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- redux2redux, on 02/26/2009, -21/+221FTA: ...the financial crisis could have been averted had the Bush administration acted with even minimal competence
Or was everyone just too busy lining their pockets? - LunusMaximus, on 02/26/2009, -7/+177Wow, first the SEC and now the FBI being tipped off years ago that people were performing large scale fraud against huge swathes of the American population and they just sat there with their thumbs in their butts.
What exactly were you muppets doing for the last 8 years, because it certainly wasn't your ***** job. - Rayman64, on 02/25/2009, -12/+127Conspiracy theorist will love this and why not, the economic meltdown clearly doesn't look accidental!
- inajeep, on 02/26/2009, -4/+62Before some of you and myself who doesn't look at Huff too much as they seem to be too left leaning to be unbiased, here is the author William K. Black, Associate Professor, University of Missouri - Kansas City; Senior regulator during S&L debacle. He's not some blog hack.
- Alheithinn, on 02/26/2009, -0/+57Wasn't it the EPA who said they weren't allowed to protect the environment, during the Bush years? Apparently the FBI weren't allowed to pursue criminals.
- Dumbledorito, on 02/26/2009, -15/+67"Don't ask; don't tell: book profits, "earn" bonuses and closet your losses."
Private companies can do no wrong. They don't need any regulation. They can self-regulate. Nobody needs to investigate anything. Invisible hand, invisible hand... - angusm, on 02/26/2009, -1/+45Sure they were ... but only _some_ criminals.
"Use the Patriot Act to prosecute crooked strip club owners? Absolutely."
"Data mine grocery store records looking for terrorists? We're on it."
"Call attention to practices that could cause the entire fricking economy to melt down? Uh-huh, sorry, I'm gonna have to call you back on that one." - homercles337, on 02/25/2009, -27/+65How deep does the repug deception hole go Alice?
- pinchduck, on 02/26/2009, -7/+42As deep as the Democrats let it. They are both complicit.
- gbarger, on 02/26/2009, -4/+39How about an article from the ny times in 1999 that isn't overtly liberal bias like huffpost saying that this mess could be coming.
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9c0 ...
"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."
This isn't a conspiracy, it's poor decision making. - inactive, on 02/26/2009, -12/+46It wasn't accidental.
just like all the unusual stocks being sold a day before 9/11. - inactive, on 02/26/2009, -13/+46Barney Frank must be rolling in his extra large pants.
He said the mortgage market was just peachy in 2004.
And don't forget about Dodd.
freddie and fannie had hearings in congress and these two schmoes were positively gushing positive opinions. I wonder who paid for those? - Coopjust, on 02/26/2009, -2/+33Who is blaming him? :|
I certainly don't. What we're feeling right now is the result of years of bad financial policy. And it's going to get worse before it gets better- again, not Obama's fault (Option ARMs will be going out of the teaser period and many homeowner mortgages will double per month, Alt-A loans will fail as a result of the economic issues).
However, most of it cannot be blamed on Bush. It's barely democrat fault (saying that you need to provide some subprime loans to encourage home ownership over renting back in the Clinton era) and mostly the fault of unrivaled levels of greed by financial institutions.
Banks made loans with low to no (or, in the case of many defunct firms, fake) documentation, and homeowners took loans they couldn't afford because the bank told them they could. Meanwhile, the banks sold the unstable mortgages to mutual funds & such (thinking they got rid of the risk), who kept passing it along (like it was a game of hot potato- if it's in someone else's hand when it explodes, I'm not affected). - hokie47, on 02/26/2009, -2/+32No *****, I talked about it in 2003 with my friends. The truth is that most banks knew by 2005 that something was really wrong by then, but hey why tell the truth when the lie is so much fun?
- booyahbitch, on 02/26/2009, -1/+30Once you have proof, it is no longer a "Theory" It is a conspiracy.
- ljoreilly, on 02/26/2009, -5/+31Will y'all refresh my memory on what year the freddie and fannie hearings were held? Who was saying that there were problems with valuations during those hearing? Who was saying that all was well?
