can do your own homework.

Since it took you a half-hour to respond and you couldn't even bluff a response, I'll suggest we start with the basics.

http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2009/06/17/obamas-financial-reform-plan-the-condensed-version


Once you're done with that, here's a neat trick to learn more: http://lmgtfy.com/?q=Obama+financial+reform+plan

[RaleighNCDUer]

19. Well, since you know where to find the information

try READING it.

All the questions you asked - absent re-instituting Glass/Steagal - are addressed.

Every.

Fucking.

One.

[jgraz]

20. Quit trying to cover up for that fact that you didn't know what you were talking about

and you got busted.

And, even after I hand you the information, you still fail to understand it. Obama is not restoring Glass-Steagall (two 'll's, btw) and he's not going after derivatives in any meaningful way.


Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some actually *informed* people to talk to. Bye! :hi:

[RaleighNCDUer]

21. ...

http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/finregfinal06172009.pdf

[joeybee12]

2. The problem is that life from 1999 to 2009 did not happen overnight.....

...a lot of bad decisions in the Bush years, no oversight, and so what was probably a bad idea got worse...if the election hadn't been stolen and Gore was president, someone would have been at the wheel and seeing where this puppy was going...Clinton was for free markets, but not this free. New regulations would have been put in place.

[Beacool]

3. One thing though that I would like to point out:

Clinton didn't do it all alone. He had a lot of help from Congress. He was under pressure from a legislature controlled by laissez-faire Republicans who were hell bent on taking up the Reagan ideology of deregulation and free markets. The repeal of Glass-Steagall passed 90-8 in the Senate and 362-57 in the House.

It appears that Clinton's veto would have been overriden.

This poster put it best:

"Blaming the repeal of Glass Steagle on Clinton is ridiculous. Repeal of Glass-Steagle is the legacy of the Republican Revolution of 1994. The bill to repeal was presented by Gramm and Leach and passed on PARTY LINES. The Republicans had majorities large enough to overturn any veto--look at the numbers below: 2/3 majority was there. . Why does everybody who writes on this line continue to leave that part ut? Again:

Introduced by Republicans
Passed on party lines by Republicans
Handed to the President with Republican power to override a veto.
These aren't opinions, they're facts, look it up:

The bill that ultimately repealed the Act was introduced in the Senate by Phil Gramm (Republican of Texas) and in the House of Representatives by Jim Leach (R-Iowa) in 1999. The bills were passed by Republican majorities on party lines by a 54-44 vote in the Senate<12> and by a 343-86 vote in the House of Representatives<13>. After passing both the Senate and House the bill was moved to a conference committee to work out the differences between the Senate and House versions. The final bill resolving the differences was passed in the Senate 90-8 (1 not voting) and in the House: 362-57 (15 not voting). ' The legislation was signed into law by President Bill Clinton on November 12, 1999"

[SteppingRazor]

5. That's a fine point, and hindsight's 20/20, but...

I'd've made them override the veto.

[RaleighNCDUer]

8. Absolutely - make it clear upon who's doorstep it belongs. nt

[Hippo_Tron]

15. Problem with that is that it's extremely embarrassing and it doesn't change anything

Yes you get to be on the right side of history, but you still lose and the bad legislation still passes. The only difference is that you get to say you were on the right side.

[SteppingRazor]

4. I read a recent interview of the man where these three very things were brought up to him...

and even Clinton admitted that he made a mistake by not demanding derivative regulations. And his defense of overturning Glass-Stegall was kinda half-assed. But he made a solid defense of the first "mistake." He's actually gone through this a number of times. Here's the CNN interview:

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/02/16/bill.clinton.qanda/


And I read it in a recent magazine piece. Can't remember which. So, even Clinton himself admits mistakes were made.

[Beacool]

6. I understand that mistakes were made,

but both the right and the left have been far too eager in dumping the economic debacle on Clinton's lap.

Even though he didn't stop Glass-Stegall, but it had overwhelming support in Congress. I think that Greenspan gave bad advice to all of them.

Thanks for the CNN link to Bill's interview.

;(

[RaleighNCDUer]

9. Greenspan's advice was great

for Greenspan.

For the rest of the country, not so much.

[blm]

10. and he wasn't helpless...he HAD the bully pulpit and used it to push DEM lawmakers.

.

[depakid]

12. Not everything

How about we give some credit where credit is due.

http://www.nytimes.com/1995/12/21/business/house-overturns-veto-by-president-of-securities-bill.html?pagewanted=all

[Beacool]

13. Thank you for posting the link to this article.

The House voted today for the first time to override a veto by President Clinton, reacting swiftly to his 11th-hour rejection of legislation to make it more difficult for stockholders to bring fraud suits.

The Senate, which is more closely divided, made plans to vote later this week.

Within minutes of opening its session this morning, the House voted to override Mr. Clinton's veto by 319 to 100 -- 29 more than the two-thirds margin necessary.

---------

Mr. Clinton had until midnight Tuesday to sign or veto the bill or otherwise it would automatically become law. He had kept all the competing interests in suspense until only half an hour before that deadline as a fierce debate raged among his aides over what position Mr. Clinton should take. Just before the deadline he announced he had vetoed the bill because it was flawed even though he supported its principal purpose.

In his statement, Mr. Clinton said he hoped that Congress would reconsider a measure with changes he was recommending in an apparent suggestion that his opposition was not that strong. The President has, all along, had to weigh varying political factors in assessing the legislation.

[Adelante]

22. Truly a catastrophic event

But, you are right. There's plenty of blame to go around.