September, 09 2008, 02:00pm EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Sam Husseini, (202) 347-0020;
or David Zupan, (541) 484-9167
Causes of Fannie's Collapse -- and How to Stop the Speculators
WASHINGTON
JAMES K. GALBRAITH
Galbraith's latest book is The Predator State: How Conservatives Abandoned the Free Market and Why Liberals Should Too.
He said today: "The collapse of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is partly
the result of their own practices, but it is also part and parcel of
the broader collapse of regulation that took hold in the late 1990's
with the repeal of Glass-Steagall [banking regulation], which opened
the door to massive securitization of subprime mortgages, and then the
deliberate fostering of the housing bubble under the Bush
administration.
"This was tied to financialization throughout the economy and the
sequence of bubbles and busts that have resulted. The first was in
information technology, the second in housing, and now we're seeing it
in commodities, especially oil.
"[Treasury Secretary Henry] Paulson's actions face up to reality that
government must be involved in housing. Meanwhile, John McCain
continues to deny that reality. McCain's economic policy was created,
in full, by Phil Gramm -- the architect of the deregulation that
brought us this crisis. If John McCain becomes President, we'll likely
see the 'solution' now being recommended by Alan Greenspan: breakup and
privatization of Fannie and Freddie, leaving the private bankers in
charge and taking government out of the housing business. There will be
no recovery of the housing sector if that happens, and many more will
face foreclosure."
Galbraith recently wrote the piece "How
to Burn the Speculators: Why is the price of oil so high? Because the
Bush administration did to the commodities market what it did to housing."
Galbraith is Lloyd M. Bentsen Jr. chair in government/business relations at the University of Texas.
More Information
A nationwide consortium, the Institute for Public Accuracy (IPA) represents an unprecedented effort to bring other voices to the mass-media table often dominated by a few major think tanks. IPA works to broaden public discourse in mainstream media, while building communication with alternative media outlets and grassroots activists.
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Sean Vitka, policy director of Demand Progress, used social media to press the top Democrat on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) on the implications of an amendment that the lower chamber approved as part of a bill to reauthorize Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).
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Vitka noted Sunday that Himes repeatedly characterized the amendment—which was led by HPSCI Chair Rep. Mike Turner (D-Ohio)—as narrow, even though it would dramatically expand the kinds of businesses that can be forced to help the government conduct surveillance operations under Section 702, possibly handing a would-be authoritarian chilling surveillance powers.
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Himes, an
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Snowden went on to argue that Vitka's "invocation of "Stasi-like" is not only a fair characterization" of the amendment, "it's probably generous."
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Elizabeth Goitein, co-director of the Brennan Center's Liberty and National Security Program,
said the "disregard for Americans' civil liberties" in Himes' reply to Vitka "is staggering."
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URGENT: Please read thread below. We have just days to convince the Senate NOT to pass a “terrifying” law (@RonWyden) that will force U.S. businesses to serve as NSA spies. CALL YOUR SENATOR NOW using this call tool (click below or call 202-899-8938). 1/25 https://t.co/HAOHURZoJQ
— Elizabeth Goitein (@LizaGoitein) April 15, 2024
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"To have a coal company sponsoring an exhibition on the future of energy is blatantly deceiving," Anya, a young person who occupied the Energy Revolution gallery, said in a statement. "Through this sponsorship deal, the Science Museum is helping Adani attach itself to the image of a positive and sustainable future when in reality it is a coal giant, weapons manufacturer, and genocide supporter. It's plain wrong for the Science Museum to be deceiving visitors, including young people like me, when it comes to the climate crisis."
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On Friday evening the activists smuggled in balloons and black paper which they used to create a large art piece—a mound of black coal—in the centre of the gallery. Their plan was to interact with the public on Saturday after their first night of occupation, including a People's Assembly to discuss the controversial sponsorship in the afternoon.
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The protesters remained in the museum overnight on Saturday and ended their action on Sunday.
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Packham emphasized that "we urgently need an 'Energy Revolution' to steer us away from the course of planetary destruction on which we are heading. We need a rapid, just transition to renewables—that revolution means an end to coal, and starts with the young people and scientists occupying this space this evening. Science tells us the truth, and the truth is that we must change."
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