How the Democrats Created the Financial Crisis

[Roscoe]

Take away Fannie and Freddie, or regulate them more wisely, and it’s hard to imagine how these highly liquid markets would ever have emerged. This whole mess would never have happened.

...in 2005 Alan Greenspan told Congress how urgent it was for it to act in the clearest possible terms: If Fannie and Freddie “continue to grow, continue to have the low capital that they have, continue to engage in the dynamic hedging of their portfolios, which they need to do for interest rate risk aversion, they potentially create ever-growing potential systemic risk down the road,” he said. “We are placing the total financial system of the future at a substantial risk.”

...But the bill didn’t become law, for a simple reason: Democrats opposed it on a party-line vote in the committee, signaling that this would be a partisan issue. Republicans, tied in knots by the tight Democratic opposition, couldn’t even get the Senate to vote on the matter.

...It is a classic case of socializing the risk while privatizing the profit. ...

Now that the collapse has occurred, the roadblock built by Senate Democrats in 2005 is unforgivable. Many who opposed the bill doubtlessly did so for honorable reasons. Fannie and Freddie provided mounds of materials defending their practices. Perhaps some found their propaganda convincing.

But we now know that many of the senators who protected Fannie and Freddie, including Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and Christopher Dodd, have received mind-boggling levels of financial support from them over the years.

...Senator John McCain was one of the three cosponsors of S.190, the bill that would have averted this mess.

Full Disclosure: 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…

[nevermind65]

So...let me get this straight. After years of listening to all the Conservative bozo's say "Keep the government out", now they are blaming the government for not passing more laws to regulate?

Is that fish a flippin' or a floppin'?

[cobra bill]

And lets not forget who was in power in 2005, if the republicans didn't get there bill past, its because not enough went along with it, no bill put up by the democrats ever even maid it to the floor if the republicans didn't see something in it for themselves. when you guys had all the power what did they do with it? corruption and lining there pockets, so don't give me this crap about the dems, you have no idea what you are talking about. And for that matter, while they had all the power why didn't they do something about there pet pi eve, abortion! Did they do anything NO!! why because its a political tool they have no desire to loose! And who went to jail for corruption? And you want to talk about gay sex Ha! The republicans are the biggest bunch of flaming all be it closeted gays out there!

[cobra bill]

Predatory lending was widely understood to present a looming national crisis. This threat was so clear that as New York attorney general, I joined with colleagues in the other 49 states in attempting to fill the void left by the federal government. Individually, and together, state attorneys general of both parties brought litigation or entered into settlements with many subprime lenders that were engaged in predatory lending practices. Several state legislatures, including New York's, enacted laws aimed at curbing such practices.

What did the Bush administration do in response? Did it reverse course and decide to take action to halt this burgeoning scourge? As Americans are now painfully aware, with hundreds of thousands of homeowners facing foreclosure and our markets reeling, the answer is a resounding no.
Not only did the Bush administration do nothing to protect consumers, it embarked on an aggressive and unprecedented campaign to prevent states from protecting their residents from the very problems to which the federal government was turning a blind eye.
Let me explain: The administration accomplished this feat through an obscure federal agency called the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). The OCC has been in existence since the Civil War. Its mission is to ensure the fiscal soundness of national banks. For 140 years, the OCC examined the books of national banks to make sure they were balanced, an important but uncontroversial function. But a few years ago, for the first time in its history, the OCC was used as a tool against consumers.
In 2003, during the height of the predatory lending crisis, the OCC invoked a clause from the 1863 National Bank Act to issue formal opinions preempting all state predatory lending laws, thereby rendering them inoperative. The OCC also promulgated new rules that prevented states from enforcing any of their own consumer protection laws against national banks. The federal government's actions were so egregious and so unprecedented that all 50 state attorneys general, and all 50 state banking superintendents, actively fought the new rules.
But the unanimous opposition of the 50 states did not deter, or even slow, the Bush administration in its goal of protecting the banks. In fact, when my office opened an investigation of possible discrimination in mortgage lending by a number of banks, the OCC filed a federal lawsuit to stop the investigation.
Throughout our battles with the OCC and the banks, the mantra of the banks and their defenders was that efforts to curb predatory lending would deny access to credit to the very consumers the states were trying to protect. But the curbs we sought on predatory and unfair lending would have in no way jeopardized access to the legitimate credit market for appropriately priced loans. Instead, they would have stopped the scourge of predatory lending practices that have resulted in countless thousands of consumers losing their homes and put our economy in a precarious position.
When history tells the story of the subprime lending crisis and recounts its devastating effects on the lives of so many innocent homeowners, the Bush administration will not be judged favorably. The tale is still unfolding, but when the dust settles, it will be judged as a willing accomplice to the lenders who went to any lengths in their quest for profits. So willing, in fact, that it used the power of the federal government in an unprecedented assault on state legislatures, as well as on state attorneys general and anyone else on the side of consumers.

[VRM]

CB, can you please post where you got that info from?
I know of plenty of blame that can be passed around on both sides already, despite some wankers thinking that the Dems managed this all by themselves.
I had not heard of this one, though, and I would like to read up a bit more on it.

Thanks,
Steve

[cobra bill]

Sure thing, it's a lengthy read, but very interesting!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/steven...s_b_91764.html

[BeanCounter]

Bill,

Did you move to Washington after you served as New York attorney general? By chance did you used to be Governor and change your name after you resigned? Got any good numbers for hookers?

