deregulation

In 1999 on the eve of passage of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, Senator Byron Dorgan, D-ND, addressed the Senate and warned of the dangers we might face in the future as a result of the legislation. As Skymutt points out in his piece at DailyKos, we were in the throes of an economic boom at the time. Republicans pushed to approve legislation to deregulate the financial services industry - specifically to repeal part of the Glass-Stegall Act of 1933 which prohibited banks from offering insurance, investment and commercial banking services. It wasn't wisdom that led these Senators to pass this legislation, it was greed.

This atrocious news came across my desk a few minutes ago and I'd like to pass it on. It used to be that "conservative" meant being good stewards of the bounty our land had, its beauty and promise, to be able to hand down to our childen and grandchildren. By ample demonstration, the term has been co-opted by a few self-servatives whose greed and lack of concern over the consequences of their actions have soured the taste of the very word in the mouths of a growing majority.