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But I would argue that this still has political roots. Once upon a time, something like this couldn't happen. I still say this goes back to politicians who make changes to policy and don't think about the consequences of their actions.
I would be more inclined to agree if this was a phenomenon exclusive to the US. However, such is not the case. A sizable chunk of the industrialized world experienced a housing bubble between 1997 and 2007, some of which crashed even harder than our own (re: Ireland).
Congress and Bush-41 passed FHEFSSA '92 which imposed federal "affordable housing goals" on Fannie and Freddie for the first time. The Act required each of the GSEs to dedicate 30% of their mortgage business to minority and/or low-income homeowners.
and clinton eased the rules on mortgages in 1995 with his chiefs of HUD henry cisneros and andrew cuomo
Who's responsible for the US financial crisis; Republicans or Democrats?.
there are TWO problems right now, that is causing 'wall street' to collapse............JOBS and HOUSING...and they go back to BEFORE bush
let this INFORM you, these problems stem from: 1993, 1995, and 1999 and you can thank the liberals for it, and most of it goes back to the clinton era. why because ECONOMICS run in 10(+/-4) year CYCLES and what we are facing NOW is in DIRECT RELATION to what happened back in the 90's
1993 NAFTA-originally pushed by Brezezenki and his puppet carter,,moved along by reagan----negotiated by another brezezenki puppet bush1--- passed in 1993 by the democrat controlled congress, pushed by clinton, signed by clinton-inceased with CAFTA by bush2--the consequence ...... 60+ million HIGH PAYING jobs have been lost, 2 trillion worth of debt from the lost wages.(and obamy wants to increase it too,,,hmmm)
1995 clinton (through his chief of HUD (Henry Cisneros and later his second chief andrew cuomo)) eased the rules on obtaining mortgages allowing more 'exotic' mortgages and 'no-doc/low doc' mortgages-----the consequence ......housing SKYROCKETED causing low inventories causing a 'not normal' increase in home prices, sellers got greedy, buyers got even greedier (looking to PROFIT in a skyrocketing market by flipping) and bought THINKING that prices would still increase and their ADJUSTABLE mortgage would pay it self off in MINIMUMAL years...EVEN THOUGH THESE INCREASES IN HOME VALUES WERE TOTALLY UNHEARD OF, AND MORTGAGE RATES WERE AT 40 YEAR LOWS( what did they think an adjustable mortgage gotten at 40 year lows would do in the term(3 months-3years) when it adjusted...of course it would go up, their CONTRACT even said after the term it would be 6% PLUS PRIME)))
For many potential homebuyers, the lack of cash available to accumulate the required downpayment and closing costs is the major impediment to purchasing a home. Other households do not have sufficient available income to to make the monthly payments on mortgages financed at market interest rates for standard loan terms. Financing strategies, fueled by the creativity and resources of the private and public sectors, should address both of these financial barriers to homeownership."
The above is the start of the mortgage meltdon: Clinton's National Homeownership Strategy
1996 clinton signed The Telecommunications Act of 1996 (The Act was claimed to foster competition. Instead, it allowed industry consolidation whose actions reduced the number of major media companies from around 30 in 1993 to 10 in 1996, and reducing the 10 in 1996 to 6 in 2005.) causing MONOPOLIES, which can RAISE PRICES
1998 clinton does not allow drilling for OUR OWN OIL..the liberals say 'it will take ten years before we seee the oil'...guess what its been ten years
1999 Clinton and the republican congress DEREGULATES the banking industry
2000 clinton signs the China trade bill
2000 clinton signs the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000..(which paves the way for ENRON)
2000/1 clinton pushes to get china into the world bank
lots of policies from the 90's is what are killing us today
Well, if we are going to go to the very root of the problem, it actually began during the Carter Administration:
The roots of this crisis go back to the Carter administration. That was when government officials, egged on by left-wing activists, began accusing mortgage lenders of racism and "redlining" because urban blacks were being denied mortgages at a higher rate than suburban whites.
The pressure to make more loans to minorities (read: to borrowers with weak credit histories) became relentless. Congress passed the Community Reinvestment Act, empowering regulators to punish banks that failed to "meet the credit needs" of "low-income, minority, and distressed neighborhoods." Lenders responded by loosening their underwriting standards and making increasingly shoddy loans. The two government-chartered mortgage finance firms, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, encouraged this "subprime" lending by authorizing ever more "flexible" criteria by which high-risk borrowers could be qualified for home loans, and then buying up the questionable mortgages that ensued.
