By Molly Ivins, AlterNet. Posted November 30, 2004.

Wendy Gramm and State Farm Insurance visit the Dollar Docket.

Goody, goody, gumdrop. We could get Phil Gramm back again, this time as secretary of the treasury. Oh how I've missed that little ray of sunshine, the bleeding heart from Bryan, the man who thinks poor people are all fat. As author Jim Hightower used to say, if you need a heart transplant, try to get Phil Gramm's – it's never been used.

Just what we need for treasury secretary: the banking industry's errand boy. The man who helped bring us Enron.

According to The Washington Post, President Bush wants a new economic team. Can't imagine why. Oh, here it is: It's "part of Bush's preparation for sending Congress an ambitious `second-term` domestic agenda." He wants someone "who can better relate to Congress and be more effective in dealing with financial markets and television interviewers."

There you have it – Phil's perfect for the job. Mr. Charm. And he knows how to talk those seniors into getting rid of Social Security. He's in practice. He's been back here in Texas lobbying to make it legal to sell "dead peasant" life insurance to the Teacher Retirement System.

"Dead peasant" insurance is such a deal that `Wal-Mart` and lots of big companies do it. See, a company like `Wal-Mart` takes out life insurance on `low-wage` employees (that would be Texas teachers), then it gets to deduct the premiums from its taxes. And when the employee dies, the company gets a benefit between $64,000 to more than $250,000.

Gramm is currently vice chairman of UBS Investment Bank. Under the UBS plan, the Retirement System would buy annuities and life insurance policies on retired teachers and keep the proceeds when they die. Of course, the investment and insurance industries would profit from the premiums and brokerage fees.

Those of you who are regular readers know that I do not pick on the wives or children of politicians. I bring up Wendy Gramm because she is a player in her own right and also because this is a classic example of How Things Work in Texas.

Those who believe the entire nation is being Texasified should pay extremely close attention. Those interested in history will recall that W. Gramm was on the board of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission when it made what many regard as the key decision to set up the Enron scandal. She resigned from the commission a few days later and joined the board of Enron a few weeks after that.

http://www.alternet.org/columnists/story/20621/