- moose26, on 02/26/2009, -3/+25I will prolly get dugg down, but one good example of many folks lining their pockets was the wars we let Bush & Company start and rack us up a trillion dollars or more in debt, just for a war. I know they have admitted to being mistaken on their claim of Weapons of Mass Destruction or WMD. I am all for keeping the country safe, but we cannot afford to be the global cops anymore and also let the contractors like Haliburton continue to milk us for more and more dollars.
- mparker21311, on 02/26/2009, -1/+23THANK YOU! I like listening to CPers because I find it interesting to hear their paranoid way of thinking. There's a reason why people are born paranoid, it's to alert the herd of danger. I don't look at them as if they have problems, I like listening to them.
Call me crazy. I'm no conspiracy theorist but this does seem like a planned "nationalize all banks" scheme. - FeloniusMonkey, on 02/26/2009, -6/+26Though much Huff stuff is to be taken with a grain of salt, this is based upon a good deal of credible fact. I buy it.
- BlueAyez, on 02/26/2009, -1/+21At least Republican criminals. That started at the top. We're not forgetting you Haliburton.
- inactive, on 02/26/2009, -3/+23evidence is damning enough to forgive a year
Just a month before, Frank had aggressively thwarted reform efforts by the Bush administration. He told The New York Times on Sept. 11, 2003, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s problems were “exaggerated,” a gross miscalculation some five years later with costs estimated to be in the hundreds of billions.
“These two entities – Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac – are not facing any kind of financial crisis,” Frank said to the Times. “The more people exaggerate these problems, the more pressure there is on these companies, the less we will see in terms of affordable housing.”
http://www.businessandmedia.org/articles/2008/2008 ...
- Khast, on 02/26/2009, -1/+20"The best way to rob a bank, is to own one" Didn't anyone notice that more mortgage companies popped up around 2003? Just about everyone and their mother was advertising that they could get you into a house with little to no money down? I remember those commercials.
- FiatFaux, on 02/26/2009, -3/+21Regulators? Enforcers? Who, What & Why are they Regulating/Enforcing?
SEC & CFTC have known so much on so many, ala Bernie Madoff & JP Morgan (concentrated naked silver shorts).
Could they really be co-conspirators in enabling criminals to continue in their criminal enterprises, robbing all US??
There is so much evidence of so many things they have known, but for whatever reasons, done absolutely nothing!!
Could it be that these "regulators" & "enforcers" are really disguised enablers that have helped engineer the crisis??
Without the current crisis, there would be no need for Trillion$ in bailouts & "stimulus" to reward the incompetents...
Better get ready for some serious HYPERINFLATION as the Fed prints Trillion$ more of paper "money" debt notes!! - Dumbledorito, on 02/26/2009, -3/+21What conspiracy? All it took was an administration that wouldn't call for an investigation of a private company even if the corporation in question put the heads of children on spikes outside of its executive offices.
All you really need to ask is if they truly believed "the market" would self-regulate or if they took so much in campaign contributions and/or promises of jobs when administration members left office that they gladly looked the other way. - akchrs, on 02/26/2009, -3/+19I'll take Barney Frank for 500$
- Firstdaughter, on 02/26/2009, -41/+57Well lookie what we have here...more evidence that it is NOT President Obama's fault!
Too bad many won't read this bc it doesn't tie in with their myopic beliefs... - outlawstarc, on 02/26/2009, -3/+17The government has to waste its time and our money arresting pot smokers instead... how sad...
- priegog, on 02/26/2009, -1/+15NOBODY is blaming Obama. What some of us say is that isn't taking the proper steps towards a quicker and less painful way of recovering from this situation.
- jericko, on 02/26/2009, -26/+40That cant be, 2004 wasn't a Clinton or Obama year! Either way, its still their fault.
*sarcasm* - DkKnight3, on 02/26/2009, -0/+14No the House and Senate could have avoided all of this if they are just done something. Both in control of the Democrats. Yes the White house could have helped, but it's the House and the Senate will the real power to change and fix the problem. Learn about the government and how it works before just blaming someone. The president doesn't really have that much power on the economy.
- Fanon, on 02/26/2009, -5/+18Year: 2004
Said there were problems: Armando Falcon, Jr (head of OFHEO) and Congressional Republicans
Said all was well: Congressional Democrats. - republicker, on 02/26/2009, -1/+14True, and the question is, how much proof do people need to see that this government isnt just "making mistakes"?
