Here’s a story I’ve been asleep at the switch on. One of John McCain’s chief economic advisers is none other than former Senator Phil Gramm. Phil Gramm was the father of the modern bank deregulation era that led to the subprime mortgage crisis. And more than that, he’s a lobbyist for UBS, one of the largest transnational corporations embroiled in the subprime mess:
Talking Points Memo | Great Company He Keeps
On the McCain/Gramm/UBS front (noted in yesterday evenings posts), it seems that not only is Sen. McCain’s top economics advisor, fmr Sen. Gramm, lobby and work for UBS, but according to today’s Financial Times the company is advising members of its private banking team not to step foot in the United States in order to avoid indictment.
The original story from MSNBC’s Countdown is here for your entertainment. Gramm was a tireless lobbyist against just about any reform measures or relief measures the Congress wanted to pass in the wake of the economic disaster he was largely responsible for. So now we know why John McCain’s economic policy where the subprime situation is concerned was, “you’re on your own, losers.”
