George Bush Legacy: Culture of Corruption

By: relawson
Published On: 9/23/2008 10:27:59 PM

Today we learn that the FBI is investigating at least 26 corporate lenders for fraud including Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, American International Group, and Lehman Brothers Holdings. All central figures in the latest financial crises. According to the AP:
The inquiries will focus on the financial institutions and the individuals that ran them, the senior law enforcement official said.

During the two terms of George Bush our government took a hands off approach to the market, embraced deregulation, signing as many free trade agreements as humanly possible, encouraged offshoring of jobs through tax incentives, eroded labor and environmental laws, ran massive trade and budget deficits, and managed to fit in war of choice. 

At the end of the day, the only words I can come up to describe these last eight wreckless years: corruption at the highest levels.  There is no way possible that all three regulatory branches could be reporting a "healthy economy" with this banking collapse looming on the horizon, until the bitter end in fact.

These were more than just white collar crimes.  These crimes will cost tax payers perhaps trillions.  It will set back healthcare initiatives and will result in untold deaths - deaths by people who would otherwise survive if they had adequate healthcare.  The likelyhood that we can solve our energy crises, our healthcare crises, and meet basis infrastructure needs is looking a dire as ever.

I believe that Senator Obama, when he is elected President, should hold these criminals accountable.  If the Bush administration is involved with these crimes, anyone involved, even President Bush himself, must face justice. 

This problem is not limited to a few bad people or a few bad companies.  It is systemic.  And the administration responsible for rooting out fraud turned a blind eye in the name of capitalism and free markets.  We must purge our society of these criminals once and for all, and take away their ill-gotten gains.



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