Fact Check: McCain's stance on deregulation

[Lazie]

The Statement: At a campaign rally Monday, September 29, in Denver, Colorado, Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama once again charged his Republican opponent, Sen. John McCain, with being a supporter of deregulating financial markets that have since collapsed. "He's fought against common-sense regulations for decades … and he said in a recent interview that he thought deregulation has actually helped grow our economy. Senator, what economy are you talking about?" Obama said.
Watch: McCain, GOP have failed economic philosophy, Obama says

Get the facts!

The Facts: During his time in the senate, McCain has been a champion of government deregulation — some of which is being blamed for the Wall Street meltdown. Since the recent crisis, though, he has supported a plan for the government to take on the debt of failing financial institutions.
During a September 21 interview on CBS's "60 Minutes," McCain was asked if he regretted a 1999 vote for deregulating Wall Street. "No — I think the deregulation was probably helpful to the growth of our economy," McCain said.
In footage of a speech aired during that interview, though, McCain voices support for government now stepping in. "I'm not saying this isn't going to be messy and I'm not saying it isn't going to be expensive," he said, "but we have to stop the bleeding."

The Verdict: True — although McCain has supported more government oversight of Wall Street as part of the bailout plan.

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com...on/#more-21420

[Karl]

The Statement: At a campaign rally Monday, September 29, in Denver, Colorado, Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama once again charged his Republican opponent, Sen. John McCain, with being a supporter of deregulating financial markets that have since collapsed. "He's fought against common-sense regulations for decades … and he said in a recent interview that he thought deregulation has actually helped grow our economy. Senator, what economy are you talking about?" Obama said.
Watch: McCain, GOP have failed economic philosophy, Obama says

Get the facts!

The Facts: During his time in the senate, McCain has been a champion of government deregulation — some of which is being blamed for the Wall Street meltdown. Since the recent crisis, though, he has supported a plan for the government to take on the debt of failing financial institutions.
During a September 21 interview on CBS's "60 Minutes," McCain was asked if he regretted a 1999 vote for deregulating Wall Street. "No — I think the deregulation was probably helpful to the growth of our economy," McCain said.
In footage of a speech aired during that interview, though, McCain voices support for government now stepping in. "I'm not saying this isn't going to be messy and I'm not saying it isn't going to be expensive," he said, "but we have to stop the bleeding."

The Verdict: True — although McCain has supported more government oversight of Wall Street as part of the bailout plan.

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com...on/#more-21420

Politics as usual!
McCain is a deregulator... but certainly not to the point of calling for no regulation. He is for what is in his opinion necessary regulation. ...and particularly where it relates to the expansion of 'liar mortgages' and other instruments precipitated by the relaxing of regulations...some would say expansion of access to credit...in the housing market backed by Fannie and Freddie...he has a long history, pre-dating 2006, of calling for the reigning in of those policies.

The Fact Checkers are lax on the facts.

[Lazie]

Politics as usual!
McCain is a deregulator... but certainly not to the point of calling for no regulation. He is for what is in his opinion necessary regulation. ...and particularly where it relates to the expansion of 'liar mortgages' and other instruments precipitated by the relaxing of regulations...some would say expansion of access to credit in the housing market backed by Fannie and Freddie...he has a long history, pre-dating 2006, of calling for the reigning in of those policies.

The Fact Checkers are lax on the facts.

When yuh stop fool yuhself guh find out who Phil Gramm is. Its strange that a man who described himself as the biggest deregulator there is all of a sudden realize there is a need for regulation.

Karl, you've already proven to me that when it comes to politics you're simply out of touch. The others on the forum are stuck in denial.

[Gamma]

so who is for "more regulation than is necessary"?

the question is what does "necessary" mean for each candidate? mccain's necessary may not be enough or obama's too much...so...what?

it seems to me that if oversight was part of the problem, then deregulation was not enough...ergo.....

[Gamma]

"out of touch".....

[Karl]

When yuh stop fool yuhself guh find out who Phil Gramm is. Its strange that a man who described himself as the biggest deregulator there is all of a sudden realize there is a need for regulation.

Karl, you've already proven to me that when it comes to politics you're simply out of touch. The others on the forum are stuck in denial.

You are failing to acount for our complexity. We are agreed the man is a deregulator. ...and he insists he is uncomfortable with having to support this new set of regulations...but he thinks it is necessary.

You are crazy if you think we (humans) see all things as either 'black' or 'white'. There are times when circumstances demand a compromise.

http://federalism.typepad.com/crime_...l-housing.html

...and on McCain? He is who he is!

[Lazie]

Bredren, not going into the tit for tat wid yuh. Find out who Phil Gramm is, tell us the impact he had on the Enron fallout. What is he to the McCain campaign.


John McCain: The Deregulator (his own words).

[Karl]

so who is for "more regulation than is necessary"?

the question is what does "necessary" mean for each candidate? mccain's necessary may not be enough or obama's too much...so...what?

it seems to me that if oversight was part of the problem, then deregulation was not enough...ergo.....

In connection with S. 190 — a bill that would likely have prevented today’s subprime mortgage meltdown — John McCain issued the following statement on May 25, 2006:

Mr. President, this week Fannie Mae’s regulator reported that the company’s quarterly reports of profit growth over the past few years were “illusions deliberately and systematically created” by the company’s senior management, which resulted in a $10.6 billion accounting scandal.

The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight’s report goes on to say that Fannie Mae employees deliberately and intentionally manipulated financial reports to hit earnings targets in order to trigger bonuses for senior executives. In the case of Franklin Raines, Fannie Mae’s former chief executive officer, OFHEO’s report shows that over half of Mr. Raines’ compensation for the 6 years through 2003 was directly tied to meeting earnings targets. The report of financial misconduct at Fannie Mae echoes the deeply troubling $5 billion profit restatement at Freddie Mac.

The OFHEO report also states that Fannie Mae used its political power to lobby Congress in an effort to interfere with the regulator’s examination of the company’s accounting problems. This report comes some weeks after Freddie Mac paid a record $3.8 million fine in a settlement with the Federal Election Commission and restated lobbying disclosure reports from 2004 to 2005. These are entities that have demonstrated over and over again that they are deeply in need of reform.

For years I have been concerned about the regulatory structure that governs Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac–known as Government-sponsored entities or GSEs–and the sheer magnitude of these companies and the role they play in the housing market. OFHEO’s report this week does nothing to ease these concerns. In fact, the report does quite the contrary. OFHEO’s report solidifies my view that the GSEs need to be reformed without delay.

I join as a cosponsor of the Federal Housing Enterprise Regulatory Reform Act of 2005, S. 190, to underscore my support for quick passage of GSE regulatory reform legislation. If Congress does not act, American taxpayers will continue to be exposed to the enormous risk that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac pose to the housing market, the overall financial system, and the economy as a whole.