Pin it on politicians

Unfortunately, our banking mess can again be attributed to our unaccountable politicians doing the bidding of the bankers. In turn, the politicians continue to blame the bankers and lowly, unknowledgeable American people.

To prevent the sort of malady that we are experiencing today, the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933 was enacted. This Act segregated the dual banking practices of investment and commercial banking.

This would also limit the speculative practices of banks using depositors’ funds. In 1977, President Carter enacted the Community Reinvestment Act, which would enhance funding for economically deprived communities. Later, in 1997, President Clinton and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Henry Cisneros amended this Act and started pressuring the banks to loan to customers without the standard qualifications.

The deadly coupling effect came in 1999 when Sen. Phil Gramm, R-Texas, repealed the Glass-Steagall Act with the new Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act. The banking restrictions were finally lifted, prompting Treasury Secretary Larry Summers to confide that it now made the American banks more competitive in the global economy. Only eight senators – one Republican and seven Democrats – voted against this repeal. The rest is history.

Can we now hold our elected officials accountable?

Mark Liptrap

Spokane