A Downpayment For Prosperity

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By John ⋅ January 11, 2010 ⋅ Email ⋅ Print ⋅ Trackback ⋅ Comment

Telling Thoughts

The PBS documentary program “The Crash of 1929″ about the United States stock market crash which preceded the Great Depression, should be essential viewing in every educational institution and household – worldwide. This gripping program is segmented into brief chapters over a total viewing time of approx 60 minutes. The link to the PBS program “The Crash of 1929″ is below.

Had the lessons of history been learned, the unregulated, undisciplined, American financial environment which triggered the financial crisis of 1929, would not have been possible to replicate in 2008. However it nearly happened again – and to our perennial dismay, history once again has been ignored. And not surprisingly, greed was the motivating factor.

In the intervening years to 1999, all that was needed was the willing participation of both Democrat and Republican politicians to agree to the stripping of rules and regulations originally provided for within the Glass Steagall Act of 1932 / 1933, to again open the gates of opportunity for massive financial fraud and highly suspect financial practices. Once again, the financial system was freed of alert and authoritative government oversight, and all important financial regulation.

If the lessons of history are to be heeded, the Obama Administration needs to give priority to the task of introducing sweeping regulatory changes to the American financial system. The President needs to lead the fight. This is essential if America is to avoid a repeat of the economic devastation that its flawed deregulated financial system delivered to all parties affected by an economic concept so idealized as to become the mantra of the Republican Party and the root cause of the global financial crisis. An idea based on the myth of “a deregulated financial market’s ability to self manage and act ethically and responsibly at all times”. — An oxymoron if ever there was one.

The Crash of 1929 —- http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/crash/