Press release from Betts
BETTS TO TIAHRT:
YOU VOTED FOR LEGISLATION
THAT CAUSED THIS CRISIS
WICHITA, Kan. – State Senator Donald Betts, Jr., issued a statement today that Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-KS) failed consumers when he said that he wouldn’t support the bailout plan without “addressing the reasons our markets are in this situation.” Betts said he was disappointed that Tiahrt is pretending he has no idea of how Wall Street ended up in this predicament. “Tiahrt knows what caused these problems, he voted for the 1999 Financial Services Modernization Act that effectively gutted protections and regulations for investment and commercial banking authorized by President Franklin Roosevelt,” said Betts.
“When you look at all the problems we are facing with our economy today with 143 Americans losing their homes in the next hour and consumers suffering from rising grocery and gasoline prices, it is disgusting that our Congress is not claiming responsibility for passing the legislation that precipitated the Wall Street bailout,” said Betts. “The members of Congress that created this monster, including Congressman Tiahrt, should be held accountable.” I want to assure you that I will always fight for the voice of the people and put people over politics,” said Betts. “People deserve to have a voice in our government and it seems that the special interests and big business have had too much control in Washington D.C. and I plan to change all that when elected,” he said.
Following the stock market crash of 1929 and the Great Depression, President Franklin Roosevelt signed the Glass-Steagall act in 1933 to protect our banking system. This legislation addressed the concern of over-speculation by banks and set up regulations for investment and commercial banking. The 1999 Financial Services Modernization Act essentially destroyed the 1933 legislation. With the bailout of Bear Stearns by Congress in March (legislation Tiahrt voted for), the takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in September, and the Federal Reserve’s help to AIG, the focus of the entire world is on the U.S. market which continues to teeter erratically. “It is such a shame that our great leaders such as President Roosevelt spent so much time ensuring legislative controls were put into place, only to have them shattered in 1999,” he said.
With the Stock Market falling over 700 points today with news of Congress not approving the bailout, many Americans are concerned about how it will affect their savings, retirement and long-term future. Senator Betts said today, “People in this country need to be reassured that they will not lose their life savings, retirements, and mortgages in lieu of the chaos on Wall Street.” “There is concern and the people need to be sure that Congress is on-the-job,” he added.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
Why do you keep posting all the drivel about Betts? We don't care. Why waste the space on someone who doesn't stand a chance of winning?
I'm sorry, but this Betts dude is an idiot, or has surrounded himself with some. The GLBA had very little, if anything, to cause this issue we are now facing in the economy. If you are going to blame legislation for the cause, the CRA act that Carter enacted in the late 70's, and re-vamped (with looser regulation) by Clinton in the 90's would be more of a factor, because it allowed people with lower incomes to apply, and receive loans. With looser regs, oversight wasn't in place to watch out for those who couldn't pay back the loans, and this is the mess we are in now. This problem was cause by the mortgage crisis, not because banks were allowed to invest. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac did not fall under the oversight of the OCC or Federal Reserve, so they did not have to follow the rules, and you see what happened to them. Cornerbank and HNB have letters from the OCC saying they have some issues, but they are no where close to having a meltdown like Freddie or Fannie; that is what regulations do. So far, the banks that have failed, or have been taken over by the Fed had bad lending practices (bad mortgages). The loses they occured caused them to eat into their capital, and they either failed, got bought out (WaMu and Wachovia), or the Fed took over.
Betts, or his advisors, are playing politics, and not looking at the big picture. They see "failed investment bank", and look for some legislation that Tiahrt voted on that "might" have caused the whole thing. The economy it the issue today, last week, it was Iraq, 2 months ago, the Boeing tanker deal. Blame, blame, blame.
Dems and Repubs blame each other for the ills of the country. It seems to me, the vote yesterday pretty much followed what the public wanted. It seems like most people don't like the bill, but both parties are blaming each other for the problem. I usually back Pres Bush on most things, but this plan that he and Poulson is stupid. Like one commentator said, it took over a year to get the Patriot Act to pass, and we're trying to pass a bill that will shape the economy of the world (pretty much) in a week?
yes. it's just a bunch of stuff. no one's reading all that anyway.
Post a Comment