Your Member of Congress and AIG
Posted by Jim Harper
TPMMuckracker published a nice summary of the collapse of AIG on Friday. If you’re interested in Congress’ role in creating the disaster, here’s a key line: “In 2000, Congress passed the Commodity Futures Modernization Act, which further reduced the already weak regulation of derivatives like credit default swaps.”
Back in October, in a post called [...]
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Did Your Representative Cause the Financial Crisis?
Posted by Jim Harper
In 2000, Congress passed a law barring states from regulating credit default swaps under their gambling and “bucket shop” laws. This set the stage for the market in “financial derivatives” that are a big part of what is causing the economic meltdown today.
One hundred fifty-five of the Members of Congress who voted for [...]
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