[cobra bill]

Ha! No, I admit it was a cut a past from the Huffington post, I can only get on during breaks, so I don't have a lot of time to post, I am an avid reader and there are times when I think it's appropriate to share!

[cobra de capell]

SUBJECT: REQUEST FOR URGENT BUSINESS RELATIONSHIP

DEAR AMERICAN:

I NEED TO ASK YOU TO SUPPORT AN URGENT SECRET BUSINESS RELATIONSHIP WITH A TRANSFER OF FUNDS OF GREAT MAGNITUDE.

I AM MINISTRY OF THE TREASURY OF THE REPUBLIC OF AMERICA. MY COUNTRY HAS HAD CRISIS THAT HAS CAUSED THE NEED FOR LARGE TRANSFER OF FUNDS OF 800 BILLION DOLLARS US. IF YOU WOULD ASSIST ME IN THIS TRANSFER, IT WOULD BE MOST PROFITABLE TO YOU.

I AM WORKING WITH MR. PHIL GRAM, LOBBYIST FOR UBS, WHO WILL BE MY REPLACEMENT AS MINISTRY OF THE TREASURY IN JANUARY. AS A SENATOR, YOU MAY KNOW HIM AS THE LEADER OF THE AMERICAN BANKING DEREGULATION MOVEMENT IN THE 1990S. THIS TRANSACTIN IS 100% SAFE.

THIS IS A MATTER OF GREAT URGENCY. WE NEED A BLANK CHECK. WE NEED THE FUNDS AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE. WE CANNOT DIRECTLY TRANSFER THESE FUNDS IN THE NAMES OF OUR CLOSE FRIENDS BECAUSE WE ARE CONSTANTLY UNDER SURVEILLANCE. MY FAMILY LAWYER ADVISED ME THAT I SHOULD LOOK FOR A RELIABLE AND TRUSTWORTHY PERSON WHO WILL ACT AS A NEXT OF KIN SO THE FUNDS CAN BE TRANSFERRED.

PLEASE REPLY WITH ALL OF YOUR BANK ACCOUNT, IRA AND COLLEGE FUND ACCOUNT NUMBERS AND THOSE OF YOUR CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN TO WALLSTREETBAILOUT@TREASURY.GOV SO THAT WE MAY TRANSFER YOUR COMMISSION FOR THIS TRANSACTION. AFTER I RECEIVE THAT INFORMATION, I WILL RESPOND WITH DETAILED INFORMATION ABOUT SAFEGUARDS THAT WILL BE USED TO PROTECT THE FUNDS.

YOURS FAITHFULLY MINISTER OF TREASURY PAULSON

[cobra bill]

Oh that is a good one!$$$$$$$$$$

[MysteryTrain]

This thread should be titled: How the Democrats CONTRIBUTED to the financial crisis. Implying that the republicans had nothing to do with this is just as partisan and myopic as the dems refusing to pass the bill mentioned. Posts which try to imply that one party is golden and the other is crap are easy explanations for why the two party system is such a disaster. And I suppose the billions spent by Republicans and Demorcats fighting shadows in the middle east were sound, low risk investments? Please. If you expect the government as run by either party to make good financial decisions, you are hopelessly naive.

I had a few more things to pass on, but 392's avatar made me forget what I was saying. What were we talking about?

[cobra de capell]

What do Osama and Obama have in common?

They both have a friend who bombed the Pentagon.

[MysteryTrain]

I didn't know Obama and George Bush were friends.

[Roscoe]

Ahhh, you wanna splain that Lucy?

Roscoe

[J. T. Toad]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5tZc8oH--o&e

[MysteryTrain]

Roscoe,

Sure, I can splain it. Cobra de Capell said Obama and Osama were friends with someone responsible for bombing the pentagon. By saying "I didn't know Obama and Bush were friends" I made a very hilarious joke. See, the Bush family and the Bin Laden family used to be very close. So by implying that Bush and Osama are buds, I allow the reader to draw the conclusion that I'm saying that Cobra De Capell thinks Bush bombed the Pentagaon. Which obviously, he doesn't. See? I know, I know. It's less funny when you have to spell it out. But trust me, I'm freaking hilarious. Just ask me.

For those who can't master the obvious, I'll put it this way: Linking Obama to 9/11 is not less ridiculous than linking Bush to it.

[wtm442]

Originally Posted by MysteryTrain

Roscoe,

Sure, I can splain it. ......... For those who can't master the obvious, I'll put it this way: Linking Obama to 9/11 is not less ridiculous than linking Bush to it.

Yes, but there are too many nut jobs around the world that think the US gov't staged the attacks on 9/11 so we could invade various countries. Hell, they even teach that to kids in many countries in the Middle East.

The USA even staged all of the walks in space!
Its amazing what a lot of people believe.

[Ron61]

Hey, China is having their first space walk now. In fact I think it is already over. Russia is building new and larger nuclear subs and upgrading their missile fleet to newer long range stealth missiles with larger nuclear warheads. In fact they tested one of the stealth missiles a few weeks ago and our detection system didn't catch it at all. None of that is staged, and I think Russia wants to go back into the Cold War stage.

Ron

[J. T. Toad]

Originally Posted by Ron61

Hey, China is having their first space walk now.

Ron

Did you see where they posted the successful press release before the launch took place?

Dewey defeats Truman!!! LOL

it's always about the birth certificate... I AM TALKING ABOUT THE GYMNAST.

[Ron61]

Damage control before anything happens. If it fails, they don't have to say anything as everyone already knows it was a success.

Ron