Phil and Wendy Gramm's controversial history

[Rammer]

You seem to be forgetting that Phil only helped co-author the bill. How companies conduct themselves using the law is NOT on Phil, or anyone else, that signed it into law. I will even give Clinton a pass on it for signing it. It is the companies that have abused the law not the ones who wrote it or passed it. Whether it was authored or passed to help themselves in business, remains to be seen. If you can show me where Phil or Clinton are part of the upper management of AIG or Fannie or Freddie, I will jump on board with your "Crusade".

You couldn't be more wrong.

Let's say that there was a new NFL commisioner. Let's say he suddenly removed many of the rules and restrictions. Let's say that suddenly there was face masking, hitting quarterbacks late, kicking in the knees, poking in the eye. Let's also pretend that he only allowed 2 uniformed officials instead of 7. What would happen to the game?? It would go to crap. Would it be the players(CEOs) fault primarily? NO, it would be the Commissioner's fault(Gramm)!

Phil Gramm snuck the bill past Congress without a full debate. Gramm refused to properly fund the SEC (the referees) - so they couldn't do their job. Gramm's bill allowed the unregulated swaps, derivatives, hedge funds, and speculation that has caused this mess. We didn't elect the greedy CEOs, they don't have the same responsibility that the politicians do. The politicians destroyed our financial system...led by Phil Gramm.

[TJones]

You couldn't be more wrong.

Let's say that there was a new NFL commisioner. Let's say he suddenly removed many of the rules and restrictions. Let's say that suddenly there was face masking, hitting quarterbacks late, kicking in the knees, poking in the eye. Let's also pretend that he only allowed 2 uniformed officials instead of 7. What would happen to the game?? It would go to crap. Would it be the players(CEOs) fault primarily? NO, it would be the Commissioner's fault(Gramm)!

Phil Gramm snuck the bill past Congress without a full debate. Gramm refused to properly fund the SEC (the referees) - so they couldn't do their job. Gramm's bill allowed the unregulated swaps, derivatives, hedge funds, and speculation that has caused this mess. We didn't elect the greedy CEOs, they don't have the same responsibility that the politicians do. The politicians destroyed our financial system...led by Phil Gramm.

Another example: If your parents bought you a car and you willingly went out and blatantly ran 8 or 9 people over with that car to purposely cause their death and then you finally get caught, the doctors find you legally sane, is the jury to blame your parents for signing the paperwork, buying you a car ? Afterall, they are facilitators to your destruction, just like you are saying Phil Gramm is, are they not ?

Company's that do bad business and are not capable of governing themselves deserve to go into the crapper. Yes, even football teams. Now, small businesses go under everyday in this country, and it isn't because of Govt. deregulation, these small businesses just don't know how to conduct business, or have a bad business model. If you owned a business, would you run it into the ground ? If you ran it into the ground, are you gonna blame the Govt. for not setting regulations on you and the way you conduct business ? In that logic, welfare is the cureall answer for everyone's problems, and we should be a communist country, let everything be state run. Yep, that's the ticket, isn't it Rammer. You must absolutely LOVE your HOA too, Hell, you are probably on the board.

To quote Obama: "Let me be clear on this", I am not saying that we SHOULDN'T have regulation, because the past has shown us that "greedy CEOs" can and will, drain their own companies to continue their top of the food chain style of living, even after retirement or their firing. All I am saying is that you can't blame others for those who cannot self-govern, or are not ethical. You would think that after the ENRON fiasco, that ANY Fortune 500 company with shareholders would regulate themselves to eliminate "golden parachutes" and other such monetary packages to their CEO and high-level execs.

[Rammer]

Company's that do bad business and are not capable of governing themselves deserve to go into the crapper. Yes, even football teams. Now, small businesses go under everyday in this country, and it isn't because of Govt. deregulation, these small businesses just don't know how to conduct business, or have a bad business model. If you owned a business, would you run it into the ground ? If you ran it into the ground, are you gonna blame the Govt. for not setting regulations on you and the way you conduct business ? In that logic, welfare is the cureall answer for everyone's problems, and we should be a communist country, let everything be state run. Yep, that's the ticket, isn't it Rammer. You must absolutely LOVE your HOA too, Hell, you are probably on the board.

