And a lot of it started during the Clinton administration, although I'm sure Reaganomics had a lot to do with it. In my limited knowledge of the whole thing, that is.
As much as I want to blame W or Bush I or Reagan, and as much as they want to blame Clinton, the impression I keep getting is that it was more at a Congressional level... some kind of act in 1999 that Gramm sponsored was a big part of it, maybe? I dunno.
The sub-prime debacle started at the tail-end of the Clinton administration, as was recently pointed out by the NYT in this (http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0DE7DB153EF933A0575AC0A96F958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=1) article dated September 30, 1999.
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.
That about says it all. Irresponsibility and greed.
There's got to be a way to help low and moderate income people buy a house (I'm in the 'moderate income' category, I think) without bankrupting the country.
Here's an idea: take everyone who ever made a decision on this (and if they're dead, dig 'em up), knock their heads together and ship them off-world. Then hire someone competent who also has actual integrity to run things. If such a creature even exists.
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(no subject)
Date: 2008-09-29 09:54 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-09-29 10:34 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-09-29 10:47 pm (UTC)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.
That about says it all. Irresponsibility and greed.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-09-29 10:56 pm (UTC)Here's an idea: take everyone who ever made a decision on this (and if they're dead, dig 'em up), knock their heads together and ship them off-world. Then hire someone competent who also has actual integrity to run things. If such a creature even exists.