legalising cds, derivatives, swaps betting - courtesy of tonight's '60 minutes' the 1907 law banning such activity 'revoked' in 2000 - clinton administration ' COMMODITY FUTURES MODERNIZATION ACT OF 2000 ' [last statement on last page - 262] "PREEMPTION.âThis title shall supersede and preempt the application of any State or local law that prohibits or regulates gaming or the operation of bucket shops (other than antifraud provisions of general applicability) in the case of a hybrid instrument that is predominantly a banking product; or a covered swap agreement"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commodity_Futures_Modernization_Act_of_2000 This bill was introduced by the Republicans, passed both houses but never debated and signed by the lame-duck president Bill Clinton.
Sounds like NAFTA... Bush Sr. helped write it, and Slick willy signed it into law as soon as he was elected. I remain amused by anyone who thinks the cat-and-mouse game of politics is anything more than eye candy and busy work for the masses.
It was pretty slick as well by the Republican sponsors of the bill to stick those 50 words that sank the American economy into an omnibus spending bill, but apparently that was what happened. I doubt Clinton ever read or understood those 50 words. Phil Gramm is in the center of all of these. Massive balls with this guy, calling America a "nation of whiners" and "mental recession" after he set the fire.
From the wikipedia article 157 Democrats and 133 Republicans voted for the appropriations bill. 51 Republicans and 9 Democrats opposed the appropriations bill
This was a must pass bill. The commodity futures "modernization" stuff was diabolically slipped into the bill by Gramm and his cohorts at the eleventh hour, just as congress was about to adjourn . It is doubtful that the other members had any inkling that Graham had tampered with the bill in a way that would cause such havoc later. History will not be kind to Phil Gramm.
I wonder about the veracity of that wikipedia article, it was last modified today!! Is history being rewritten to shift the blame off the Democrats for the subprime thingy.. and Clinton "could do nothing because he was a lame duck? Huh?
How do you change the fact that 104th-106th Congresses were Republican controlled, 1995-2000? The bill was written, sponsored and inserted in the last hour by Republicans and Republicans controlled the debates or their lack of in those congresses. Absolutely true that Bill Clinton could have vetoed an omnibus spending bill at the last day of his and the 106th Congress's term in office, but he just didn't have the political support to do that.