All this was justified as a means of increasing homeownership among minorities and the poor. Affirmative-action policies trumped sound business practices. A manual issued by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston advised mortgage lenders to disregard financial common sense. "Lack of credit history should not be seen as a negative factor," the Fed's guidelines instructed. Lenders were directed to accept welfare payments and unemployment benefits as "valid income sources" to qualify for a mortgage. Failure to comply could mean a lawsuit.
Let's just say that when George Bush took office, he had a SURPLUS to work with. He had at his disposal the benefit of the hindsight, more than any previous president. Yet, by the end of his time in office, 8 horrific years, he turned that surplus into a record deficit. His policy of deregulation boosted the rich on an epic scale, proving that the rich only care about getting richer, not engaging in some kind of "trickle-down" good will that benefits those less fortunate. Policies that benefit the rich at the expense of everyone else lead to cheaper products and greater benefits for the executives. It leads to huge bonuses and perks for those coasting because of the unearned privilege, while the elderly and poor struggle with a broken health care system. It leads to lower taxes for the rich and a greater tax burden for everyone else. Under Bush and Republicans, spending trillions of our money to nation-build in other parts of the world is preferable to fixing the problems that exist here at home. Under Bush/Republicans, deregulation led to predatory lending and the enormous uptick of credit card fees and price-gouging of consumers.
Republicans fail miserably on the social scale as well, contributing mightily to the demise of the economy. They support a bigoted ideology so blacks are negatively impacted - last hired, first fired. They support H-1B workers from India and other countries displacing qualified americans to maximize profits and perks for executives. They support profit over quality products, leading for instance to japanese automakers capturing the market. This leads to fewer jobs and fewer american products being consumed. They support racism, meaning that unqualified, inferior people are promoted while more talented, more versatile minorities are often shunned. They focus on the differences between us, not the similarities that we all share as human beings. They scream against illegal immigration, while privately exploiting such labor. They haven't a clue on how to address the explosion of street gangs, especially since they prefer to spend money abroad submerging this country and its resources to lose to militarily inferior opponents in ideological wars. So on and so forth.
When Democrats take charge, they first have to dig the country out of the mess left by Republicans. Republicans stink and no doubt are responsible for our economic problems. If progress is made on the economic front, it's done IN SPITE OF Republican obstructionist nonsense and regressive policies. The answer here is as obvious as the sun on a hot July day in Tucson, Arizona.
Let's just say that when George Bush took office, he had a SURPLUS to work with. He had at his disposal the benefit of the hindsight, more than any previous president. Yet, by the end of his time in office, 8 horrific years, he turned that surplus into a record deficit. His policy of deregulation boosted the rich on an epic scale, proving that the rich only care about getting richer, not engaging in some kind of "trickle-down" good will that benefits those less fortunate. Policies that benefit the rich at the expense of everyone else lead to cheaper products and greater benefits for the executives. It leads to huge bonuses and perks for those coasting because of the unearned privilege, while the elderly and poor struggle with a broken health care system. It leads to lower taxes for the rich and a greater tax burden for everyone else. Under Bush and Republicans, spending trillions of our money to nation-build in other parts of the world is preferable to fixing the problems that exist here at home. Under Bush/Republicans, deregulation led to predatory lending and the enormous uptick of credit card fees and price-gouging of consumers.
Republicans fail miserably on the social scale as well, contributing mightily to the demise of the economy. They support a bigoted ideology so blacks are negatively impacted - last hired, first fired. They support H-1B workers from India and other countries displacing qualified americans to maximize profits and perks for executives. They support profit over quality products, leading for instance to japanese automakers capturing the market. This leads to fewer jobs and fewer american products being consumed. They support racism, meaning that unqualified, inferior people are promoted while more talented, more versatile minorities are often shunned. They focus on the differences between us, not the similarities that we all share as human beings. They scream against illegal immigration, while privately exploiting such labor. They haven't a clue on how to address the explosion of street gangs, especially since they prefer to spend money abroad submerging this country and its resources to lose to militarily inferior opponents in ideological wars. So on and so forth.
When Democrats take charge, they first have to dig the country out of the mess left by Republicans. Republicans stink and no doubt are responsible for our economic problems. If progress is made on the economic front, it's done IN SPITE OF Republican obstructionist nonsense and regressive policies. The answer here is as obvious as the sun on a hot July day in Tucson, Arizona.
