Bill Clinton tells us he is doing all right

Quoting Bill Clinton:

“The people that caused the financial crisis are all back in great shape”

That’s ironic coming from the one person who did more than anybody to cause this freaking mess!

Clinton’s assertion that the Tea Party is “destructive” is even more ironic coming from the fella who once said: “the era of big government is over”.

BLOODY HYPOCRIT!

Which President bears blame for bad economy?

Quoting Rasmussen Reports:

“For the first time since President Obama took office, voters see his policies as equally to blame with those of President George W. Bush for the country’s current economic problems.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 48% of Likely U.S. Voters now think Obama’s policies are to blame for the continuing bad economy, up three points from last month. Forty-seven percent (47%) say the recession that began under Bush is at fault.”

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Clinton bears more blame than any President for initiating our current economic mess.

But, Obama has clearly exacerbated and extended that mess (just as FDR did).

Bush was the only President who actually tried to PREVENT this mess.

But, thanks to the so-called “profession” of so-called “journalism”, that is a VERY well kept secret.

Click here to learn more.

Comprehensive Financial Reform - a Big, Fat LIE!

Quoting Doug Ross @ Journal:

“All of the reforms forced down the throats of the American people by Democrats in Congress are helpfully termed ‘comprehensive’. Consider the terminology, casually tossed about while ignoring the fundamental failure of every, large-scale federal program in history: ‘Comprehensive Immigration Reform’... ‘Comprehensive Health Care Reform"... ‘Comprehensive Financial Reform’...

Of the latter, 2,000-plus pages are devoted to revamping the entire financial ‘sector’. The result is an orgy of central planning, authoritarian controls, and Democrat skulduggery that Nikita Krushchev would love --- and James Madison would despise.

As for the effectiveness of the reforms: the Democrats have completely ignored Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the GSEs), which were the lynch-pins of the 2008 economic meltdown. The reasons are many:”

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Click here to learn more.

We're all working for the government now

Quoting The New York Times
(emphasis mine):

“‘We’re all working for the government now,’ said Mr. Bridwell…

For all the focus on the historic federal rescue of the banking industry, it is the government’s decision to seize Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in September 2008 that is likely to cost taxpayers the most money. So far the tab stands at $145.9 billion, and it grows with every foreclosure of a three-bedroom home with a two-car garage one hour from Phoenix. The Congressional Budget Office predicts that the final bill could reach $389 billion.”

Click the image & read the rest:

Okay, NYT…
If we’re all working for the government now, can we call it Socialism yet?

Throughout this crisis, The Lame Stream Media (and all other Dims) have been singularly focused on the $170 billion AIG bailout. But, as I have been saying all along and as even the NYT now FINALLY ADMITS, Fannie and Freddie are -- by FAR -- the biggest problem.

Moronic Dim politicians treating home ownership as an entitlement were the singular root cause of the entire collapse. And, even the NYT documents that Bill Clinton bears more responsibility for that collapse than anyone.

Okay, all you moronic Dims…
How do you like your Socialist Housing Utopia?
Hang, on tight! ObamaCare will make your housing utopia look like a walk in the park!

EVIL IDIOTS!

61% Say Government Should Keep Out of Housing Market

Quoting Rasmussen Reports:

“Sixty-one percent (61%) of Americans say it is better for the economy for the government to stay out of the housing market.”

Click the image & read the rest:

Too bad the pathetic morons who purport to run our local city government are not as wise as the people they purport to represent.

Federal housing entitlement programs (the Satan which spawned all this local housing entitlement bullshit) were CLEARLY the cause of the recent global meltdown. Did the Socialist housing idiots learn from their mistakes? HELL NO! The morons (all around the nation) are setting us up for yet another disaster!

EVIL IDIOTS!

Thomas Sowell - Housing Boom and Bust

Hat tip to Vulcan’s Hammer.
Click here for a more comprehensive analysis.

America's Trillion Dollar Housing Mistake

Quoting The Manhattan Institute:

“For more than seven decades, American government has acted to provide housing for the poor. In America’s Trillion-Dollar Housing Mistake, Howard Husock explains how, as with so many anti-poverty efforts, low-income housing programs have harmed those they were meant to help while causing grave collateral damage to cities and their citizens. Public housing projects, Mr. Husock writes, are only the best-known housing policy mistakes. His book explains how a long list of lesser-known efforts—including housing vouchers, community development corporations, the low-income housing tax credit, and the Community Reinvestment Act—are just as pernicious, working in concert to undermine sound neighborhoods and perpetuate a dependent underclass. He exposes the false premises underlying publicly subsidized housing, above all the belief that the private housing market inevitably fails the poor.”

