In separate statements, he also put much of the blame for the mess on pro-business politicians in Washington, targeting the Republicans. And he warned elected officials that in their rush to shore up the financial system, they must also help workers and families who could lose their savings, their 401 (k)s and their insurance in the collapses.
Sweeney, president of the nation\'s largest labor federation, issued two statements on Wall Street\'s woes. The first came after the bankruptcy of the brokerage house Lehman Brothers and the "fire sale" of the nation\'s biggest brokerage, Merrill Lynch, to the nation\'s biggest bank, the Bank of America. His second statement came after the government seized control of the nation\'s biggest insurer, American International Group, in return for an $85 billion loan.
"Deregulated financial markets claimed their latest corporate victims with the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers and the sale of Merrill Lynch," Sweeney said on Sept. 15. "Today, we are learning once again that when working families suffer, when good jobs disappear, when millions lose their homes, eventually even the titans of Wall Street will share the pain.
"It is hard to believe that only two years ago, Wall Street was claiming the U.S. financial sector was in danger from too much regulation. Now it is clear that, rather than dismantling what remains of our system of financial regulation, the next administration will have to rebuild a robust, comprehensive regulatory system for the financial markets in a radically different landscape."
The Merrill Lynch sale is a direct result of deregulation, Sweeney said. He called it "deeply troubling, especially considering the role of deregulation and the Gramm Leach-Bliley act in contributing to this crisis. The system of regulation of these integrated banks has failed, and it is clear that much stronger firewalls are needed."
The top Congressional bank deregulator in the legislation Sweeney cited, former Republican Sen. Phil Gramm, is now lead U.S. representative for the Swiss investment bank UBS Warburg. Gramm is also an economic advisor to Republican presidential nominee John McCain. Gramm recently called people who worry about a recession "whiners."
Sweeney re-emphasized his points about the financial markets when the feds stepped in to grab AIG two days later. That takeover followed the government\'s previous seizure of the nation\'s two big mortgage giants, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
But he put a sharper emphasis on the political point that GOP policies produced the crisis – and that workers and their families need help.
"The AIG bailout makes clearer than ever that Bush and Republicans have built an unbalanced and fragile economy in which working people never share in Wall Street\'s gain, but must shoulder its failures. The Republicans have no economic strategy. They\'re scrambling to put out fires their policies created and doing so with taxpayer money," Sweeney declared.
"What about ordinary Americans who are already hurting and going to hurt more? With record joblessness, health care in crisis, crumbling infrastructure and lost homes, we must be every bit as determined to not allow Main Street to fail as we are to save Wall Street and our foreign central bank creditors," he added.
"We must move a plan to create jobs and turn around the economy for working families. The AIG bailout alone is larger than the entire economic stimulus package that has been stalled for too long and that\'s an outrage," Sweeney said.
This article was written by Press Associates, Inc., news service. Used by permission.
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In separate statements, he also put much of the blame for the mess on pro-business politicians in Washington, targeting the Republicans. And he warned elected officials that in their rush to shore up the financial system, they must also help workers and families who could lose their savings, their 401 (k)s and their insurance in the collapses.
Sweeney, president of the nation\’s largest labor federation, issued two statements on Wall Street\’s woes. The first came after the bankruptcy of the brokerage house Lehman Brothers and the "fire sale" of the nation\’s biggest brokerage, Merrill Lynch, to the nation\’s biggest bank, the Bank of America. His second statement came after the government seized control of the nation\’s biggest insurer, American International Group, in return for an $85 billion loan.
"Deregulated financial markets claimed their latest corporate victims with the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers and the sale of Merrill Lynch," Sweeney said on Sept. 15. "Today, we are learning once again that when working families suffer, when good jobs disappear, when millions lose their homes, eventually even the titans of Wall Street will share the pain.
"It is hard to believe that only two years ago, Wall Street was claiming the U.S. financial sector was in danger from too much regulation. Now it is clear that, rather than dismantling what remains of our system of financial regulation, the next administration will have to rebuild a robust, comprehensive regulatory system for the financial markets in a radically different landscape."
The Merrill Lynch sale is a direct result of deregulation, Sweeney said. He called it "deeply troubling, especially considering the role of deregulation and the Gramm Leach-Bliley act in contributing to this crisis. The system of regulation of these integrated banks has failed, and it is clear that much stronger firewalls are needed."
The top Congressional bank deregulator in the legislation Sweeney cited, former Republican Sen. Phil Gramm, is now lead U.S. representative for the Swiss investment bank UBS Warburg. Gramm is also an economic advisor to Republican presidential nominee John McCain. Gramm recently called people who worry about a recession "whiners."
Sweeney re-emphasized his points about the financial markets when the feds stepped in to grab AIG two days later. That takeover followed the government\’s previous seizure of the nation\’s two big mortgage giants, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
But he put a sharper emphasis on the political point that GOP policies produced the crisis – and that workers and their families need help.
"The AIG bailout makes clearer than ever that Bush and Republicans have built an unbalanced and fragile economy in which working people never share in Wall Street\’s gain, but must shoulder its failures. The Republicans have no economic strategy. They\’re scrambling to put out fires their policies created and doing so with taxpayer money," Sweeney declared.
"What about ordinary Americans who are already hurting and going to hurt more? With record joblessness, health care in crisis, crumbling infrastructure and lost homes, we must be every bit as determined to not allow Main Street to fail as we are to save Wall Street and our foreign central bank creditors," he added.
"We must move a plan to create jobs and turn around the economy for working families. The AIG bailout alone is larger than the entire economic stimulus package that has been stalled for too long and that\’s an outrage," Sweeney said.
This article was written by Press Associates, Inc., news service. Used by permission.