GOP'ish candidates

[ila]

Originally Posted by smc

Job losses can be attributed in part to the policies of presidents. Presidents of both parties have enabled the offshoring of jobs. Clinton presided over NAFTA, a huge job-killer in the United States. Bush's policies (easing or ignoring regulation of the financial markets, allowing for the casino environment from which the world has suffered) that helped lead to the financial system collapse in September 2008 contributed to job losses, to be sure. Obama's failure to pass a stimulus plan with a real job-creation component and that was much, much larger than what he did get also contributed. But in no case are the associated job losses the direct blame of any president. They are the result of a system propped up through collusion by both major parties, a system that puts profits before people, and rewards profit making even when it comes at the direct expense of people.

That's the answer that I was looking for. I would think, though, that the financial collapse was the result of policies put into effect long before either Bush Jr took office. I would also suggest that no administration did anything to correct those policies.

[smc]

Originally Posted by ila

That's the answer that I was looking for. I would think, though, that the financial collapse was the result of policies put into effect long before either Bush Jr took office. I would also suggest that no administration did anything to correct those policies.

The deregulation of the financial markets began, in earnest, with the repeal of provisions of the Glass?Steagall Act via the Gramm?Leach?Bliley Act in 1999. Clinton was president. Bush Jr. accelerated the process. This is why I continue to make the point that both major parties -- which serve the interests of the monied class -- are the political architects of the current situation. Obama brought into his administration the very people who started all this crap under Clinton, including Lawrence Summers.