The Democrats are unrelenting in attempting to spread their anti-deregulation mantra. Apparently they believe in the "Big Lie Theory," that, if you say something over and over again, it becomes true for the masses. A recent article in the New York Times relates the story behind former Senator Phil Gramm, the man behind the deregulation wave in the late 1990s. And of course, they quote various professors who claim that Gramm's actions "contributed mightily" to our current economic crises. Sigh.
Apparently, the editorial board of the NYT and the whole Democratic Caucus needs to read the series of articles from the latest edition of the Carolina Review where the real factors that caused the economic crisis are documented: the Fed's low interest rate, Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac, the "moral hazard," the Community Reinvestment Act, and organizations like ACORN who pressured community banks to give loans to people who could not afford them. Hum... dereguation surprisingly does not appear on the list because, in fact, dereguation DID NOT cause the crisis! No credible economist (with the exception of Paul Krugman) actually believes this.
So, to the NYT and Democrats in general: please stop spreading myths about the economic crisis. Thank men like Phil Gramm instead of attacking them.