McCain "Don’t know much about economy"

[tony hipchest]

the economy is an issue.

http://news.yahoo.com/story/politico...politico/13213

In 2005, McCain told the Wall Street Journal, "I'm going to be honest: I know a lot less about economics than I do about military and foreign policy issues. I still need to be educated."

By his own admission, that education hasn’t happened yet. Last year, before the economy passed the war in opinion polls as voters’ foremost concern, he conceded,“The issue of economics is not something I’ve understood as well as I should.”

He added, “I’ve got Greenspan’s book” —though given the decline in the former Fed chair’s reputation since the burst of the housing bubble, that remark too might come back to haunt him.

As damaging as print quotes can be, it’s video of similar comments that may prove most damaging with voters.

but atleast he gets good advice and guidance (entire article too long to post but VERY interesting) -

http://www.motherjones.com/news/feat...sure-phil.html

Who's to blame for the biggest financial catastrophe of our time? There are plenty of culprits, but one candidate for lead perp is former Sen. Phil Gramm. Eight years ago, as part of a decades-long anti-regulatory crusade, Gramm pulled a sly legislative maneuver that greased the way to the multibillion-dollar subprime meltdown. Yet has Gramm been banished from the corridors of power? Reviled as the villain who bankrupted Middle America? Hardly. Now a well-paid executive at a Swiss bank, Gramm cochairs Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign and advises the Republican candidate on economic matters. He's been mentioned as a possible Treasury secretary should McCain win. That's right: A guy who helped screw up the global financial system could end up in charge of US economic policy. Talk about a market failure.

Because of the swap-related provisions of Gramm's bill—which were supported by Fed chairman Alan Greenspan and Treasury secretary Larry Summers—a $62 trillion market (nearly four times the size of the entire US stock market) remained utterly unregulated, meaning no one made sure the banks and hedge funds had the assets to cover the losses they guaranteed.

In essence, Wall Street's biggest players (which, thanks to Gramm's earlier banking deregulation efforts, now incorporated everything from your checking account to your pension fund) ran a secret casino. "Tens of trillions of dollars of transactions were done in the dark," says University of San Diego law professor Frank Partnoy, an expert on financial markets and derivatives. "No one had a picture of where the risks were flowing." Betting on the risk of any given transaction became more important—and more lucrative—than the transactions themselves, Partnoy notes: "So there was more betting on the riskiest subprime mortgages than there were actual mortgages." Banks and hedge funds, notes Michael Greenberger, who directed the cftc's division of trading and markets in the late 1990s, "were betting the subprimes would pay off and they would not need the capital to support their bets."

Gramm's record as a reckless deregulator has not affected his rating as a Republican economic expert. Sen. John McCain has relied on him for policy advice, especially, according to the campaign, on housing matters. The two have been buddies ever since they served together in the House in the 1980s; in 1996, McCain chaired Gramm's flop of a presidential campaign. (Gramm spent $21 million and earned only 10 delegates during the gop primaries.) In 2005, McCain told a Wall Street Journal columnist that Gramm was his economic guru. Two years later, Gramm wrote a piece for the Journal extolling McCain as a modern-day Abraham Lincoln, and he's hailed McCain's love of tax cuts and free trade. Media accounts have identified Gramm as a contender for the top slot at the Treasury Department if McCain reaches the White House. "If McCain gets in," frets Lynn Turner, a former chief sec accountant, "we'll have more of the same deregulatory mess. I like John McCain, but given what I know about Phil Gramm, I wouldn't vote for McCain."

scary, unless it is much ado about nothing. this guy had close ties to enron. enron is being compared as small fries to this mess.

but in discussing the issues, its not so much mccains experience that concerns me, its his ability to surround himself with the people who will be best for america.

[MACH1]

Hey...Obumer's one Bill O'Riley now. A bit off topic but..... And :sign09:

[tony hipchest]

Originally Posted by MACH1

Hey...Obumer's one Bill O'Riley now. A bit off topic but..... And :sign09:

hey. im just votin for the dude. i aint trying to miss any MNF football for him. .....especially opening weekend.

(missed it. wow. bill called the obama campaign really smart. hes right. i cant say as much for the mccain camp.)

[MACH1]

Originally Posted by tony hipchest

hey. im just votin for the dude. i aint trying to miss any MNF football for him. .....especially opening weekend.

(missed it. wow. bill called the obama campaign really smart. hes right. i cant say as much for the mccain camp.)

Shhhh....Don't tell anyone, but I forgot about the earlier start time.

