Forum Post: The Congress That Crashed America - Actionable Political Information
Posted 13 years ago on Nov. 8, 2011, 8:32 a.m. EST by aahpat
(1407)
This content is user submitted and not an official statement
In 1999 the bi-partisan U.S. Congress and the Clinton (Goldman-Sachs subsidiary) White House passed S-900, The Gramm-Leach-Bliley financial Services Modernization Act. This law was the basis and groundwork for the financial collapse nine years later in 2008.
S-900 repealed Glass-Steagall. In doing this the law opened the door for "too big to fail" combinations of commercial and investment banks.
S-900 lowered regulatory standards for "toxic derivatives" that these banks then used in these fraudulent ways with impunity.
S-900 reorganized the Community Reinvestment Bank by lowering borrowing standards and allowing the kinds of predatory mortgage practices that recent federal law suits against major banks assert defrauded Fannie May and Freddie Mac out of hundreds of billions of dollars. More important, defrauded millions of tax paying Americans out of billions in accumulated home equity and savings power.
Here is a list: http://home.ptd.net/~aahpat/aandc/congcrash.html , that I composed for the 2010 elections of all of the still sitting in 2010 members of congress who voted in 1999 for S-900. There are also links to the official vote for S-900 so people can see the politicians who today are governors and or elected or appointed officials who voted for the financial collapse of America in 1999.
Not so coincidentally, of the thousands of people who have passed through congress since 1999, nine of the twelve members of the congressional debt super committee voted in favor of S-900 in 1999. Small world.
Members of the Congressional Budget Super Committee who voted for S-900:
Toxic Pat Toomey - PA (R) Sen. Kyl, Jon [R-AZ] Rep. Camp, Dave [R-MI-4] Rep. Upton, Fred [R-MI-6] Sen. Murray, Patty [D-WA] Sen. Baucus, Max [D-MT] Sen. Kerry, John F. [D-MA] Rep. Clyburn, James E. [D-SC-6] Rep. Becerra, Xavier [D-CA-31]
My freshman U.S. senator "Toxic" Pat Toomey, was in the House in 1999 and stood on the floor to defend both the repeal and the derivatives. Here is his floor speech:
-_- "The repeal of Glass-Steagall is necessary so that consumers can get the products and services they desire and American financial firms can compete in the global marketplace.
Madam Speaker, I would like to highlight just one small part of this sweeping legislation. I am particularly pleased that this bill includes an important provision regarding certain derivative transactions, especially credit and equity swaps. These somewhat obscure products are actually very important tools used by businesses, including financial service firms, to manage a variety of risks that they face. This bill reaffirms that swap contracts are legitimate bank products that can be executed and booked in banks and are adequately regulated by and will continue to be regulated by banking supervisors." ---
Great info - but how do you get the corporate stooges out? Take away their pipeline to the kochs and the banks and the oils - There are a huge number of great COMPLICATED ideas that will garner GREAT OPPOSITION.
We need to be realistic & pick an issue that is simple - that is popular -
that 83% of Americans already agree on -
that 56% of TP already agree on -
that will bring together the people in OWS with the people outside of OWS.
Everybody wins!
Our only goal should be to pass a constitutional amendment to counter Supreme Court decisions Citizens United (2010) & Buckley v. Valeo (1976), that enable unlimited amounts of anonymous money to flood into our political system.
“Corporations and organizations are not a persons & have no personhood rights”
and
“money is not free speech”.
We don’t have to explain or persuade people to accept our position – we have to persuade them to ACT based on their own position. Pursuing this goal will prove to the world that we, at OWS, are a serious realistic Movement, with serious realistic goals. Achieving this goal will make virtually every other goal – jobs, taxes, infrastructure, Medicare – much easier to achieve –
by disarming our greatest enemy – GREED.
