So don't give me that "No one could have seen this coming bullshit."

Here's a little time capsule action for you: Part of the blame for our recent financial woes has been placed on the 1999 agreement to deregulate the banking industry in the most sweeping banking deregulation bill in American history. It had bipartisan support, and was pushed along by an absolutely MASSIVE lobbying campaign. It did away with the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933, one of the central pillars of Roosevelt's New Deal. Under the old law, banks, brokerages and insurance companies were effectively barred from entering each others' industries, and investment banking and commercial banking were separated.

So that worked out good.

I found an article on it on the World Socialist Web Site from 1999, when the bill was passed. Here's what the Martin McLaughlin had to say about it's possible implications:

"Threat to financial stability
The proposed deregulation will increase the degree of monopolization in finance and worsen the position of consumers in relation to creditors. Even more significant is its impact on the overall stability of US and world capitalism. The bill ties the banking system and the insurance industry even more directly to the volatile US stock market, virtually guaranteeing that any significant plunge on Wall Street will have an immediate and catastrophic impact throughout the US financial system."

Of course, who'd trust those commie pinko rat bastards, right?

READ EM AND WEEP

And Bill Clinton, who signed the bill, doesn't think it was a problem. Read what he's saying to help him sleep.

CLINTON: “On the Glass-Steagall thing, like I said, if you could demonstrate to me that it was a mistake, I'd be glad to look at the evidence. I can't blame (the Republicans). This wasn't something they forced me into.”

Sadly, it appears Mr. McLaughlin passed away at the end of last year. I would welcome his insights, as he's obviously one of few who saw this coming.

Thanks for trying, good sir.