Wall Street protests

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There was an article in the New York Times, hardly a conservative think tank, written in 09/1999, that predicted the downfall, here is a paragraph from that article:

(In moving, even tentatively, into this new area of lending, Fannie Mae is taking on significantly more risk, which may not pose any difficulties during flush economic times. But the government-subsidized corporation may run into trouble in an economic downturn, prompting a government rescue similar to that of the savings and loan industry in the 1980's.)

As far as just offering proof that the lowering of standards by Franklin Raines of Fannie Mae "was a contributing factor to the subprime crisis", I'll offer you the commissions own words:

(The Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission reported in 2011 that Fannie & Freddie "contributed to the crisis, but were not a primary cause." GSE mortgage securities essentially maintained their value throughout the crisis and did not contribute to the significant financial firm losses that were central to the financial crisis. The GSEs participated in the expansion of subprime and other risky mortgages, but they followed rather than led Wall Street and other lenders into subprime lending.)

Of course, the FCIC was a government created commission. So the government basically found that government policies weren't the primary cause. That is hardly newsworthy. Even still, there was a good bit of disagreement within the commission on its findings. When I was 8, I wish my mother had allowed me to create a commission to investigate her broken vase:).

Rules requiring that banks come up with more "innovative" and "flexible" ways to allow more people to qualify for mortgages that otherwise wouldn't have passed the smell test was bound to lead to the underwriting of bad mortgages. Hence my spending time here in the office pouring over clients payment activities, to see if they had made monthly installments in a timely manner, so I could put it back into a letter to the lending institution. I don't know what "proof" I could offer to satisfy yourself, I only know what conclusions I have come to from what I personally experienced .

I will grant you, that you can ask 20 different people, even experts, and get 30 different conclusions based upon their own thoughts, data, and/or political leanings, etc. I still stand by the fact that there was plenty of blame to go around wether your talking left vs right, gov't vs private, or individual vs lending institution. It's a tangled web of mess that has no easy answers.

It's time for me to leave the office and enjoy my weekend!!!
 
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I still stand by the fact that there was plenty of blame to go around wether your talking left vs right, gov't vs private, or individual vs lending institution. It's a tangled web of mess that has no easy answers.


amen to that Kevin, that's why I pretty much can't stand all the bastards...left or right and anyone that's stupid enough to believe that either side is THE answer !

It's time for me to leave the office and enjoy my weekend!!!

roger that..............GO Bills !!!!
 
"Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself." - Mark Twain
 
Well said! For anyone who questions the integrity of the Wall Street Bankers, you may find it interesting to look at this link:

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/the-great-american-bubble-machine-20100405

I will throw a bit more into this discussion.

Some may consider it anecdotal but I do believe we can learn from history.

I believe it's generally recognized that Roosevelt Administration relaxed pro active government investment policies to bring our country out of the great depression, in the mid 1930's, and that policy of no longer being pro - active was recognized as a mistake. The same thing happened with Japan when that country was going through a similar economic stalemate in the 1990's.

I've been listening to various economic analysts and it seems, to me, the consensus is clear. Their collective opinion is that the President's current job bill proposal is a positive move (some say too modest) and is something that this country should pursue to create employment. One component is a tax surcharge on those that make more than those earning $1M to help pay for the proposed legislation. Creating jobs and allowing additional tax dollars to flow through our economy is recognized as the "principal engine" that will allow our economy to become healthy again.

The Republicans and Tea Party folks say any tax increase will negatively impact job growth in this country. I presume that is based on the "trickle down" effect. I find it interesting that this position is not supported by any "hard" analysis but is the general philosophical mantra one hears from the "right".

I also find it interesting that, prior to the Bush tax cuts, these same folks / corporations appeared to be making enough money and were not protesting the policy in place at the time, and that the tax policy was not inhibiting the growth of the US economy.

Now, subsequent to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the well documented Bank / Wall Street economic greed that caused the collapse in our housing market, their position has apparently changed.

I also find it interesting that the Republican / Tea Party folks were going to hold the US Government hostage to another budget crisis because FEMA needed additional funding to help those Americans that needed relief from natural disasters.

I also find it interesting that no one on the political right recognizes the positive impacts of the recent Federal stimulus program that allowed GM and Chrysler to become profitable again, and avoiding bankruptcy while saving jobs for millions of Americans.

Finally, I find it interesting that no Republican candidates recognize the phenomena of global warming and apparently believe that it is a movement amongst private sector climate scientists to "make money".

I'm certainly not saying that our government should allocate funding in a non responsible manner. However, it seems to me that the current political environment is losing site of what are responsible / defensible political policies that are in the best long term interests of this country, and it's ability to foster a healthy / sustaining environment for it's citizens and the economy thereof.

GG

PS: I forgot to add that there are those who would espouse / support the position that the EPA should be eliminated within the context of saving of Federal taxpayers dollars. We all know that Exxon and others have a proven track record / stewardship in protecting our environment.
 
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