Max

Though there is plenty of blood and much undoing of social safety nets during the Reagan administration: Paul Craig Roberts who was Assistant Secretary of the Treasury in the Reagan administration, and regular writer Counterpunch, insists that no such deregulation of the financial systems happened during the Reagan years. That happened primarily during the Clinton years.

Paul Craig Roberts, the Former Assistant Security of the Treasury, and who writes for CounterPunch has come a long way since the 1980’s. During the 80’s and after his tenure wrote for Business Week and rotated economic commentary with Robert Kuttner. Roberts then was a flaming trickle-down, free market, de-regulator.

Roberts is wrong that there was no deregulation of the financial sector during the Reagan years. The Saving & Loans were deregulated during the Reagan years (advanced and supported by Phil Gramm) that led to its crashing and “Too Big To Fail” during George HW Bush tenure in 1989. In addition the top tier saw their taxes reduced by 42% during the Reagan years which is tantamount to deregulation of the rich while tax burdens were shifted onto regressive payroll and sales taxes.

Clinton signed the repeal of Glass-Steagal but that legislation was primarily sponsored by Republican Phil Gramm and the Republican Congress.

The Republican ideology aided by the reactionaryism of white working class forced the Democrats to reposition themselves under Clinton to win over this retrograde “voting” bloc.

The Democrats should not be giving a free pass as neoliberalism really got underway during the Carter administration by via cuts to the capital gains taxes in 1978 and deregulation of the airlines. However it was Reagan Administration (Reaganomics) that opened the floodgates of massive redistribution from the citizenry to the rich and set deregulating capitalism as ideology.

Will the Russians be nicer if Obama is president instead of McCain. How about neither of them. In fact, in the name of world peace let’s just do nothing when Islamic extremist attack us since the 90’s.

Sadly, I don’t see any real possibility of change. After all, all the forces which have reduced America to being the bankrupt, laughing stock of the world are still there.

Click on my name to read all about it!

A highlight commentary lies on Sarkozy who ‘said that fixed, but flexible, exchange rates “should definitely be on the table.”7’ Am I going nutty, or is there an obvious conflict in that statement?

Regardless, the proposed summit in DC seems to at least propose to make the system more transparent and accountable. But aside from that twinkle of hope, it still leads to a centralized one-world banking system – new global Emperor. These tactics fail to account for the powerful factor of greed that is inherent with any monetary system, and too many people will continue to be left out of the money-acquisition loop. It’s all about compromise at this point in the game.

The mention of a financial coup at the end of two consecutive political coups begs applause. There would be absolutely zero irony in that scenario – the worst President/Administration in the history of the greatest nation ever stolen, along with his two elections, runs off with his buddies and all the loot. Then Europe comes to the rescue and saves the world, just like in Hollywood, classic! When are those International Court of Justice hearings again?

Until the “money-changers” are removed from the picture, it’s all a farce.

While we’re all intent on watching the drama unfold, keep in mind again what Hendrix stated, “When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace.” Overcome it one person at a time, starting with each of us – don’t wait for an elected official.

Arigato…

“Will the next president of the United States facilitate such change or stand in its way?”

For crying out aloud! Is it necessary to end an article on a note of HOPE when you know damn well that neither McCain or Obama will NEVER “facilitate such change”? It’s like saying, you know, the guy is a serial killer, but we got to give him the benefit of the doubt, though a genetic psychopath, we still must probe his inner soul and make his basic humaneness emerge out into the open…and, hopefully, respond compassionately…
You know much better than I do, otherwise you wouldn’t have gone into all this ‘palaver’ , that the system is corrupt to the core and EVIL!
Ron PAUL has been saying this, OUT LOUD and CLEAR, for months if not years, and now just over a week away from the election, how much support has he garnered? Virtually Zilch!
Now you trying to cheer me up, and everybody else, that out of two evils, a lesser evil will emerge that with a magic wand will bring, Presto!, Nirvana just around the corner??!!

Though there is plenty of blood and much undoing of social safty nets during the Reagan administration: Paul Craig Roberts who was Assistant Secretary of the Treasury in the Reagan administration, and regular writer Counterpunch, insists that no such deregulation of the financial systems happened during the Reagan years. That happened primarily during the Clinton years.

I don’t think Roberts argues that deregulation (we all know about the dereg. of telecom, and other large, and sometimes monopolistic business entities) did not happen during Reagan, but that it was not the financial institutions, i.e., which keeps it out of the Wall Street mayhem of today. (To be clear, other than the blip of FDR, our economic and imperialistic woes are bipartisan.)