Repeal of Glass-Steagall: Not a cause, but a multiplier

[xchrom]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/repeal-of-glass-steagall-not-a-cause-but-a-multiplier/2012/08/02/gJQAuvvRXX_story.html

When the Titanic set sail from Southampton on April 10, 1912, bound for New York, it was called “unsinkable.” This was before that chance encounter in the North Atlantic with a large iceberg. You know how that movie ended.

Many people died, of course, because there were too few lifeboats. But even if the luxury liner had four times as many, the Titanic still would have ended up on the bottom of the ocean, done in by a captain more concerned with speed than safety — and that iceberg.

This simple reality, however, obscures a broader truth.

Before it sank, more than 700 passengers loaded onto the 20 lifeboats on board and escaped with their lives. More than 1,500 others died. The Titanic had the capacity for 64 lifeboats, which could each hold 65 people. Fully loaded, they could have carried more than 4,000 to safety — or every man, woman and child aboard. Thus, many more could have survived.

[HiPointDem]

1. kr

[Stargazer09]

2. Interesting

There's a reason most religions espouse punishments for succumbing to temptation. Human beings are almost universally hard-wired to take advantage of anything that will allow an individual to feather his/her own nest, even at the expense of others.

Why anyone thought greedy bankers should be trusted is beyond me.

[kellytore]

3. Great article, I would have also added

the repeal of Glass Steagall opened the door for companies such as Enron. Oh by the way Phil Gramm's wife was on their board and profited heavily before they got shut down.

[jtuck004]

4. Best line in the article, and the only thing that will set us free...

"...We should be finding ways to definancialize the U.S. economy and reduce bankers’ influence. ..."

[fasttense]

5. Thank You Bill Clinton.

That repeal and supporting NAFTA are Bill's legacy. They didn't cause the crash but they made it much more devastating.

If Obama manages to pass his NAFTA on steroids, super secret TPP (Trans Pacific Partnership - a trade agreement but more like a bill of rights for corporations.) he will forever be known as the president who put the nail in the coffin of democracy.