Clinton And Gingrich Now Say It Was A Mistake To Help Wall Street End Glass-Steagall

from DownwithTyranny

Wall Street made it clear to the political class they would pay -- and pay big -- to get out from under the restrictions of Glass-Steagall. They tried all during the Reagan and the Bush I years but it wasn't 'til the right had the disgraced Bill Clinton by the balls that they were able to get what they wanted. Conservative Democrat turned reactionary Republican, Texas Senator Phil Gramm, one of the most corrupt Members of Congress in the entire 20th Century, teamed up with conservative Republicans Jim Leach (IA) and Tom Bliley (VA) to help Wall Street game the system in such a way that they could be sure to drain immense wealth from the middle class.

Although the bill passed the Senate 54-44, with only one Democratic vote -- ultra conservative corporate shill Ernest Hollings (SC) -- 2 months later it passed the House with overwhelming bipartisan support, 343-86. During the debate, one of the Democrats voting NO, John Dingell (MI) warned that if it passed the Wall Street-controlled banks would become "too big to fail" and that it would only be a matter of time before taxpayers would be bailing out predatory banksters. [Speaking of predatory banksters, as soon as Gramm -- whose wife Wendy was on the Board of Directors of Enron but never went to prison -- delivered the legislation, he left the Senate and... became a bankster, of course. Right now he's the Vice Chairman of UBS's investment bank.]

(More here.)