THE SUCCESS STORY OF THE AMENDING PROCESS The Prohibition movement started as a disjointed effort by conservative teetotalers who thought the consumption of alcohol was immoral. They ransacked saloons and garnered press coverage here and there for a few years. Then they began to gain support from the liberals because many considered alcohol partially responsible for spousal and child abuse, among other social ills. This odd alliance, after many years of failing to influence change consistently across jurisdictions, decided to concentrate on one issue nationally—a constitutional amendment. They pressured all politicians on every level to sign a pledge to support the amendment. Any who did not, they defeated easily at the ballot box since they controlled a huge number of liberal, and conservative and independent swing votes in every election. By being a single-issue constituency attacking from all sides of the political spectrum, they very quickly amassed enough votes (2/3) to pass the amendment in Congress. And, within just 17 months, they were successful in getting ¾ of the state legislatures to ratify the constitutional amendment into law. (Others were ratified even faster: Eight —took less than a year. The 26th, granting 18-year-olds the right to vote, took just three months and eight days.)
If they could tie the left and right into a success -
WHY CAN'T WE??????????
I feel that we should stay with this simple text to overturn CU:
”corporations are not people” and “money is not free speech”
for four simple reasons and one – not so simple:
1
83% of Americans have already opposed CU in the ABC/Washington post poll and the above
IS THEIR POSITION ALREADY.
2
We don’t have to work to convince people on the validity of our position.
3
Simple is almost always better.
4
This simple Amendment is REQUIRED to overturn CU.
And all other electoral reform can be passed through the normal legislative process.
5
OWS and these pages are chock full of ( mostly ) excellent ideas to improve our country.
All of them have strong advocates – and some have strong opposition.
None of them has been “pre-approved” by 83% of Americans !
Pursuing this goal – without additional specifics is exactly what Americans want.
What do we want? Look at that almost endless list of demands – goals - aims.
Tax the rich. End the Fed. Jobs for all, Medicare for all. So easy to state! Can you imagine how hard it would be to formulate a “sales pitch” for any of these to convince your Republican friends to vote for any of them?
83% of Americans have ALREADY “voted” against CU. And 76% of the Rs did too.
All we have to do ask Americans is to pressure their representatives – by letters - emails – petitions.
Wanna take your family on vacation?
Convince the 7 year old and the 10 year old to go to Mt Rushmore.
Then try to convince them to go to Disneyland.
Prioritizing this goal will introduce us to the world – not as a bunch of hippie radical anarchist socialist commie rabblerousers – but as a responsible, mature movement that is fighting for what America wants.
I feel that using the tactics of the NRA, the AARP an the TP – who all represent a minority – who have successfully used their voting power to achieve their minority goals - plus the Prohibition Amendment tactics – bringing all sides together - is a straight path for us to success that cannot fail to enable us to create and complete one MAJORITY task.
A laudable goal.
But you will never get the majority in Congress or the state legislatures needed to 1. write the amendment, 2. start the amendment process. We are talking about the same political animals who benefit from the success this subversion of our democracy that you and I agree exists.
And the amending process is at its best a long process fraught with pitfalls put in its way by those who currently own the system.
First we need to change the paradigm. Neutralize the subversion with concerted political action. that means identifying those most culpable in Congress and focusing on removing them as soon and loudly as possible. That is, I hope, what my information gives Americans the power and inspiration to do. A concerted voter effort to confront, oppose and remove from power those members of Congress who personally set the stage for the actual collapse by their vote in 1999 for S-900 and their continued protection and defense of it today.
I'm not SURE you are wrong, but I know 83% of Americans agree with me. Image you are one of grover's r congressmen - and you get 20,000 letters demanding an end to CU - or they will vote elsewhere. We don't have to convince or explain S-900 ( a new toyota ) or Glass Steagall ( a new wine glass ) to millions of ( mostlly r ) Americans. All we have to do is convince 10%-30% of Americans to write their rep to express a simple opinion on a simple issue - THAT THEY ALREADY HAVE.
Need your help. pl. click the link and sign the petition to send the message to politicians and fix our economic problems. Need millions of signatures to get politicians attention and make this work. Here is the link:
http://www.change.org/petitions/members-of-congress-and-senators-fix-the-economy-and-balance-the-budget-now?pe=d4e