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Bill Clinton and The Community Reinvestment Act of 1977

Jimmy Carter’s 1977 Community Reinvestment Act has become the focal point of a debate over Leftist intervention in the housing market. Apologists for these policies focus on attempting to prove that the CRA alone did not cause the current housing mess. That argument is akin to trying to prove that the queen bee did not cause the death of a person attacked by the entire hive.

The CRA is one of MANY enormously destructive Leftist interventions in the housing market. These interventions date at least as far back as the National Housing Act of 1934 and the Housing Act of 1937. Every decade since the 1930s has seen more and more destructive Federal intervention in the housing markets (and everywhere else). The Department of Housing and Urban Development Act of 1965 was another major milestone in destructive Leftist intervention in the housing markets. MANY, if not ALL of these Leftist interventions contributed to the current mess. The reason the CRA is a legitimate focal point in this series of follies is because the CRA represented a major turning point towards a far, far more radical, aggressive, costly and destructive set of Leftist housing policies.

The Clinton administration put the CRA on steroids and boasted about doing so. But, the one event which probably contributed the most to the current housing mess came in 1999 when Clinton pressured Fannie Mae to lower “the credit requirements on loans that it will purchase from banks and other lenders”.

When Clinton made that move, the New York Times warned:

“In moving, even tentatively, into this new area of [subprime] 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.”

That one move by Clinton - inspired by the CRA - shifted to the tax payers ALL moral hazard associated with originating ANY bad subprime loan - whether directly covered by the CRA or not. From that day forward, ANYBODY could originate an excessively risky subprime loan, book the origination profits and then sell that risky loan to Fannie Mae or have Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac or any other “too big to fail” entity insure that risky loan.

Fannie Mae, in particular, was a glutton for taking on more and more insane levels of risk in the pursuit of purely political goals and under the “leadership” of (Democratic) politicians - not business people.

The media and all other Democrats are focusing their attention on AIG. But, the AIG bailout amounts to $170 billion whereas the Fannie and Freddie bailout amounts to $400 billion (update: the Fannie and Freddie bailouts are now UNLIMITED!). What VERY few in the media mention is that the Federal housing policies of the Democrats are directly to blame in BOTH CASES!

“Too big to fail” is, for all practical purposes, no different than a GSE. In both cases, there was an implicit guarantee that the Federal government would come to the rescue. In other words - thanks to Bill Clinton and all other Democrats who pushed subprime loans - ALL moral hazard associated with the origination of ALL subprime loans fell squarely on the shoulders of the tax payers - and EVERY scam artist involved in this travesty KNEW IT!

I am not defending anybody who originated bad loans. I am saying that government, especially Clinton, created the conditions whereby that bad behavior would be richly rewarded - with little or no risk to those engaged in the bad behavior (so long as our politicians were willing to use our money to bail them out - AIG included).

Even apologists for the CRA - such as Elizabeth Duke - admit that the subprime market - pushed by Clinton and a whole hoard of other Democrats - is the epicenter of the housing mess:

“According to the latest data, 25 percent of subprime loans and 13 percent of near-prime loans are now seriously delinquent--that is, more than 90 days past due or in foreclosure. The serious delinquency rate for prime mortgages, at between 3 percent and 4 percent, is much lower than for nonprime loans”

Whether the CRA - in isolation - is solely responsible for the current mess is a moot question. The CRA is the contemporary nucleus of a much larger Democrat driven low income housing entitlement folly which, with lots of “help” from an hysterical media and spineless, incompetent (at BEST) knee jerk politicians, wrecked the entire global economy.

This video reaffirms the essence of this post:

Click here to read the primary post on this topic (and all the rest).
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Elizabeth Duke - Another CRA Denier

Quoting The Wall Street Journal Real Time Economics Blog:

“A government effort to promote lending in low- and middle-income areas has not been a significant contributor to the nation’s housing woes, Federal Reserve Board Governor Elizabeth Duke said.

An analysis of loan originations shows that only 6% of higher-priced loans - those typically extended to subprime borrowers - were made by lenders covered by the Community Reinvestment Act to borrowers in neighborhoods targeted by the act, Duke told community bankers gathered in Phoenix Monday.”

Click the image & read the rest:

Here are the two biggest flaws in Ms. Duke’s argument (and all others like it):

1) Ms. Duke has cherry picked her data -

I don’t care what percentage of “higher-priced loans” “were made by lenders covered by the Community Reinvestment Act to borrowers in neighborhoods targeted by the act”. Tell me what percentage of defaults fell under BOTH the CRA and all other associated malfeasance. Actually, Duke inadvertently did so, but WSJ did NOT - we’ll get to that later.

2) Associated Malfeasance -

The real CRA related coup de grâce came in 1999 when Clinton pressured Fannie Mae to lower “the credit requirements on loans that it will purchase from banks and other lenders”.

When Clinton made that move, the New York Times warned:

“In moving, even tentatively, into this new area of [subprime] 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.”