I don't disagree with most of what you stated here.

But there's a happy medium between having TOO many rules vs. having NO rules.

Gramm created financial chaos by eliminating ALL the rules.

My subdivision doesn't have a homeowner's association...and this LACK of rules is why we have ugly carports, people parking cars in the yard, and some of the strangest architecturally designed houses you've ever seen.

[TJones]

I don't disagree with most of what you stated here.

But there's a happy medium between having TOO many rules vs. having NO rules.

Gramm created financial chaos by eliminating ALL the rules.

My subdivision doesn't have a homeowner's association...and this LACK of rules is why we have ugly carports, people parking cars in the yard, and some of the strangest architecturally designed houses you've ever seen.

It all comes down to intent. I can't possibly believe that Phil Gramm, would purposely try to destroy America. I have to believe the intent of the bill was to help grow American business. I beleive that Clinton felt the same way, as did Congress and the Senate, that is why it got passed into law. Gramm didn't hatch some evil plan that would culminate 9 years later in order for Phil and Wendy to bring America to it's knees financially, so that he could clean up in a down market.

Sorry to hear about your subdivision, but that also comes down to how much pride, someone like yourself, has for your home and yard, that you have worked so hard on, and those who just don't care, or might be renters. Rules are good, it let's those, who haven't got a clue, know between right and wrong.

[Rammer]

Ha, ha, ha...old Phil isn't under the radar anymore!!! Anderson Cooper caught him!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLrupJ1UbdM

[Rammer]

It's amazing to me how the powerful escape prosecution, even when their hands are firmly in the cookie jar.

1993: As chairwoman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Wendy Gramm(Phil's wife), pushed through a key regulatory exemption just as she was about to leave office. Five weeks later, she joined Enron's board of directors, where she served on the board's audit committee and had access to key financial information about the company.

2000: After having to wait several years to become chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, Phil Gramm sponsored the 'Commodity Futures Modernization Act'. Through coordinated trickery in reintroducing the bill with a different number, Gramm was able to pass the legislation without a full debate because of his position as chairman. This bill not only set up Enron to pull their scams, but it is responsible for most of the banking & oil speculation craziness we have seen - due to the removal of government safeguards and partitions. Warren Buffet called this bill 'Financial Weapons of Mass Destruction'.

2001: Now with their energy activities shielded, Wendy is able to create false electricity shortages in California for Enron. Enron was able to bilk customers out of an estimated 40 billion dollars.

January 2002: UBS Warburg agrees to buy the energy trading unit of bankrupt Enron. UBS is the parent company - UBS stands for Union Bank of Switzerland(Switzerlands largest bank).

October 2002: Phil Gramm becomes the vice chairman of UBS. Isn't this an interesting relationship between Phil/Wendy & UBS/Enron???

UBS proceeded to lose 70% of it's value in recent years under Gramm. How do you lose billions and billions if you are a financial whiz?

Those secret Swiss bank accounts just might come in handy, hmmm?

July 17, 2008: Senator Carl Levine states that UBS has an estimated 19,000 so-called 'undeclared accounts' with United States citizens (estimated 18 billion in assets) that have been kept secret from the IRS. You don't suspect that Phil and Wendy Gramm are two of the 19,000, do you?

Later that day, UBS announces that they will no longer provide offshore banking or securities to U.S. residents.

To think that Phil Gramm was/is going to be Treasury Secretary under McCain. Unbelievable.

Remember the good old days....when we had public hangings?

Guess who tops Time Magazine's 'Top 25 People To Blame For The Financial Crisis' online poll?

In the #1 position with 129,774 votes at this time - PHIL GRAMM!

Notice my original post was on July 25th. Now ask yourself, how often you have heard Phil Gramm's name mentioned in the media? That's because Rupert Murdoch has been protecting him the best he possibly could.