Difference between revisions of "Phil Gramm"

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Senator '''Phillip Gramm''' is a right-wing Democrat turned right-wing Republican.  He has spent much of his career advocating deregulation and tax-cuts.  He is married to [[Wendy Gramm]] of the [[Mercatus Center]] and previously of [[Enron]].
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Former Texas Senator '''Phillip Gramm''' is a Democrat turned Republican.  He spent much of his career advocating deregulation and tax-cuts.  He is married to [[Wendy Gramm]] of the [[Mercatus Center]] and previously of [[Enron]].
  
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"Gramm's legislative record includes such bills as the Gramm-Latta Budgets and the [[Gramm-Rudman Act]]. Gramm-Latta mandated the Reagan tax cut. Gramm-Rudman placed the first supposedly binding constraints on Federal spending. Gramm was chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee during the return of a Republican majority in the Senate in 1994. With that majority in place, Gramm, as chairman of the Banking Committee, led passage of the [[Gramm-Leach Act]], making changes in the banking, insurance and securities laws which Congress had kept at bay for sixty years.
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==Gramm Claims Millionaire AT&T CEO "Exploited," Rails About "Bigotry Against the Successful"==
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{{#ev:youtube|0ckAmrlgjAk|210|right|Phil Gramm on "bigotry against the successful"|frame}}
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While giving testimony before the U.S. House Financial Services Committee on July 28, 2015,<ref>Jon Schwartz, "[https://theintercept.com/2015/07/29/former-gop-sen-phil-gramm-outrage-att-ceo-got/ Former GOP Sen. Phil Gramm: “It Was an Outrage” That “Exploited” AT&T CEO Got Only $75 Million at Retirement]," ''The Intercept'', July 29, 2015.</ref> Gramm claimed that wealthy Americans were exploited and were victims of bigotry. Gramm was responding to a question from Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-MI) about a proposed CEO pay ratio rule.
  
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"Gramm also led the fight against President Clinton's Health Care Bill, authored changes in the welfare system, and initiated the doubling of forces in the Border Patrol. He and Senator [[Robert Byrd]] of West Virginia won passage of a highway bill that mandated use of the entire gasoline tax for road construction. Gramm has also worked to invest [[Social Security]] funds in the stock market." [http://www.famoustexans.com/philgramm.htm]
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He claimed,
  
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In 1996, Gramm spent $20 million seeking the Republican presidential nomination, but failed dismally.
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:"It's the one form of bigotry that is still allowed in America, and that's bigotry against the successful."
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Referring to former [[AT&T]] CEO Ed Whitacre, who received a $158 million retirement package when he retired in 2007,<ref>Tomoeh Murakami Tse, "[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/27/AR2007042702276.html Long-Serving AT& T Chief To Leave With Huge Payout]," ''Washington Post'', April 27, 2007.</ref> Gramm said,
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:"My friend Ed Whitacre at AT&T, if there's ever been an exploited worker… he was exploited. It was an outrage!"
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==Role in Financial Sector Deregulation Leading to 2008 Financial Crisis==
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Gramm was the chair of the U.S. Senate Banking Committee from 1995-2000. According to ''Time'', which placed Gramm on its list of "25 People to Blame for the Financial Crisis," he was "Washington's most prominent and outspoken champion of financial deregulation," "played a leading role" in repealing the Glass-Steagall Act, and "inserted a key provision into the 2000 Commodity Futures Modernization Act that exempted over-the-counter derivatives like credit-default swaps from regulation by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission."<ref> "[http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1877351_1877350_1877330,00.html 25 People to Blame for the Financial Crisis: Phil Gramm]," ''Time'', August 2007.</ref>
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==Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act==
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Gramm, as chairman of the Banking Committee, led passage of the 1999 [[Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act]], making changes in the banking, insurance and securities laws which Congress had kept at bay for sixty years.
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==Presidential campaign==
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In 1996, Gramm spent $20 million seeking the Republican presidential nomination, but failed.
  
 
The top contributors were:
 
The top contributors were:
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* John L. Wortham & Sons (insurance) $18,800
 
* John L. Wortham & Sons (insurance) $18,800
  
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==References==
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==Articles and resources==
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*[http://www.famoustexans.com/philgramm.htm Phil Gramm] (biographical notes), ''Famous Texans'' website, accessed April 2004.
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===See also===
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===References===
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<references/>
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===External resources===
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* [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/wallstreet/weill/demise.html The Wall Street Fix: Mr. Weill Goes to Washington: The Long Demise of Glass-Steagall], Frontline, May 8, 2003.
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===External articles===
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[[Category:Real Economy Project]]

Latest revision as of 16:57, 26 July 2017

Former Texas Senator Phillip Gramm is a Democrat turned Republican. He spent much of his career advocating deregulation and tax-cuts. He is married to Wendy Gramm of the Mercatus Center and previously of Enron.

Gramm Claims Millionaire AT&T CEO "Exploited," Rails About "Bigotry Against the Successful"

Phil Gramm on "bigotry against the successful"

While giving testimony before the U.S. House Financial Services Committee on July 28, 2015,[1] Gramm claimed that wealthy Americans were exploited and were victims of bigotry. Gramm was responding to a question from Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-MI) about a proposed CEO pay ratio rule.

He claimed,

"It's the one form of bigotry that is still allowed in America, and that's bigotry against the successful."

Referring to former AT&T CEO Ed Whitacre, who received a $158 million retirement package when he retired in 2007,[2] Gramm said,

"My friend Ed Whitacre at AT&T, if there's ever been an exploited worker… he was exploited. It was an outrage!"

Role in Financial Sector Deregulation Leading to 2008 Financial Crisis

Gramm was the chair of the U.S. Senate Banking Committee from 1995-2000. According to Time, which placed Gramm on its list of "25 People to Blame for the Financial Crisis," he was "Washington's most prominent and outspoken champion of financial deregulation," "played a leading role" in repealing the Glass-Steagall Act, and "inserted a key provision into the 2000 Commodity Futures Modernization Act that exempted over-the-counter derivatives like credit-default swaps from regulation by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission."[3]

Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act

Gramm, as chairman of the Banking Committee, led passage of the 1999 Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, making changes in the banking, insurance and securities laws which Congress had kept at bay for sixty years.

Presidential campaign

In 1996, Gramm spent $20 million seeking the Republican presidential nomination, but failed.

The top contributors were:

  • Service Corp International (funeral services) $52,800
  • AFLAC Inc. (health insurance) $44,500
  • Vinson & Elkins LLP (lawyers) $33,750
  • Arthur Andersen & Col (accountants) $30,250
  • Enron Corp. (natural gas) $28,250
  • Anadarko Petroleum (oil and gas) $21,050
  • Dean Witter (securities) $20,000
  • Tenneco Inc. (natual gas) $19,750
  • Sterling Software $19,250
  • John L. Wortham & Sons (insurance) $18,800

Articles and resources

See also

References

  1. ↑ Jon Schwartz, "Former GOP Sen. Phil Gramm: “It Was an Outrage” That “Exploited” AT&T CEO Got Only $75 Million at Retirement," The Intercept, July 29, 2015.
  2. ↑ Tomoeh Murakami Tse, "Long-Serving AT& T Chief To Leave With Huge Payout," Washington Post, April 27, 2007.
  3. ↑ "25 People to Blame for the Financial Crisis: Phil Gramm," Time, August 2007.

External resources

External articles

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