http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phil_GrammIf you want to put a "face" on this catastrophe (and it IS a catastrophe), then Phil Gramm's face is the one.
In 1999, it was HIS legislation that removed the wall between investment banks and commercial banks. The removal of that wall led to the implosion of companies like Lehman Bros. and Bear Stearns.
Phil Gramm wrote that legislation. Phil Gramm pushed it through congress. And Bill Clinton, weakened by the Lewinski Scandal, signed it. But the GOP congress (and their DLC allies on "our" side) had enough votes to override a veto anyway.
The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999 is what led to what we're seeing today.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gramm-Leach-Bliley_ActPhil Gramm,
John McCain's chief economic adviser, said THIS about the American public on July 9th:
"You've heard of mental depression; this is a mental recession. We may have a recession; we haven't had one yet. We have sort of become a nation of whiners. You just hear this constant whining, complaining about a loss of competitiveness, America in decline. We've never been more dominant; we've never had more natural advantages than we have today. We have benefited greatly from the globalization of the economy in the last 30 years. Misery sells newspapers. Thank God the economy is not as bad as you read in the newspaper every day."http://www.washtimes.com/news/2008/jul/09/mccain-adviser-addresses-mental-recession/HAMMER. THIS. HOME.