Bob Graham Center hosts discussion on U.S. financial crisis

September 2, 2011

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Phil Angelides, who chaired the U.S. Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, will join former Florida governor and U.S. Sen. Bob Graham for a discussion on the nation’s economic crisis and the current state of the economy on Sept. 8 at the University of Florida’s Bob Graham Center for Public Service.

The no-holds-barred discussion titled “On the Abyss?” will cover past, present and emerging fiscal crises at a time when the federal government and many state legislatures are grappling with mounting deficits and the risk of financial default. The event begins at 6 p.m. at Pugh Hall’s Ocora and is free and open to the public. Dominic Calabro, president and chief executive officer of Florida TaxWatch, will serve as moderator.

This event will also be streamed live on Sept. 8 from the Bob Graham Center Web site, www.bobgrahamcenter.ufl.edu.

The Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission – tasked by Congress with producing the official record and recommendation on how the financial services industry brought down the economy – released its final report in January. Its findings have been hotly debated as lawmakers have grappled with establishing new financial regulations dealing with banking, housing and investment. The FCIC was unable to issue a unified report, with some members issuing their own findings.

Angelides is no stranger to financial crises at the state or federal level. He was elected as California’s state treasurer and served from 1999 to 2007. The Associated Press reported that he made “the sleepy treasurer’s office a policy powerhouse,” and The Sacramento Bee praised Angelides as “the most effective and dynamic state treasurer in a generation.”

Angelides testified in May before the U.S. Senate that the financial crisis was avoidable, the result of federal regulators’ failure to identify and address obvious hazards in the nation’s financial system, coupled with widespread risky lending on the part of private enterprise. In late June, he wrote a scorching op-ed in The Washington Post suggesting that Wall Street has largely skated on any responsibility for the financial collapse.

“They say that winners get to write history. Three years after the meltdown of our financial markets, it’s clear who is winning and who is losing. Wall Street — arms outstretched in triumph — is racing toward the finish-line tape while millions of American families are struggling to stay on their feet. With victory seemingly in hand, the historical rewrite is in full swing,” Angelides wrote.