Recklessness, Corruption, and Greed is Not Only Found on Wall Street, Sen. McCain

John McCain once said, "I am a deregulator. I believe in deregulation." Those words have come back to haunt him this week. More importantly, this deregulatory approach he espoused over decades in Congress has left Wall Street unchecked and now teetering, with more than just "storied" investment houses at risk.

McCain quickly switched to another tune to respond to current events. On the campaign stump, he said he and Governor Sarah Palin, if elected, would "put an end to the reckless conduct, corruption, and unbridled greed that have caused a crisis on Wall Street."

He's right about the cause of the crisis, but the recklessness, corruption, and greed also happened about 225 miles or so to south, in Washington. And it hits very, very close to home for McCain.

The real reckless conduct was by our elected officials. For years, politicians have had a hands-off approach to cracking down on the "unbridled greed" Wall Street, and placing sensible checks on our financial markets. McCain himself claims "a long record in support of deregulation," as he told the St. Petersburg Times a few years back.

The real corruption is of our elected officials who depend on large campaign contributions from Wall Street. McCain himself has received $24.3 million from the financial, insurance, and banking industries over his career, according to a Campaign Money Watch analysis of data obtained from the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics. More than $14 million of that came since he sewed up the nomination in March this year.

The real unbridled greed was found in the legions of Wall Street's lobbyists who worked to deregulate the insurance and finance industries, and prevented any serious consideration of oversight. In fact, 84 lobbyists for the financial, insurance, and banking industry, by Campaign Money Watch's count, are aiding Senator McCain's presidential campaign as bundlers of campaign contributions, advisors on policies (like, ummm, how to respond to this crisis), or staff members. These 84 lobbyists have made $109 million in lobbying fees from their clients in these industries over the last ten years. Unbridled, indeed.

Politicians of every stripe are casting blame about as the news worsens on this crisis on Wall Street. They need to look in the mirror. Let's be clear: when politicians like John McCain start puffing up his populist rhetoric, he's covering up that he helped cause this problem. And so did the big donors who are filling his coffers and the lobbyists who run his campaign.

Will he really be able to "put an end to the reckless conduct, corruption, and unbridled greed that have caused a crisis on Wall Street" when he's so dependent on their lobbyists and campaign cash to get elected? Yeah, right.

Comments

[arthur2008]

George W. Bush's agenda through the past eight years (and that of his cronies, like the Great Deregulator, John "Country First" McCain) has been precisely the grotesqye redistribution of wealth we are now experiencing. They may regret the timing of the meltdown, but they certainly do not regret using the U.S. treasury to line the pockets of one-tenth of one percent of the population. John McCain's own signature scandal, the savings and loan crisis that cost taxpayers billions, will be dwarfed by what it yet to come. Yet he and his advisor Phil Gramm believe that anyone who objects to the wholesale looting thay have helped create is merely a "whiner."

[KiwisCanFly]

"The real corruption is of our elected officials who depend on large campaign contributions from Wall Street."

In other words this makes our Congress (both parties) susceptible to a huge, expensive and disgusting lobbying effort.

We realize now that Congress should have been more involved in ensuring an appropriate regulatory control.

The question is not only how do we move to correct the lack of oversight.
But more importantly how do we keep the lobbying effort from over-influencing legislation that will protect all of us from this near economic collapse.

Sen Obama has been offering a plan to counter the influence of the Lobbyist. He has been talking about their undue influence from the beginning. He has offered a plan for a White House free of lobbyist.

Sen McCain’s record is not consistent and his campaign is stuffed with ex-lobbyist or lobbyist on leave or retired lobbyist. There is too much conflict of interest with McCain and co, for it to be credible.

Vote Obama and Biden for a real change we can believe in.

[TomBrentwood]

I hope Obama and Biden take the GOP to task on this all the way to November. Go back to the
"Energy Crises" in Bush's first months in office when the Enron boys and El Paso Energy took billions from the California economy and our state budget surplus of billions was gone in a year.
De regulation sold by the future criminals from Enron.
Then you can tap into lack of federal enforcement in our environmental laws (timber and big oil
calling the shots , writing new policy...).
Finish it off with the sub prime melt down.
It's not that we need new regulations. It's that we need the ones that are law, enforced and not
subverted or weakened for the sake of big business at the expense of the little guy.
That should do it.

[tsat]

Too true. How is it that we can float 100s of billions to bail out banks, but scratch and beg to fund schools and capitol projects? Would some blogger kindly hit us with a list of CEOs and the like and what their compensation has looked like over the last 5 years or so. I'd like to see the names of the people that my tax dollars are allowing to live the good life. Maybe the American public needs to make it personal.

[Zoolie]

Bail-outs - Welfare for the Fat Cats

Ever hear complaints about all the Katrina victims expecting the government to take care of them, when they were too stupid to evacuate? How about our politicians willing to send our youth to fight oil wars, but too cheap to pay for adequate equipment to protect them or give them a decent paycheck? Or too tight-fisted to give veterans humane medical care? Or provide, educational, and other benefits? Welfare, Medicare, Medicaid, and programs are "hand-outs" for the "lower classes".

