From Countdown:
Keith Olbermann places the blame for the economic downturn past President Barack Obama and President Bush to the Wall Street executives who paid politicians and bought deregulation.
From the Wall Street Watch Project, here is their list of the 12 deregulatory steps to financial meltdown. Read their report for more details.
1. Repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act and the Rise of the Culture of Recklessness
2. Hiding Liabilities: Off-Balance Sheet Accounting
3. The Executive Branch Rejects Financial Derivative Regulation
4. Congress Blocks Financial Derivative Regulation
5. The SEC’s Voluntary Regulation Regime for Investment Banks
6. Bank Self-Regulation Goes Global: Preparing to Repeat the Meltdown?
7. Failure to Prevent Predatory Lending
8. Federal Preemption of State Consumer Protection Laws
9. Escaping Accountability: Assignee Liability
10. Fannie and Freddie Enter the Subprime Market
11. Merger Mania
12. Rampant Conflicts of Interest: Credit Ratings Firms’ Failure