The Start Of The Financial Crisis

The current state of our economy might be in worse shape then at any other point in our history. Many believe we will eclipse the Great Depression. I, personally, do not feel we will end up going to that length. However, the economy is battered beyond comprehension.

What started this mess? It seems impossible to decipher from the media. Both parties are going back and forth playing the blame game. Nobody is willing to take personal responsibility for what occurred. That is not how our leaders behave.

Here is what played a role in setting the ball in motion. Before going any further, this article is not absolving the liars and cheats on Wall Street of their part in it. Nor am I overlooking the total ineffectiveness of members of the Bush administration's economic team (Cox and Paulson in particular). However, I am going back to the basic foundation that allowed for greed and dishonesty to occur.

Someone came up with the ingenious idea that making home ownership available to everyone was a good idea. It was not. There was a little know act passed under Jimmy Carter called the Community Reinvestment Act which was expanded under Bill Clinton. Basically, this act told banks that they had to lend money to people even if they did not qualify. Failure to do so would result in penalties under law.

I want to stop for a second and examine that. Here, in America, the government told private businesses that they had to engage in an activity which was bad business. I doubt this is the concept the Founding Fathers were after. It sounds closer to Marxism to me.

Anyway, private companies had to lend to people who were not able to repay the loans. This was the mustard seed that started it all. It created a new market of loans called "subprime". Most of these loans ended up being owned by Freddie and Fannie, the organizations which were taken over by the government recently.

Many will claim this assertion is hogwash. Do not believe them. They are the ones who have an agenda. They want to place the blame elsewhere so they can retain power. That is how politics works.

If you want to check the validity of this point, do your own research. Here is a hint: follow the money. That will usually help get you to the truth. Who did these organizations donate the most to. Research the election contributions records. Then look to see who was protecting these organizations while others were calling for reform. This process will uncover more of the facts than you will receive watching 1,000 hours of television news.

Remember this insight the next time you hear someone blaming Wall Street or Bush for all the countries economic ills. They are only partially responsible.

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The Advantage of the Economy

I am grateful that the economy is the major issue of this election cycle. It is horrible that people have to suffer because of the ineptitude of others. Our leaders let us down at every level. Sure, they all claim they saw it coming while trying to warn others. Both McCain and Obama stated they proposed legislation to reel in Freddie and Fannie. If they knew it was such a problem, why weren't they standing on President Bush's head until he listened? Well, that is a matter for another post.

The economy is front and center. It is the sole topic that made everything else secondary. The reason I am grateful for that is the religious right is finally negated. At the moment, nobody gives a crap what the Bible thumpers think. I, for one, am ecstatic to have an election without gay marriage being a subject. Really, who cares? How does this affect anyone other than the gays and the nosy religious freaks who want to push their morality down our throats? The truth is that it does not.

How about abortion? This is another one that is a favorite of these same people. They tried to bring it in with the nomination of Palin. Fortunately, other than stating what her stance is, there is little mentioned of it. Here is a clue people. The Supreme Court has so far legitimized the procedure. Get over it.

I always commend people for being passionate about their views and following them. Frankly, I could care less if someone wants to spend his/her time promoting the criminalization of abortion. What I take exception to is the constant ramming of it down our throats like anyone is going to change their mind. This is an issue that people are resilient in their beliefs. People on both sides of the equation are solid in their choices.

Those who want to instill their morality upon me need to be slapped. I have read the Bible enough to know that religion twists the initial meaning. They use fear to control the general population. Someone once said that "religion is the opiate of the masses". Nobody proves this better than the present day religious right. They want to legislate all the moral choices you make. To them I say, mind your own damn business.

The bottom line is there is always a silver lining. Our country is going to crap but at least the religious nuts are quiet. To me, it is almost worth the trade-off.

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