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Originally posted by Undertoad
I also think that putting the entire scandal on Bush is wrong. Obviously the "bubble" happened on Clinton's watch. If one honestly believed that the President can do much at all about the economy, then we'd have to point out that CEOs were doing most of their scandalous tinkering during the previous administration. The current scandals are about things put on the wrong side of the books five years ago. We'd all have to agree that about half of the "Clinton economy" was a sham.
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Putting SS funds where they get a better return is not even relevant. The government needs SS funds to raid for cash - to keep the government running - to play cash flow games. Investing SS funds in the stock market is pushed by those who would count on public ignorance to appear politically superior at the expense of America's future.
It is quite foolish to blame the Clinton Administration for something they saw coming, and yelled loudly about avoiding. Posted were the people first responsible for this mess - those who threatened to gut the SEC if it addressed the problem we now have. Nowhere were Clinton nor George Jr initially blamed. Listed for blame were:
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... the Republican party leadership, Sen Tauzin (R-LA, Sen Lieberman (D-CT) among others ...
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However after Sunbeam and Waste Management, it was clear that fraud in accounting was suspect and not being prosecuted. I may have reposted an article about it just after the Sunbeam scandel and before Bush was elected - including discussions of the various accounting standards boards. We had facts that something was askew back then. Arthur Levitt of the Clinton Administration was shouting so loud that the above Congressmen, et al threatened him to quiet him.
However George Jr stayed silent when in power, stayed silent even after Enron, and stayed silent when it was apparent that even Cheney would be suspect for cooking books. He stayed silent because addressing the problem would have caused problems for so many of his friends - who ARE the problem. George Jr stayed silent and did nothing to address a problem that he could have confronted long ago when the CA energy problem existed. But in each case, they were major campaign contributors to George Jr. Best stay silent about those who legally bribe the government.
George Jr all but still remained silent. His speech was about protecting the guilty by inaction. He deceives a naive public to think he is finally addressing the problem when in reality he still ignores reasons for the problem.
George Jr is not the original reason for the problem. George Jr simply contributes to the problem - as his speech only demonstrates. A problem that Clinton's people tried to solve but instead were threatened.
Ironic that George Jr protects by inaction those who commit outright fraud in corporate America and protects those who would be bankrupted because they stifle innovation. These are classic actions of an MBA mentality. It just absolutely amazes me how this man can continue to operate contrary to interests of America - and not be condemned for his hypocracy. It demonstrates power of the 'bully pulpit'.