That one move by Clinton shifted to the tax payers ALL moral hazard associated with originating ALL bad subprime loans - whether directly covered by the CRA or not. From that day forward, ANYBODY could originate a bad loan, book the origination profits and then sell that bad loan to Fannie Mae.

I am not defending anybody who originated bad loans. I am saying that government, especially Clinton, created the conditions whereby that bad behavior would be richly rewarded - with little or no risk to those engaged in the bad behavior.

Less than seven months after utterly ignoring the warning from the New York Times, the Clinton Treasury Department boasted:

“The U.S. Treasury Department released a report on Wednesday detailing lending to low- and moderate-income borrowers and low- and moderate-income communities covered by the Community Reinvestment Act. The study found that such lending rose significantly, totaling more than $600 billion between 1993 and 1998.”

So, right there, you have the Clinton Administration crediting the CRA with “more than $600 billion” in CRA loans in a single six year period during their tenure. AND, this six year period PREDATES the coup de grâce which the New York Times warned us about in 1999!

Today, even Ms. Duke agrees that the subprime market - pushed by Clinton - is the epicenter of the housing mess:

“According to the latest data, 25 percent of subprime loans and 13 percent of near-prime loans are now seriously delinquent--that is, more than 90 days past due or in foreclosure. The serious delinquency rate for prime mortgages, at between 3 percent and 4 percent, is much lower than for nonprime loans”

Whether the CRA - in isolation - is solely responsible for the current mess or not, it was clearly the nucleus of a much larger Democrat driven low income housing entitlement folly which, with lots of “help” from an hysterical media and spineless, incompetent (at BEST) knee jerk politicians, wrecked the entire global economy.

SHAME ON YOU, Ms. Duke!
Shame on ALL CRA DENIERS!
Click here to learn more.

Saving Our Economy - What's Next

The following is an excellent analysis
of how this housing mess evolved:

The DVD can be purchased here.

Also check out this video series.

Click here for additional insight into how FDR made a bad situation FAR worse and made it last FAR longer. Let’s hope we do NOT repeat that dreadful mistake! Unfortunately, with the passage of the $700 billion bailout, we are already well on our way to doing so.

Click here to learn more.

Would the Last Honest Reporter Please Turn On the Lights

Finally!
A journalist (and a Democrat) who has
the INTEGRITY to tell the TRUTH about both!

Quoting Orson Scott Card in
“an open letter to… almost every local daily paper in America”:

“These are facts. This financial crisis was completely preventable. The party that blocked any attempt to prevent it was ... the Democratic Party. The party that tried to prevent it was ... the Republican Party.”

“If you who produce our local daily paper actually had any principles, you would be pounding this story, because the prosperity of all Americans was put at risk by the foolish, short-sighted, politically selfish and possibly corrupt actions of leading Democrats, including Obama.”

“So I ask you now: Do you have any standards at all? Do you even know what honesty means?

Is getting people to vote for Barack Obama so important that you will throw away everything that journalism is supposed to stand for?”

PLEASE!
Click the image (of the author)
& read the rest:


Hat Tip to Ivin at the Green Cool-Aid blog!

Click here to read the primary post on this topic
(and all the rest).

The Financial Mess: How We Got Here

Quoting Abraham H. Miller,
emeritus professor of political science,
University of Cincinnati:

“I am not suggesting that the CRA [Community Reinvestment Act] by itself led to the current crisis, but the CRA was the first and most important part of the food chain.”

I would say the CRA, combined with the Clinton “enhancements” to the CRA, created the catalyst for a chain reaction. Without that catalyst, this financial mess never would have happened.

In this essay, Dr. Miller both lays out the details of how Democrats caused this mess and eloquently articulates the futility of arguing the point with the hopelessly indoctrinated.

Click the image & read the rest:


Click here to read the primary post on this topic
(and all the rest).

Dodd and Countrywide

Quoting The Wall Street Journal:

“Former Lehman Brothers CEO Dick Fuld was under oath Monday when he was grilled on Capitol Hill about his role in the current financial meltdown. But if Members really want to understand the credit mania, they should also call Chris Dodd.”

“Mr. Dodd knew he was getting preferential treatment as a friend of Angelo Mozilo, Countrywide's then-CEO”

“All of this matters because Mr. Dodd was one of those encouraging Fan and Fred to plunge into ‘affordable housing’ loans made by companies like Countrywide.”

“One indicator of his [Dodd’s] influence is the $165,400 in campaign contributions -- more than to any other politician -- that Fan and Fred have given him since 1989”

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Note: Obama also got some ’splainin’ to do!

Click here to read the primary post on this topic
(and all the rest).

