2000-2008 WHAT HAPPENED TO OUR ECONOMY AND WHY

Outsourced jobs, loss of investment value in the stock market, rapid increases in gasoline and food prices, loss of equity in homes, foreclosures, inflation, steep decline in the value of the Dollar. Dramatic increase in national debt. ·

Stock market bubble in 2000 burst (irrational exuberance!)

Real estate bubble, led by sub-prime mortgages, burst ·

Oil price bubble · Food commodity price bubble · Gold price bubble

A bubble is a result of unregulated speculation and possible manipulation in financial markets. Why not regulate bubble speculation? We did … from the time of the Stock Market crash of 1929 until 1999, when a Republican Congress’ repeal (signed by Bill Clinton) of the Glass Steagall Act (that regulated financial markets and kept banks, insurance companies, brokerage firms, and investment banks separate from each other) allowed financial services to merge and removed regulations on speculation. But the repeal didn’t happen overnight. From the days of Reaganomics, free market advocates … led by Alan Greenspan…, typically Republicans, “lobbied” Congress morning, noon, and night to deregulate markets… make them free markets. (“Free market” thinking asserts that free markets are best for economic growth.) What is Congress’ record on deregulation? Congress has deregulated energy (can you say Enron, WorldCom, Computer Associates?), financial services (do you still have a home?), airlines (the skies are not very friendly lately), and telecommunications (can you hear me???)

So let’s take a break for a story. I attended an executive management program at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. The professor explained that ultimate power (which I define as the ability to do what you want when you want to and get what you want when you want it) is the ability to change the rules! So now it should come as no surprise to you that what has been described as deregulation is actually re-regulation…. changing the regulations by those who were supposed to be regulated to be favorable to them. Believe it or doncha, they actually wrote the legislation and paid (they call it contributions and such) senators and House representatives to vote it into law. Like making it more difficult (impossible) for people to file for bankruptcy or charging interest rates on credit cards that would embarrass the Mafia And now you know the rrrrest of the story.