How can flogging a dead horse make it move any faster? Will the government just accept that we are going to have to endure some awful times to get the balance back. I also hope they do it before the result in the end is even worse then what it would be right now.
International Level: Senior Politician / Political Participation: 188 18.8%
Bottom line is we are going to pay for it one way or the other after all the tax payer created the debt as encourage by the banks.
International Level: Senior Politician / Political Participation: 188 18.8%
No, the taxpayers didn't create this debt. The government, banks, predatory lenders, and the (not) Federal Reserve Bank, along with other factors created it. If the US Government bails out these "banksters" now, they will walk away with their multi-million dollar salaries and bonuses intact and leave the taxpayers holding the debt. Oh, a few may get their wrists slapped, as Fannie and Freddie are being investigated, etc., but the majority of those who have made the poor decisions and pulled the wrong strings and influenced the wrong policy will not see a minute of blame or consequences.
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Dodd and Frank had the direct responsibility, in congressional oversight, to protect the American public against abuses of the system. They did not! I would love to see the campaign contribution records of Dodd and Frank from the banks and financial services companies now at the trough looking for taxpayer money to save them from the very folly that lined their pocket with billions. Or maybe we should take a closer look at Clinton appointees like Jamie Gorelick and Franklin Raines who were paid a combined salary of $125 million from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. How about the contributions from Bears Stearns, JP Morgan, AIG, and Merrill Lynch to both political parties who allowed the shenanigans to continue unabated while many watched the problems grow worse by the day? The fact is this whole crisis was avoidable. As far back as 1987 there were calls in Congress for oversight in Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. Yet the Clinton administration had no interest. Instead the "more is better," "chicken in every pot" mentality in America forced officials like Barney Frank to allow lenders' greed and Wall Street's hunger for huge fees to create a culture of corruption never before seen in American history. Democrats, at the time, ignored the fact that many loans were being made to completely unqualified borrowers to buy homes they clearly could not afford. Overnight, home ownership in America became a birthright under the Democrats. Discussions with the Congressional Black Caucus and housing executives from Fannie and Freddie were just one example of how the Democratic Party encouraged irresponsible borrowing behavior. So what do we do now? We must suffer the pain and do the hard yet necessary things to return to reality or we had better get prepared for a whole lot more pain. These problems did not happen overnight and the solutions will not come overnight. But the longer we fool ourselves with feel-good government bailouts, the longer the problem will remain. Why are we turning to the very perpetrators for the answers to the problems they caused in the first place? Are we crazy? Go back to the same folks who broke it for a fix? |
International Level: Ambassador / Political Participation: 595 59.5%
This crisis is having far reaching effects. I heard today on the news that France is now having banks going under. They are considering some bailout measures also. Most lenders have placed moritoriums on new loans. Factories and businesses cannot get funding to restock. Can layoffs be far behind? The domino effect is just beginning I am afraid.
International Level: Activist / Political Participation: 32 3.2%
Yes, you're right. It's going to get a lot worse, no matter which way the bailout vote goes. The economy is in horrible shape, and if the Powers That Be keep trying to prop it up with "digital" money that has no intrinsic value, it's going to keep getting worse until it collapses like the house of cards that it is. We can only pray for strength to get through whatever comes next.
International Level: Ambassador / Political Participation: 595 59.5%
Well that s bad news indeed we need more not less jobs to keep things moving.
Farseer how do you see it that a person should not be accountable for spending more then what they could afford? The housing market was so over debited that it had to fall.
Britian like the States let people write of the interest on these loans which I think is a huge mistake. The reason is it creates a bad attitude toward the debt, in that it does not encourage it to be paid off as fast as possible. If a person gets comfortable with living with debt credit cards are next to be used and not paid in full every month. The car leases that were so popular were the same idea.
It was the over spending of the consumer that completely killed us. The fact is in the States people were spending 104% of their wages! How can that be stable.
We sell rat poison if you decide to eat it is the manufacturer of the poison at fault? The government let bad policies exist but the people chose to do it no one forced them. It was the idea that no one can wait to save 25% to put down on a house no one can wait to save 4000 to buy a new tv stereo. That is what is killing us. Peoples choices. Yes the policies where bad but it was a free choice t over debt ones self.
What happened to self accountability?
Either way we are in it now ad yes throwing good monies after bad is foolish also.
Edited: krakyn on 3rd Oct, 2008 - 1:49pm
International Level: Senior Politician / Political Participation: 188 18.8%