[tony hipchest]

speaking of "big white elephants"-

Horton hears something....



and it isnt a "Who".... more like a "What".-

[GBMelBlount]

Economics 101:
lower taxes better for economy.

McCain: lower taxes
Obama: Higher taxes

[tony hipchest]

Originally Posted by GBMelBlount

Economics 101:
lower taxes better for economy.

McCain: lower taxes
Obama: Higher taxes

how much are colleges charging for that little tidbit of information nowadays? do they also teach that wall street brokerage firms will make all problems go away? theres more to being an american than "becoming rich".

National (and economic) Security 101:

no debt: good

selling out out our debt to saudi arabia, a democratic iraq, and any other wealthy, oil rich, middle eastern country who isnt on our "axis of evil" list:
bad .

govt bail outs that the average joe taxpayer pays for, while the true beneficiaries get breaks: bad.



hasnt anyone learned from our current crisis of selling (and hedging bets) on debt?

however, ears are open, and Horton hears you.

[augustashark]

It really makes me laugh that you lay this all at the feet of McCain and or Repubs. I just wanted to show some numbers that to me would say that Dems and Repubs are to blame for this mess.

110th congress: House: D=233 R=202, Senate: D=51 R=49

109th congress: House: D=202 R=229, Senate: D=45 R=55

108th congress: House: D=207 R=225, Senate: D=49 R=51

107th congress: House: D=209 R=222, Senate: D=49 R=50

I guess if the Repubs had a number like 335 to dems 100 in house then I guess i could agree with you, but you know what they say about ifs and buts, you know the whole aunt and uncle thing.

[Hammer67]

I wonder why no one is talking about www.fairtax.org?

In my mind, the current taxation system is unconstitutional and creates a economic class structure...

[lamberts-lost-tooth]

Originally Posted by tony hipchest

how much are colleges charging for that little tidbit of information nowadays? do they also teach that wall street brokerage firms will make all problems go away? theres more to being an american than "becoming rich".

National (and economic) Security 101:

no debt: good

selling out out our debt to saudi arabia, a democratic iraq, and any other wealthy, oil rich, middle eastern country who isnt on our "axis of evil" list:
bad .

govt bail outs that the average joe taxpayer pays for, while the true beneficiaries get breaks: bad.



hasnt anyone learned from our current crisis of selling (and hedging bets) on debt?

however, ears are open, and Horton hears you.

Horton apparently only hears what he wants....McCain predicted that Fannie and Freddy would turn upside down and tried to do something about it....You can thank Barney Frank and his Cronies for playing the "class/race" card...claiming that it would "hurt" and was targeting lower income families.

Congressional Record > May 25, 2006
FEDERAL HOUSING ENTERPRISE REGULATORY REFORM ACT OF 2005
The United States Senate
May 25, 2006
Section 16

Sen. John McCain [R-AZ]: "Mr. President, this week Fannie Mae's regulator reported that the company's quarterly reports of profit growth over the past few years were "illusions deliberately and systematically created" by the company's senior management, which resulted in a $10.6 billion accounting scandal.

The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight's report goes on to say that Fannie Mae employees deliberately and intentionally manipulated financial reports to hit earnings targets in order to trigger bonuses for senior executives. In the case of Franklin Raines, Fannie Mae's former chief executive officer, OFHEO's report shows that over half of Mr. Raines' compensation for the 6 years through 2003 was directly tied to meeting earnings targets. The report of financial misconduct at Fannie Mae echoes the deeply troubling $5 billion profit restatement at Freddie Mac.

The OFHEO report also states that Fannie Mae used its political power to lobby Congress in an effort to interfere with the regulator's examination of the company's accounting problems. This report comes some weeks after Freddie Mac paid a record $3.8 million fine in a settlement with the Federal Election Commission and restated lobbying disclosure reports from 2004 to 2005. These are entities that have demonstrated over and over again that they are deeply in need of reform.

For years I have been concerned about the regulatory structure that governs Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac--known as Government-sponsored entities or GSEs--and the sheer magnitude of these companies and the role they play in the housing market. OFHEO's report this week does nothing to ease these concerns. In fact, the report does quite the contrary. OFHEO's report solidifies my view that the GSEs need to be reformed without delay.

I join as a cosponsor of the Federal Housing Enterprise Regulatory Reform Act of 2005, S. 190, to underscore my support for quick passage of GSE regulatory reform legislation. If Congress does not act, American taxpayers will continue to be exposed to the enormous risk that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac pose to the housing market, the overall financial system, and the economy as a whole.

I urge my colleagues to support swift action on this GSE reform legislation."

(The Democrats blocked this bill before it could come to a vote."