Now we're in a financial crisis due to the powerful mismanaging our money. The "privileged" have made bad personal investments and taken risks that have brought our economy to collapse. Now they want "hand-outs" to save their asses, and our economy. What about all the "little guys" facing foreclosures that didn't deserve to be bailed-out because they made bad decisions.

WELL....... guess who pays for ALL of it? The over-burdened, hard-working, lower-classes get the bill - while the Fat Cats get tax cuts.

Welfare for the Fat Cats!!!

[MeiLing]

And then those same so-called FAT CATS have the audicity to scream about having to pay higher tax rates when they get bailed out. Once again the middle class takes up up the wazoo. Pass the vaseline anyone?

[WhatsLeft]

No one is suggesting that companies should not make a profit. But when that profit came at the expense of the American worker who has seen jobs go overseas, a decrease in their benifits, and work from year to year without a raise, then it is greed. And it has thrived and grown with deregulation.. Thanks John.

[sql4060]

Hello are you in 2008 or 1908? When have a company except for Ben & Jerrys been concerned about anything other then the bottom line. Business is in business to make money nothing else. I have not seen Ben and Jerry in my local grocery store, can't image why. In 2008 and years before jobs come and go. I have been off work for 8 months but not once did I think Oh its somebody else fault. That is so BS and doesn't do anything to help anything other then "the hate American crowd:

A quote I often come back to is this from the "Black Avenger" - Talk show host I wish was still out there. Go ahead and pick a better country. This is an extreme question. And more important is that which other country do you want to live in. We have such opportunity for those that doesn't have it.

[hopefulinpa]

I heard one of his pundits today say that McCain does not want to invest our SS in private accounts... he wants us to be able to have private retirement accounts. What a crock. We can have private retirement accounts. Anyone can invest their own money and earmark it for retirement. So what is he saying? Crap that's what. Thank goodness he didn't get his hands on SS three years ago!

[vinny]

O will win or lose it next week.

[LeawoodKansas]

How's Johnny Wall Street doing today? Has he told anyone about his plan to privatize social security so Wall Street can invest your social security account? No? Really, I thought he might want to confess.

[JBS]

Or his plan to do for employer provided health insurance what he did for the "banking and financial services industry"?

[markie1111]

on the subject of greed. i'm curious. the RNC and the mccain campaign using hybrid ads funded as they are, has a certain smell to them.

[sposton]

American financial institutions were at the forefront of the globalization drive, influencing our government to advance their misguided and greedy globalist agenda. This has made American economy a pale copy of its former self. Most of what we consume comes from thousands of miles away, often from countries that are unfriendly to us. And what is less secure than that? In essence the financial interest has driven our country's economic policy for the last several decades to the edge of the current precipice. Not only was this recklessness not good for them it was even a greater disaster for American citizens long before any of these highly leveraged (average 27 to 1) behemoths went effectively bankrupt. Now, we are not only supposed to bail out these morons (1 to 2 trillion estimated cost) but also blindly accept their globalist dogma that helped impoverish most of us while enriching the 1-3% of our population! Americans rebelled against King George for much lesser evils. It is hard to recognize our country! What's happened to us?

[renatam]

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/17/opinion/17friedman.html

“We are at the end of an era — the end of ‘leave it to the markets’ and of the great cop-out that less government is always better government,” argues David Rothkopf, a former Commerce Department official in the Clinton administration and author of a book about the world’s financial leaders who brought about this crisis: “Superclass: The Global Power Elite and the World They Are Making.” “I think, however, it is important to stress the difference between smart government and simply more government.

“We do not need a regulatory ‘surge’ on Wall Street,” he added. “We need a complete rethinking of how we make global financial markets more transparent and how we ensure that the risks within those markets — .many of which are new and many of which are not well understood even by the experts — are managed and monitored properly.”

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Clinton Global Initiative
http://www.clintonglobalinitiative.org/NETCOMMUNITY/Page.aspx?pid=2356&srcid=-2

[jcranman]

yes agreed. For starters: reserves are required reserves and are to be in cash off-site and controlled by a govt. regulator. 50% of outstanding liabilities sounds reasonable.

Next CDS: illegal

Next: Dividends only from real profits in the quarter granted.

Next: Caps on salaries and bonues. 10X that of the lowest paid person in each entity. Don't like the incentive, get a different job.

Next: strict accounting standards with life imprisonment for violations.

I can go on and on of course. BTW I used to do regulatory law for banks and insurers. In fact, I helped them write the laws and regs applicable to them. I did not agree with the way that they were taking advantage of and controlling the process, i.e., anything not specifically proscribed is permitted. I left. Not as well off financially for sure, but at peace with my integrity and dignity, which unfortunately do not appear to be valued at all in our society, especially on wall street.

