Hello Bloggers - It's a subject that I've been debating both on this blog and in real life with my Republican friends for a VERY long time. Who caused the economic crisis that we're experiencing today?Most of my Republican friends think it's the Democrat's fault. They usually blame Clinton and the deregulation of the late nineties. Of course, they don't acknowledge that those changes were the result of Republican legislation, a strong Democratic opposition, and ultimately executive or Clinton compromises.
They also like to blame everything on Fannie and Freddie Mac, and the Democrats lack of legislative oversight. Again, they refuse to acknowledge the role of Republicans in the EXECUTIVE branch who were actually responsible for that oversight. There were plenty of regulations available to the EXECUTIVE branch to prevent what happened.
The whole Fannie/Freddie argument is absurd when you look at the laws and regulations in place at the time. Feel free to try and debate it, but it's accurate when you do the research.
So, why am I bringing it all up again, and why is this a RAVE and not a RANT? Because The New York Times/Herald Tribune has published a FANTASTIC - very long and very thorough - new article that does a very good job of describing what went wrong, and describes what I've always said, that GEORGE BUSH AND HIS LACK OF OVERSIGHT is what caused most of the problems. It describes the events in excruciating detail, and does a very good job of placing the blame mostly on BUSH and his "hands-off philosophy.
"We can put light where there's darkness, and hope where there's despondency in this country. And part of it is working together as a nation to encourage folks to own their own home." — President George W. Bush, Oct. 15, 2002The Times describes how "there are plenty of culprits, like lenders who peddled easy credit, consumers who took on mortgages they could not afford and Wall Street chieftains who loaded up on mortgage-backed securities without regard to the risk. BUT the story of how we got here is partly one of Bush's own making, according to a review of his tenure that included interviews with dozens of current and former administration officials."
The paper adds that "his conviction that markets do best when let alone" coupled with the fact that he "pushed hard to expand homeownership, especially among minorities, an initiative that dovetailed with his ambition to expand the Republican tent — and with the business interests of some of his biggest donors" is very interesting. It adds that "his housing policies and hands-off approach to regulation encouraged lax lending standards."
If you want to learn more, visit the article. I don't have much to add. I've been saying this for over a year now. I've been one of the few screaming about the crisis, even BEFORE it hit the news. Just ask many of my friends. In earlier posts on this blog I described how alarmed I was by the TYPE of mortgage companies that hit the market after Bush. To those paying attention, it was obvious that rules were lax and the market was bloated. Something had to go wrong.
Unfortunately, it went even more wrong than I thought. I never dreamt it would be this bad. The really sad part is the way my Republican friends never want to take any responsibility.
They continue to blame the borrowers (personal responsibility despite corrupt lenders and unmanageable rules governing paperwork), the Democrats (Fannie and Freddie caused everything, despite all the evidence to the contrary), and a few bad lenders (right, a lack of oversight and Wall Street's resale market had nothing to do with it).
I don't bother arguing with them anymore. I don't think they'll ever take responsibility for anything, much less ALL THE DAMAGE THEY CAUSED OVER THE PAST EIGHT YEARS! I just hope those in the middle, the independents and the moderates, learn about what happened, and point the finger of blame where it belongs most, on GEORGE BUSH.
It was his ridiculous hands-off philosophy as president that made him the WORST PRESIDENT IN HISTORY! What a STUPID way to govern. As I always say, thank you so much for electing such MORONS, and for getting us into this mess. For God's sake, TAKE SOME RESPONSIBILITY!
George Bush, and many other "hands-off" Republicans like Gramm and Delay, are responsible. They've caused so much pain and suffering, and yet they're such narcissistic psychos they'll never know the damage they caused. We beg you, please learn from your mistakes, and don't inflict them on us anymore.
Monday's Political Rave #1 - Michael
PS - The White House has published a lengthy rebuttal to the New York Times cover story. I read it, and, like most of their crap, it seems far less convincing with far fewer citations than the Times article.
Using their usual tactics, they call the Times article "gross negligence." In my opinion the Bush Administration is both GROSS and NEGLIGENT in the way they always attack the press.
Well Mr. Bush, it isn't working these days. People know that you're to blame, and that you're also a scoundrel and a liar. Let's see you talk yourself out of this one in the history books.
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