- spo0oky, on 02/26/2009, -2/+15Greed. It's a helluva drug.
- ljoreilly, on 02/26/2009, -0/+12The more I read about Madoff, the more it becomes apparent that the SEC was either criminally negligent or complicit in the continuation of the scheme.
- Abatrour, on 02/26/2009, -2/+14How about a conspiracy factualist? There is so much proof that this is all planned.
- SillyRabbits, on 02/26/2009, -2/+14People seem to miss the fact that Barney Frank's live-in lover, Herb Moses, was an executive at Fannie Mae at that time. Gee, only a small conflict of interest there. If Frank was a republican it would be front page of every newspaper.
- acknotSW, on 02/26/2009, -1/+13I really don't know much about economics, but even I knew something very bad was going to happen down the road when I kept seeing 5 to 20 ditech commericals a day offering no down payment, interest only loans to people with bad credit.
- hamobu, on 02/26/2009, -0/+12I second that. People were talking of housing bubble right after the tech bubble burst.
- hamobu, on 02/26/2009, -1/+12I work in life insurance, insured are vulnerable to this type of fraud even more than is the case with mortgages. To prevent such shenanigans, life insurance is heavily regulated. There are strict licensing requirements for agents. Life insurance companies have to prove that they are able to pay out claims in the upcoming years. There are strict regulations as to what can be illustrated to the applicant at the time of sale, etc. I believe other professions (such as accounting) also have strict and legally enforced standards. Same should be done for mortgage industry.
- Abatrour, on 02/26/2009, -5/+15Bush Sr. and Bush Jr. both had business ties with Bin Laden.
Also the American government is the one training and funding these "terrorists". They trained them years ago. - BlueAyez, on 02/26/2009, -0/+10And so profitable too.
- geekformayor, on 02/26/2009, -1/+11"All this has happened before, and it will happen again."
- inactive, on 02/26/2009, -2/+11As a banker, the rabbit hole goes far deeper than you'd like to believe. It's a calamity of errors, and blaming the former president isn't going to get you anywhere.
Watch the videos below for how this all happened.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0zEXdDO5JU
and part2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYhDkZjKBEw&fea ... - WilliamDavis, on 02/26/2009, -3/+12Instead of blaming idiots in government, perhaps we should blame the people who were committing FRAUD. This business of giving those criminals more money is even more sickening.
- Lealy, on 02/26/2009, -2/+11Have you looked at who was lining the campaign funds of Frank and Dodd? That's right the banking and mortgage industry were some of their top contributors. No one considered it a problem, except those dealing with it like my family, but I can assure you I sent letters to all these so called Congressmen and so did thousands of others for us it started in 99 and did not end until 2004. For them to act surprised, whoops we missed it is bull. Just because you were unaware of it does not mean they were not. Maybe you have not noticed but the Dems have had control of congress for 2 years and spent tons of money on hearings and have yet to pass predatory leading laws or consumer protection laws?
- pintomp3, on 02/26/2009, -5/+14More proof of corporatists letting corporations get away with fraud? Clearly deregulating and taking away all the rules will make thing better!
- inactive, on 02/26/2009, -3/+129/11 = INSIDE JOB.
- nigelregal, on 02/26/2009, -5/+14The SEC was tipped off about maddoff over 10 years ago and did nothing. They are all criminals, even now. Obama is not to blame for anything up to now. The only things you can call to blame is his voting record in senate. Voting and championing for the previous bailout and now a new one. I wouldn't blame bush solely either. He is a puppet of the banks and elites.
- inactive, on 02/26/2009, -3/+12Really? Cuz here is an article from 1999 regarding the mess we are in. Sure as hell looks like the dems started it. Nice try blaming it on Bush.
http://i44.tinypic.com/11hfn92.gif
Now please show me real proof otherwise. Of course, since this is real, it will get dugg down on digg. - BadAsh71, on 02/26/2009, -4/+13This and a lot of other things could have been averted or at best handled differently had the Bush Administration considered the ramifications of their actions and not been so greedy and self-serving.
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