[sposton]

Friedman is the greatest propagandist for all globalist utopian nonsense. He's saying all this meltdown was inevitable and now we just need to learn how to regulate. Pure baloney! It took a concerted effort from these same financial interests to abolish whatever regulation we had that might have kept us from this disaster. They had plenty economists, propagandists, and lobbysts, administrators and legislators to execute this fiasco. They did not want to reform depression era regulations but abolish them! Now we reap the results which were entirely predictable and were predicted by few wise people amongst us. But their voice was drowned in waves of propaganda spewed by people like Friedman.

[scn hemma]

This was one of the best explanations of the situation that I've seen so far. Thanks for posting this link.

[renatam]

Bush Inc. and Clinton Inc. -- two sides of one coin. Very cuddly.

[demandfortruth]

Yup! Clinton was a good republican. That's also one of the reasons I did not vote for Hillary.

[csfoster]

I would only add in response to the Republican true assertion that Senator Biden and other Democrats along with Senator McCain signed the Gramm sponsored financial market deregulation bill in 1999, that it is also true that Senator McCain is the only one still listening to Phil Gramm who serves as his chief economic advisor and will likely be selected as the Secretary of the Treasury if Senator McCain wins. I do not believe anyone is prepared to say that is a winning formula for resolving our financial market crisis.

By the way, Senator Biden did not say that "raising taxes is patriotic". He clearly said that people making over $250,000 and willing to pay more taxes to help the middle-class would be patriotic.

Let's see......Senator Obama goes to Hollywood telling the "Stars" their taxes are going to increase under his administration and he leaves with $9 million in campaign donations. Meanwhile, Senator McCain and Governor Palin go to a Michigan auto plant telling the workers how his administration is going to fight for their best interest and they leave to a rising chorus of "Obama '08".

Credit goes to the Stars for recognizing that more of their income will be required as part of Senator Obama's plan to help the middle-class and credit goes to auto workers for recognizing that nothing will be done to increase their incomes as part of Senator McCain's plan to improve the economy.

[renatam]

You are correct re Biden's statement. Republicans -- and McCain/Palin need to really stop with the LIES.

[JBS]

Yeah, I can see that's gonna' happen.

[renatam]

Senator Gramm is COB of UBS as well as McCain's Advisor stewarded deregulation of ALL financial Markets during the 1990s.
Wendy Gramm sat on the Board of ENRON during the SCAMS...and was sanctioned.
Deceased Ken Lay and Enron sponsored the Bush/Cheney Inaugural Festivities -- while SCAMMING Californians and spiking hard working Americans' energy. "Kenny-boy" as Bush used to call his friend, committed suicide we are told. The President is in prison today.

HOW did this man(Phil) resurrect himself to POWER again and be taken seriously -- and be permitted to call Americans "whinners?"

[renatam]

Jeb Bush - Lehman Bros.
George Herbert Walker IV - Lehman Bros. Exec Committee

[MOregon]

Did the auto workers really chant Obama '08? That is fantastic!!!!!

[aofh]

Too bad that Biden didn't point out that many of those making over $250K are very anxious that the gov bailout Wall Street every time Wall Street and its cohorts screw up. Then they are the first and loudest to whine about paying taxes. The truth is that the rich profit greatly from the taxes we pay because the institutions our taxes pay for protect them more than the rest of us. In America, it pays for the rugged individual to have a good team of lawyers.

[PT6]

"McSwitch" is the perfect name for this kind of politics!

[urweatherman]

All show and no go...bama, is the perfect name for Barack!

[PT6]

Yes McCain! It is found throughout the entire administration!

Those advocating "De-Regulation until recently" have allowed predatory loans to be handed out like cookies at Costco. Please Costco, don't take offense!

Yes repackaged bad loans to be sold to retired older ladies as safe investments.

So, yes your policies have impacted nearly every industry! Look at health care - costs are out of control!

[northcan]

McCain's record in Past; McCain puts tax cuts for wealthiest Americans ahead of law enforcement, and tried to eliminate police on the streets of America.

McCain accepted $124000 from Keating and his associate's in the "Keating Five" scandal. Got off with a slapped hand.

John McCain's role in Abramoff scandal was to shift blame to Ralph Reed and Abramoff and away from closest friend Charlie Black. and others associated with the McCain campaign. Charlie Black actually leaked against Abramoff, not McCain. Charlie Black is worse than Abramoff, is a hard hitting spin doctor. They all go back to the Reagan years.
John McCain refused to investigate fellow members in Congress when his senate committee investigated Abramoff, and his refusal to back reform that would stop this scandal happening again, instead McCain cozied up to K-Street.

03/29/06...McCain voted against bi-partisen lobbying reform bill. Did not support Feingold's move in a robust lobby reform bill on 01/18/06

This man has made a lot of money from Kstreet and his denial and blame is really disgusting.