Bliley disputes regulation argument

[underpants]

Source: Richmond Times-Dispatch

He pushed measure that aided growth of financial firms

With the nation's financial system in turmoil, some critics point to industry deregulation co-sponsored by a former congressman from Richmond as the cause of the problem. They blame deregulation for creating huge companies that have put the country's financial system in jeopardy.

"I respectfully disagree," former Rep. Thomas J. Bliley Jr., R-7th, said yesterday. "I don't think Gramm-Leach-Bliley has any direct influence."

Bliley, who represented the Richmond area for 20 years, co-sponsored the deregulation legislation of 1999 -- the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act -- that allowed banks, brokerages and other financial institutions to merge, removing firewalls that had been in place since 1933.

Industry deregulation was necessary, he said. "Foreign banks were eating our lunch. We needed to be competitive."


Read more: http://www.inrich.com/cva/ric/news.apx.-content-articles-RTD-2008-09-22-0130.html

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"Bad loans were made to people to buy houses who had little or no ability to repay the loans," he said. "Congress and to a certain extent, the administration, put great emphasis on creating more loans to low-income people so they could buy houses. You have to make sure people have enough income to pay back the loans."

More oversight is needed, Bliley said. "Regulators turned a blind eye and let this go."


BTW- Eric Cantor basically inherited Bliley's Congressional seat.

[Strawman]

1. I love how they get to pick which "European ideas" are ok

(Remember when Huckabee used that boogeyman at the RNC this year? Obama has "European ideas.")

Deregulating banks is ok but health care, a social saftey net, promoting some sane degree of income equality, forget it, comrade. :sarcasm:

Take a look at a little thing called the Gini Index one of these days, Republicans. Foreign conuntries are eating OUR lunch. And by OUR I mean the actual goddamn PEOPLE! Not the fucking banks!

[awoke_in_2003]

2. I am fighting the same thing myself...

my company just got bought out by a Dutch company. I was told that the Dutch don't have a position that corresponds with mine (Asst. Technical Manager), so I have to have a different title to fall in line with them (with less pay, I am sure). I brought up the point that if we are going to follow the Dutch standard, then I should start with 5 weeks vacation pay every year. You can probably figure how that went.

[Strawman]

3. tell them to stick a wooden shoe where the sun doesn't shine

while they're at it

[awoke_in_2003]

4. They are actually good people

i think it is more the management on our side. If we were to get more vacation, we would need more people. If the management insisted I think the parent company would comply.