Jim Cramer - Dems to Blame for Housing Mess

Jim Cramer - Dems to Blame for Housing Mess
(About 3 minutes into the following video):


Click here to read the primary post on this topic
(and all the rest).

Welfare-state Policies Caused Financial Crisis

Quoting Star Parker, president and founder of CURE, the Coalition on Urban Renewal & Education, and author of the WND book ‘Uncle Sam's Plantation,’ where she offers five simple yet profound steps that will allow the nation's poor to go from entitlement and slavery to empowerment and freedom.
(I inserted the link):

“what we are watching is not a failure of markets, but the latest failure of the welfare state. The sad part is how few who wield political power seem to understand, or want to understand, that this is what's happened.

As the details behind the current debacle are unraveled, we see how government created one more entitlement – the right to own a house – and then devised an array of programs to subsidize in various ways ‘affordable housing.’ Like all welfare programs, the subsidies succeeded in influencing behavior, but the wrong behavior.”

“Those who want to use the current crisis as an excuse to expand government and welfare state policies contribute to laying the foundation for our next crisis.”

Click the image & read the rest:

Click here to read the primary post on this topic
(and all the rest).

How Government Stoked the Mania

Quoting Russell Roberts, a professor of economics at George Mason University
(I inserted the links):

“Beginning in 1992, Congress pushed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to increase their purchases of mortgages going to low and moderate income borrowers. For 1996, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) gave Fannie and Freddie an explicit target -- 42% of their mortgage financing had to go to borrowers with income below the median in their area. The target increased to 50% in 2000 and 52% in 2005.”

“First passed in 1977, the CRA was ‘strengthened’ in 1995, causing an increase of 80% in the number of bank loans going to low- and moderate-income families.”

“Beware of trying to do good with other people's money. Unfortunately, that strategy remains at the heart of the political process, and of proposed solutions to this crisis.”

Click the image & read the rest:

Click here to read the primary post on this topic
(and all the rest).

Housing Correction Perspectives - Case-Shiller

The Case-Shiller Home Price Indices examine home prices in 20 large cities. According to those indices, as of July (the most recent data), the only housing market where prices were lower than they were in January of 2000 is Detroit.

All of the media hysteria relates to home values compared to one year ago. What is seldom, if ever, mentioned is that home values were utterly unrealistic one year ago (in SOME locations).

Click the image to enlarge:

I personally created the above chart.
Source: This spreadsheet downloaded from this page
(July 2008 data published on 9/30/08)

Click here for a broader perspective
on the housing correction.

Economist Jeffrey Miron - $700 Billion Bailout - NO!

Quoting Economist Jeffrey Miron
(I inserted the link):

“This bailout was a terrible idea.”

“The fact that government bears such a huge responsibility for the current mess means any response should eliminate the conditions that created this situation in the first place, not attempt to fix bad government with more government.”

“The bailout has more problems. The final legislation will probably include numerous side conditions and special dealings that reward Washington lobbyists and their clients.”

Click the image & read the rest:

Click here for the primary post on the cause of the housing mess.
Click here for the primary post on this terrible bailout proposal.

CRA Thugs

Click the image to enlarge:

Click here for more cartoons.
Click here to read the primary post on this topic
(and all the rest).

Clinton, Raines, Fannie Mae and Obama - 9/30/1999

Quoting The New York Times from 9/30/1999:

“In a move that could help increase home ownership rates among minorities and low-income consumers, the Fannie Mae Corporation is easing the credit requirements on loans that it will purchase from banks and other lenders.”

“Fannie Mae, the nation's biggest underwriter of home mortgages, has been under increasing pressure from the Clinton Administration to expand mortgage loans among low and moderate income people and felt pressure from stock holders to maintain its phenomenal growth in profits.

In addition, banks, thrift institutions and mortgage companies have been pressing Fannie Mae to help them make more loans to so-called subprime borrowers. These borrowers whose incomes, credit ratings and savings are not good enough to qualify for conventional loans, can only get loans from finance companies that charge much higher interest rates -- anywhere from three to four percentage points higher than conventional loans.

‘Fannie Mae has expanded home ownership for millions of families in the 1990's by reducing down payment requirements,’ said Franklin D. Raines [current Obama advisor?], Fannie Mae's chairman and chief executive officer. ‘Yet there remain too many borrowers whose credit is just a notch below what our underwriting has required who have been relegated to paying significantly higher mortgage rates in the so-called subprime market.’ ”

“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.”

Click the image & read the rest
of this damning tale:

Also see:

1999 NY Times Article Revealed True Cause of Current Fannie Mae Crises

Barney Frank's Bankrupt Ideas

Testimony
Sandra F. Braunstein, Director, Division of Consumer and Community Affairs
The Community Reinvestment Act
Before the Committee on Financial Services, U.S. House of Representatives

Click here to read the primary post on this topic
(and all the rest).