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Show A6 ____The Salt Lake Tribune OPINION Monday, November1, 1999 Industry Has Gotten a Gold Mine; American Public Has Gotten the Shaft AUSTIN, Texas — I feel vaguely like Henry Higgins in “My Fair Lady,” an. was Sen. Phil Gramm’s stubborn insistence on making it worse. He wanted to MOLLYIVINS nouncingwithgleefully inhumanerelish “She'll regretit, she'll regretit! Hi use the occasion to gut Community Reinvestment Act of 1977, which forces banks to make loans in the same area “I can see her now, Mrs. Freddy Eynsford-Hill, in a wretchedlittle flat — where they take in deposits — in other {tutions with the ability to overcharge for Praduets because of their market share d Mierzwinkski Public Interest esearch save the onlyofcustomers whom words, to quit redlining their own cus- into Miami or Savannah, and the entire till, andthebill collectors knockingat the White House. fect the banksthat ownit? tomers. Most of CRA was saved by the door!” Whichis to say,; the new :banking bill is 5a thoroughly lousy idea, and the party The1999 Gramm-LeachAct is aboutto replace the 1933 Glass-Steagall Act, with the result that bankers, brokers and insurance companies canall get into one another'sbusiness. It’s a done dealexcept for the final vote on the conference. committee agreement. Theinevitable re’ sult will be a wave of mergers creating . Butthe bad newsis: Privacy: What'sBoo in the bill doesn’t protect your financial privacy worth a most likelyto regret it is us rat’s heinie. In theory, the newlaw We li fewer and were powertil instt s on God's green earth. These are the ge- gotten theshaft.” Just to remind you one moretime of that bankshaveto disclose their privacy policies. That doesn’t mean they always haveto protect your privacy, or give anopt-outbefore selling your information edall that money toLatin America in the 80s and then had to write it off. This is the system that almost col_lapsedlast year because one hedge fund tomers. The only offers you get for those 3 percent APRcredit cards come fromother banks. Once you sign up, the banks sud denly announce that the offer is how corrupt ourpolitical system is (and members ofthe Senate had a cow when Sen. John McCain used the word “corrupt” to describe the campaign- to every telemarketer onearth. Everuse a checkat a liquor store? Do you smoke? Ever put something fi Victoria’s Secret on your credit c: spiraled out of control and had to be bailed out by the Fed. These are the clever fellows who didn't notice their banks were being used to launder Russian mafia time-limited Most obscure horrible provision in the bill: Rep. Thomas Bliley of Virginia stuck in a $95 billion giveaway for insur financing system a few weeks ago), the fi- Take any meds? Ever see a shrink? (Ac- money ance. The trend in that industry is ROBT WORDSIAIELEaAM giganticfinancial entities. inastupefying moment of pomposity,a nancial industry has poured more than tually, that’s increasingly less likely un 0 Big to Fail” will be the new order New York Times editorial solemnly con $30 million in soft money, PAC and indi- der our dandy systemof corporate HMO ofthe day. And guess who gets left hold cluded: “Theprinciple health care.) The health information you hanks a 5 out are other banks’ cus: “de Mutualization,” a mutual being anentity wh he rater rs own the company. If tion is the economic offreer competi- engineofthis era. vidual contributions to politicians in ing the bag when they're too big to fail? ‘he company “de-mutualizes” by going to But theother imperative is to demand just over one-third of the amount spent passedalongto your banker when you go will cost as much as the whole S&1, COMPAS without compensationto the openness, financial prudence and safe- during the entire 1997-98 election cycle, guards so that the vast new concentra- according to the Center for Responsive to get a mortgage andwillhelpdetermine debacle. vr ihe ene the (ee yourlifestyleinfo. — Natural disaster: In theory, banks ciated with the populist left, told bankers in a speech two weeks ago that the bill anid new shareholders. The fisiiae Gan Grs lose equity of an average$1,700 each, saw avast concentration of _sivepolitics. So much moneyhas gone that merge with insurance compan will create a class of super-institutions accordingto the Centerfor InsuranceRe into getting this bill passed during the obliged to put themselves at only limited Too Big to Fail. In his usual impenet sear¢ h in Cambridge, Mass. pingit. their insurance subsidiary. new form of supervision will have to be 1999, 60percent to the Republicans. That's tions of wealth and power donot create new abuses.” Whenwasthelast time you Politics. Andthis certainlyqualifies as respon wealth and power that didn't create abuses? OrasSen. Richard Bryanof Nevada so last 10 years that there is no hope of stop- neatlyput it, “Industryhas gotten a gold . Unnatural disaster: Don't get me started on theevidence for my theory that bankers are among the stupidest people abovethestore! “T canseehernow, not a penny in the . industry will stagger. Think it won't af behind thefinancial system Consumers: Phil Grammpromises us that increased competition will bring about a wonderful world of dandy new services at lower prices. Not single soul thinksthis bill will do anything butcause a tidal wave of mergers and acquisitions _/@ving us with fewer optionsthanever global warming seriously? Insurance. We just watched third of North Carolina go under water. All the global warming experts think that increased