Let's just say that when George Bush took office, he had a SURPLUS to work with. He had at his disposal the benefit of the hindsight, more than any previous president. Yet, by the end of his time in office, 8 horrific years, he turned that surplus into a record deficit. His policy of deregulation boosted the rich on an epic scale, proving that the rich only care about getting richer, not engaging in some kind of "trickle-down" good will that benefits those less fortunate. Policies that benefit the rich at the expense of everyone else lead to cheaper products and greater benefits for the executives. It leads to huge bonuses and perks for those coasting because of the unearned privilege, while the elderly and poor struggle with a broken health care system. It leads to lower taxes for the rich and a greater tax burden for everyone else. Under Bush and Republicans, spending trillions of our money to nation-build in other parts of the world is preferable to fixing the problems that exist here at home. Under Bush/Republicans, deregulation led to predatory lending and the enormous uptick of credit card fees and price-gouging of consumers.
Republicans fail miserably on the social scale as well, contributing mightily to the demise of the economy. They support a bigoted ideology so blacks are negatively impacted - last hired, first fired. They support H-1B workers from India and other countries displacing qualified americans to maximize profits and perks for executives. They support profit over quality products, leading for instance to japanese automakers capturing the market. This leads to fewer jobs and fewer american products being consumed. They support racism, meaning that unqualified, inferior people are promoted while more talented, more versatile minorities are often shunned. They focus on the differences between us, not the similarities that we all share as human beings. They scream against illegal immigration, while privately exploiting such labor. They haven't a clue on how to address the explosion of street gangs, especially since they prefer to spend money abroad submerging this country and its resources to lose to militarily inferior opponents in ideological wars. So on and so forth.
When Democrats take charge, they first have to dig the country out of the mess left by Republicans. Republicans stink and no doubt are responsible for our economic problems. If progress is made on the economic front, it's done IN SPITE OF Republican obstructionist nonsense and regressive policies. The answer here is as obvious as the sun on a hot July day in Tucson, Arizona.
No. Trust me - I am in no way, shape or form a Republican, but laying this at their door only is just plain wrong. Both sides of the government made really bad choices on many issues which all contributed to the US financial crisis. But when it comes to the issue of deregulation, it was the Democrats. Step up Barney Frank, and take a bow. And how he got back into office in MA during this past election is WAY beyond me.
Wilson, FDR, LBJ and the congresses that were in power during those time periods started us down the slippery slope. Nixon taking us off the gold standard was not a smart move either. The monster from Jekyll island has its share of blame also.
Let's just say that when George Bush took office, he had a SURPLUS to work with. He had at his disposal the benefit of the hindsight, more than any previous president. Yet, by the end of his time in office, 8 horrific years, he turned that surplus into a record deficit. His policy of deregulation boosted the rich on an epic scale, proving that the rich only care about getting richer, not engaging in some kind of "trickle-down" good will that benefits those less fortunate. Policies that benefit the rich at the expense of everyone else lead to cheaper products and greater benefits for the executives. It leads to huge bonuses and perks for those coasting because of the unearned privilege, while the elderly and poor struggle with a broken health care system. It leads to lower taxes for the rich and a greater tax burden for everyone else. Under Bush and Republicans, spending trillions of our money to nation-build in other parts of the world is preferable to fixing the problems that exist here at home. Under Bush/Republicans, deregulation led to predatory lending and the enormous uptick of credit card fees and price-gouging of consumers.
Republicans fail miserably on the social scale as well, contributing mightily to the demise of the economy. They support a bigoted ideology so blacks are negatively impacted - last hired, first fired. They support H-1B workers from India and other countries displacing qualified americans to maximize profits and perks for executives. They support profit over quality products, leading for instance to japanese automakers capturing the market. This leads to fewer jobs and fewer american products being consumed. They support racism, meaning that unqualified, inferior people are promoted while more talented, more versatile minorities are often shunned. They focus on the differences between us, not the similarities that we all share as human beings. They scream against illegal immigration, while privately exploiting such labor. They haven't a clue on how to address the explosion of street gangs, especially since they prefer to spend money abroad submerging this country and its resources to lose to militarily inferior opponents in ideological wars. So on and so forth.
When Democrats take charge, they first have to dig the country out of the mess left by Republicans. Republicans stink and no doubt are responsible for our economic problems. If progress is made on the economic front, it's done IN SPITE OF Republican obstructionist nonsense and regressive policies. The answer here is as obvious as the sun on a hot July day in Tucson, Arizona.
Insanity, pure insanity.
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Republicans, without question.
