The Problem with Wall Street Began with Congress

Right now Congress is conducting hearings into what led up to the financial meltdown that almost brought the nation’s economy to its knees. Many of the financial institutions of Wall Street have been grilled before various panels and the Administration is pressing forward with his Financial Reform Overhaul legislation intended to rectify the problems that led to the financial meltdown in 2008.

The only problem is who is going to bring Congress to task for their culpability in the financial crisis. The president and Congress have been hammering away at Wall Street for their excessive greed, but what about the greed of Congress?

Everyone seems to forget the bailout of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae who received billions in bailout money from the taxpayers and currently are not even part of the proposed financial reform legislation.

You can’t overhaul the system by only looking at what transpired in 2008, you have to further when various pieces of legislation allowed the housing crisis to transpire in the first place. Look back to July 2005, when the Senate Banking Committee then controlled by the Republican wanted to adopt tough regulatory reform aimed at Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae but was stymied by Democrats.

The largest recipients of campaign contributions from Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae where to Senator Chris Dodd, Sen. John Kerry, and then Senator Barack Obama, coincidentally they are leading the charge to reform the entire financial sector.

The Republicans are part of the problem as well by allowing corporate greed to be the standard practice of business throughout the nation, but the real culprits to the financial meltdown was Congress and both political parties!