Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!news.media.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!usa-post Newsgroups: usa-today.issues From: usa-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: usa-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: issues Fri, Jul 31 1992 Date: Fri, 31 Jul 92 04:32:20 EDT Message-ID: 07-31 0000 DECISIONLINE: Issues & Debate USA TODAY Update July 31-Aug. 2, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network Here are some of the issues and topics being debated across the nation Friday morning in USA TODAY: BCCI, Thrifts, Neuharth. TODAY'S DEBATE - BCCI: USA TODAY'S OPINION: Legal sleuths digging into the BCCI scandal might never touch bottom, but that shouldn't deter them from vigorously shoveling up the dirt. BCCI - the Bank of Credit and Commerce International - was a den of thievery, a financial supermarket for scoundrels, engaging in bribery and skulduggery until it was closed last year. ... What was the CIA's involvement in the bank and with its sleazy clientele ... ? What was BCCI's role in pumping drugs into U.S. communities? ... Why was the Justice Department so slow to investigate BCCI despite repeated prodding? ... BCCI's well-connected depositors and investors used the bank to transport drugs and arms and finance terrorism. ... Clark Clifford and his partner, Robert A. Altman ... ushered this cabal into the USA, where they sank their hooks into two U.S. banks ... Indictments of BCCI and its operators here and in other countries allege fraud, drug running, money laundering and bribery. Yet the U.S. Justice Department joined in earnest only after it was embarrassed into action by New York District Attorney Robert Morgenthau. ... More indictments may be forthcoming ... Both lawmakers and prosecutors must keep digging. OTHER VIEW: PATRICK COX, an associate policy analyst for the Competitive Enterprise Institute: It is no coincidence that Clark Clifford and Robert Altman are targeted now, as elections draw nigh. From the prosecutors in New York to the legal guns in the Justice Department to members of the congressional subcommittee, all have much to gain from the high visibility garnered from an investigation ... After all, much of the public's current anger toward government stems from the utter failure of those charged with monitoring U.S. banking safety. Many people ... will assume that this investigation has something to do with the meltdown of our banking and savings and loan system or the half-trillion-dollar bailout that has accrued. It does not. ... the BCCI scandal has had virtually no effect on U.S. depositors or taxpayers. A simple trial is warranted. ... Those concerned with real policy questions should address themselves to less sensational but far more important events. ... The multimillion-dollar BCCI investigation is a prime-time soap opera, complete with an Arab sheik, a movie-star wife and a aging confidant of presidents. It is ... nothing for educated people to spend their time worrying about. VOICES ACROSS THE NATION ON THE ELECTION UNCOVERING THE S&L COST: MITCHELLVILLE, Md., Timothy Anderson, 34, asst. bank vp: The American people will have to bail us out because of the lack of regulation during the Reagan years, when deregulation went into effect. Now Congress is putting everyone in the same boat. It's really hurting the small- to middle-sized banks. TUCSON, Ariz., Irene Romo, 82, retired, investor: It depends on who wins. Where is the money coming from? The person with the most experience will do better. It's scary. Everything we own is in one bank. What do you do with money - put it in a shoe? NORTHRIDGE, Calif., Jane Boeckmann, 61, publisher: No. President Bush made clear early on the high cost of the savings and loan crisis. We've already experienced much of the fallout. Our greatest problems now are both the poor handling by government regulators of the savings and loans and the present banking situation. BILLINGS, Mont., Kenneth Morrison, 42, upholsterer: We're going to be in trouble. The thing that bothers me is the amount of credit they're putting out. They're overextending it. They're keeping a lot hidden because if the true story came out, it would scare a lot of people. Both parties in the government know. MELBOURNE, Fla, Tim McWilliams, 29, broker: The cleanup will be after the election because of obvious political reasons, but the true cost is a lack of funding available to economically sound commercial real estate ventures. This seems to be a knee-jerk response by overzealous regulators. TOPIC - GOVERNORS: Al Neuharth is the founder of USA TODAY. Chances are a future president will be present when the USA's governors gather at their annual conference this weekend in Princeton, N.J. ... As a group, governors are our most underrated public officials. ... Yet, 17 of our 40 presidents made it to the White House from the statehouse. Including ... Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan. ... keep your eye on these five guvs as potential presidential candidates in '96 or beyond: Ann Richards, 58, D-Texas; Roy Romer, 63, D-Colo.; William Weld, 47, R-Mass.; Doug Wilder, 61, D-Va.; Pete Wilson, 58, R-Calif. Richards' high national profile and her big Texas base make her the most likely first woman to head a major party ticket. Romer's relatively low profile will improve after he becomes Governors' Association chairman next Tuesday. Weld's age and his surprising election in Kennedy country make him a strong Republican hope. Wilder's still the best among blacks. ... Wilson's senatorial and gubernatorial background from California will keep him in the picture despite his state's financial woes. Five years ago ... I predicted one of these two would head the '92 Demo ticket: Bill Clinton or Mario Cuomo. ... Cuomo can't resurface on the national scene. Unless he and Ross Perot team up on a No Guts ticket. Issues & Debate Editor: Kate Coughlin. (1-919-855-3491) Making copies of USA TODAY Update (Copyright, 1992) for further distribution violates federal law. This article is copyright 1992 Gannett News Service. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM