Democrats Created the Financial Crises

[Casurf1978 0]

You guys forgot to leave this out about the author:

(Kevin Hassett, director of economic-policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute, is a Bloomberg News columnist. He is an adviser to Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona in the 2008 presidential election. The opinions expressed are his own.)

Advisor to McCain so of course he's going to blame the Democrats. Love it out the OP just picks and chooses what best suits his point of view.

If you guys really want to start to understand this mess start reading the WSJ, Economist and The Financial Times. It's not as simplistic as either you or the OP make it seem.

[grimmie 186]

Hmmm, Since many other nations worldwide are having the same exact problems it MUST be the Democrat's fault. They must have manipulated the world financial markets.

[rushmc 23]

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You guys forgot to leave this out about the author:

(Kevin Hassett, director of economic-policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute, is a Bloomberg News columnist. He is an adviser to Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona in the 2008 presidential election. The opinions expressed are his own.)

Advisor to McCain so of course he's going to blame the Democrats. Love it out the OP just picks and chooses what best suits his point of view.

If you guys really want to start to understand this mess start reading the WSJ, Economist and The Financial Times. It's not as simplistic as either you or the OP make it seem.

Printed in 2000

Was he working for him then??

"America will never be destroyed from the outside,
if we falter and lose our freedoms,
it will be because we destroyed ourselves."
Abraham Lincoln

[SkyDekker 1,465]

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However, since it was such a HUGE problem - WHY didn't the Dems do anything about it once they got in charge?

Why didn't the Republicans when they had a Republican controlled congress, Republican President and a Republican controlled committee?

[mnealtx 0]

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However, since it was such a HUGE problem - WHY didn't the Dems do anything about it once they got in charge?

Why didn't the Republicans when they had a Republican controlled congress, Republican President and a Republican controlled committee?

Already asked/answered above - because the committee didn't act on it. Now, answer mine - WHY haven't Dodd and the Dem-controlled committee done anything on it SINCE then, especially considering this, below?

Excerpts from Senator Dodd's statement on Feb 7, 2007 - 2 months before the new bill went to the committee:

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The results of these aggressive and abusive practices are becoming clear. The Center for Responsible Lending, whose CEO, Martin Eakes, will testify this morning, released a study saying that nearly 1 in 5 subprime loans made in 2005 and 2006 will end in foreclosure, in large part because of the abusive loan terms with which many low income borrowers are saddled. According to this study, up to 2.2 million families will lose their homes at a cost of $164 billion in lost home equity.

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It is time for the Congress, the Administration, and the lending industry to face up to the fact that predatory and irresponsible lending practices are creating a crisis for millions of American homeowners at a time when general economic trends are good.

Mike
I love you, Shannon and Jim.
POPS 9708 , SCR 14706

[Casurf1978 0]

FYI just check out what he has written in the past. He seriously thought the Dow would reach 36,000. Hassett has no idea what the hell is going on. If you really want to grasp this whole mess start reading some of the books Soros has written. I know you think he's a liberal scum, but he is a self made billionaire and loves this country so he knows a little bit more of what's at stake than Hassett. Then hit up Buffett, even though he and Soros differ on the bailout both make excellent points.

[rushmc 23]

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FYI just check out what he has written in the past. He seriously thought the Dow would reach 36,000. Hassett has no idea what the hell is going on. If you really want to grasp this whole mess start reading some of the books Soros has written. I know you think he's a liberal scum, but he is a self made billionaire and loves this country so he knows a little bit more of what's at stake than Hassett. Then hit up Buffett, even though he and Soros differ on the bailout both make excellent points.

Ah, he nailed what happened today didnt he? Written in 2000, in case you forgot

and Soros is a liberal scum who has no business trying to affect US politics. He is not a us citizen last I checked

"America will never be destroyed from the outside,
if we falter and lose our freedoms,
it will be because we destroyed ourselves."
Abraham Lincoln

[freeflysteve 0]

And there's me thinking it was Gordon Brown in the UK,cos it all got fucked up over here when he was chancellor of the exchequer and then they let him be f$%^*$ prime minister!.
TOO much reliance on investment bankers and AAA ratings without looking at the risk just the rewards,basically pure human greed at all levels have caused the problems your and this side of the pond.

Swooping, huh? I love that stuff ... all the flashing lights and wailing sirens ... it's very exciting!

[wmw999 2,534]

Not sure where you checked, but Soros is a US citizen. Since 1961. There are a lot of people who disagree with him who haven't been alive that long.

Disagreeing with one does not make someone scum.

Wendy W.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[rushmc 23]

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Not sure where you checked, but Soros is a US citizen. Since 1961. There are a lot of people who disagree with him who haven't been alive that long.

Disagreeing with one does not make someone scum.

Wendy W.

Point take and thanks
You are correct

"America will never be destroyed from the outside,
if we falter and lose our freedoms,
it will be because we destroyed ourselves."
Abraham Lincoln

[rushmc 23]

A 1999 Article

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0DE7DB153EF933A0575AC0A96F958260&sec=&spon=&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

"America will never be destroyed from the outside,
if we falter and lose our freedoms,
it will be because we destroyed ourselves."
Abraham Lincoln

[rushmc 23]

http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/dominic-lawson/dominic-lawson-democrat-fingerprints-are-all-over-the-financial-crisis-949653.html

"America will never be destroyed from the outside,
if we falter and lose our freedoms,
it will be because we destroyed ourselves."
Abraham Lincoln

[nerdgirl 0]

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A 1999 Article

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0DE7DB153EF933A0575AC0A96F958260&sec=&spon=&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

Recycling electron almost completely verbatim.


The NY Times article cited just doesn’t support the argument. It might suggest something worth investigating: what default rate has been observed in those loans? Are they higher than average? Are they lower than average? Are they more heavily regulated? Or less? How many have been made and what is the average value? $150,000 or $900,000.

There’s a lot of speculation but no one seems to be presenting data.

The article is about a new program. It doesn’t, however, say anything about default payment rate or securitization of loans hiding the risk or what were the [changing] regulations on that program. It’s not demonstrating correlation unless one wants to find it. Humans have an amazing ability to find patterns. One could also imagine if the level of scrutiny applied to climate change was applied this assertion?

One could point to this NY Times article on increase in McMansion’s, this one on accounting mismanagement by executives at an insurance corporation, this one on deregulation and collapse of large energy corporations as indicative of corporate malfeasance, this one from 1995 on derivatives and lack of regulation, this one from 2005 on risks of derivatives still not being adequately addressed, or this one from 1988 on securitization of consumer loans, or this one from this month on why Japan has not been affected by the current global financial downturn:

“The Japanese became very cautious after the bitter experience of the cleanup [after their 1990s financial crisis that dragged on for a decade due to inaction]. One result was that they seem to have largely avoided the risky subprime loans that set off the current crisis.” Japan “accept[ed] near zero growth rates in the 1990s and [the lack of borrowing from global markets, high household savings, and presence of self-regulation on the type of risky securitization and economic schemes of the rest of the world] permits the survival of Japanese corporate practices like valuing employees and clients over shareholders.”

The point is all, any, or none of those may be as relevant as or more relevant than the 1999 article. Using a well-constructed search phrase and the archives of the NY Times, I could construct a case that either global climate change (speculation on impact on natural resources and access) or missile defense (>$100B in last 10 years) is causal. Those are not likely to be accurate either … but if one appeals to what the reader wants to see, it’s likely to make its way around the blog-o-sphere.

VR/Marg

Act as if everything you do matters, while laughing at yourself for thinking anything you do matters.
Tibetan Buddhist saying