hurricanes are one consequence of the phenomenon: One Mitchslams straight mine while the American public has ‘Theonly thing that held it up thislong provided to your life insurer will be the interest rate you get charged, as wil! risk if somecatastrophic event threatens What's the only business in the world that ts One of these monsters goes down, and it Alan Greenspan, not heretofore asso- linguisticstyle, he allowed as how some created, but the regulators are well Stoekholder-owned mutual holding Samerdkut aaAse with big stock options tes have either re 4 or have not enacted mutual holding companyconversionlaws. Hiya, sucker ~ \ za | First Gore-Bradley Faceoff Leaves Veep Looking Like the Underdog —— WASHINGTON — Put on a pot roast any night, Al Gore might show up for dinner. He’s Mr. e e Folksy. Moved his staff to down. home Tennessee, started wearing cowboy boots, began drawlinglike SANDY GRADY ee [_ | B woman asked about the armed servi don’t ask, don't tell” policy, Bradley turned up the rhe- Gore didn’t needle Bradley about quitting the Senate; when he tried last month, Bradley's of his own worldly experience. At least four times he bragged ofwife Tipper’s roles, torical ‘ numbers zoomed. That's Al's conundrum: With every attack, Dol larBill goes up in poll Clinton’s 1992 town-hall playbook. shire questioners, “How old are hind,” he vowed. ne: surplus on an out-of-whack health plan. He attacked Bradley's passivity on East Timor. He boasted Bradley sat on his stool, watching Gore's cheerleader act with baleful bemusement. Heoften quizzed his New Hamp- “T’'m going to runasif I'm be Gore's underdog role seemed your children? PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS ] fiercely, striding about the stage. “Tl roll up mysleeves and work for you.” Al usefully stole tricks from The New Alis playing a good ol’ boy tryingto beat theelites. 6 . What do you do for a living?” Fortunately, in Bradleyhad earlier warned in NBA terms about Gore's At the end, CNN’s jabs “Youcantakethe elbows only manytimes.” But only once did Bradley counter Al's digs. “We both have on leadership. Gore spu then said hurriedly, sexual Lincoln, Roosevelt and LBJ orientationto restore thedignity y Bradley said, “It means integrity, Me preposterous. What about his all of Congress, the whole Demo- Didn't he havea president, almost between ‘em.’ With no huge gaps on sub- tion was one for which Gore was mistaken.” So why was Bradley the more emotion wonthe liberal crowd's noisiest approval. 24OK,Mikhail Gorbachev.” 1 so aeAl Bil cratic apparatus in his pocket? C'mon,the 2000 Democratic nomination should have been a lock. stance, this Gore-Bradley scrimmage came downtostyle, persona and image. most rehearsed —a woman asked him to commenton Clinton's sexual misbehavior. impressive performer? In a blow to his plodding stereotype, he articulated morepassion on the big Bradley, luckier than Gore in the questioning, scored again with the Dartmouth crowd whenasked re ee gineeernaCnae fares er one eT "Buttheirfirst TV duel proved Rusveral in ang U.S. ex. SON City i Kite husky lead in national polls? | “Ain'tadime’s worth ofdifference sighed, “I feel your pain.” Oddly, the night’s first q) our experts,” he said mildly. “J color, the shape of eyes, Bernard Shaw shethe cullentorysettial id. “Tamagainst all d ination. Wehaveto get past skin ante r$15 om his lunge for empathy, Gore never heat think the vice president's Americastands f focus and courage. think of Not anewBradleyaria, but its Jimmy Carter, Woodrow Wilson Notany more. Gore and challengerBill Bradley did their stuff on the same To mysurprise, Bradley won a clear edge From years of watching Dollar You could see Gore hit his mental computerkeys: Click, the Scandal Answer. themes. Dollar Bill sounded committed, authentic, not a robot. Bradley drewthe crowd's first about inner-cityschools taught in Harlem in the 1960s,” said Bradley.“‘Weneedthe Gate: abate, nidve than: cowsoks pootsanda Bubba drawl. He could truly be an underdog. _ stage forthe first time last week in Hanover, N.I. OK, it wasn'ta real _Bill in the U.S. Senate, I knew he was charismatic as a fence post. “T understand yourdisappointment and anger at President applause with answers on campaign reform(“it’s imperative”) willingness to experiment on public schools. I'd do what FDR Bill Bradley, with his dead panned, Fonda/Stewart elo faceoff was revealing. Sure, the undynamic Democratic duo has been ridiculed as Tweedledull vs. Tweedleduller. Pepsi vs. Coke. Gush vs. Bore.On issues they recall George Wallace’s sneer at the main parties: showed an Olympian calm, wouldn’t be goaded into bickering, showed flashes ofeloquence. Gore, wearing his everyman’s blueshirt, often lapsed into his rah-rah, yea-team schtick. “I want to be your president,” he said oath underthe Constitution. I felt I should provide somestability. Id like your support. Gore tried toturnthe amiable evening into a hard-edged debate. Hekept banging at Bradley as a big spender who'd blow the back to the Senate”). When a solvedil.” ness may be a winner confrontation. They parried the audience’s questions. But their But in this showdown, his lack of glitz was Bradley's strength. He Clinton,”Ai said slowly.“I felt it myself. He’s myfriend. I took an andthetest-ban treaty (“the next president must bring that treaty didin the Depression: try things; if theyfailed, try again, until we quence, soundslike the realthing Amid 2000’s phonyglitter, stodgi. a enn Fal t the f life. 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