Must-see TV about the current economic crisis
Bookworm on Sep 26 2008 at 9:04 am | Filed under: Uncategorized
If you don’t read or watch anything else today, watch this, and then send it to all of your friends. The video doesn’t touch upon the horrible game of chicken being played out in Congress. That’s the one where the House Democrats, who have enough votes to pass a bill on their own, but not the courage to do so, are telling Republicans that, unless the latter give it their unwilling stamp of approval, the Democrats will let the whole world economy go to Hell in a hand basket.
Nevertheless, it’s a totally clear statement of how we got into this mess, and deserves wide, wide dissemination.
Hat tip: The Patriot Room
Email This Post To A Friend
20 Responses to “Must-see TV about the current economic crisis”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
This is a GREAT video, fantastic.
While Fannie and Freddie and the misuse of the CRA precipitated the crisis, there are other factors IMHO.
Robert Weissman in 1999 predicted with the repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act would result in this:
In spite of attempts to lay this at Phil Gramm’s feet, it was Democrat Bill Clinton that supported and intervened in negotiations which led to the repeal. Bill Clinton defends that decision to this day.
http://thestrangedeathofliberalamerica.com/foreclosed-blame-bill-clintons-repeal-of-glass-steagall.html
It doesn’t get more prescient that that.
Weissman lists five failures of regulation as the cause, but these aren’t really failures of regulation, but of policy.
1. Failure to manage the trade deficit
The trade deficit last year was over $800 billion dollars. This is money that leaves the US economy. We have continued to rely on foreign purchase of US Treasuries to fund our government deficit spending. This gives foreign interests leverage over US policy, which may become deadly.
2. Failure to intervene to pop the housing bubble
The Federal Reserve should have taken action to slow the housing market as early as 2004. The problem here is we were allowing the housing sector to be a driving force in our economy, instead of manufacturing.
3. Financial deregulation and financial “innovation”
Here’s where Weissman thinks that de-regulation and the misuse of derivitives such as Credit Default Swaps contributed.
4. Private regulatory failure
This is where the fraud occurred. The securities industry is self-regulated. Bond rating agencies such as Standard and Poors and Moody’s mis-stated the ratings on bond portfolio, which were sold to pension funds, etc. Regulation limits pension fund’s exposure to “junk” bonds, those of high risk.
5. No controls over predatory lenders
While it is easy to blame the consumer for taking on debt they couldn’t afford, I was in the business long enough to realize that there are many unscrupulous lenders.
No controls over predatory lenders
While it is easy to blame the consumer for taking on debt they couldn’t afford, I was in the business long enough to realize that there are many unscrupulous lenders.- Brian
All 50 states passed legisation to establish controls, but the Bush White House blocked them.
This video doesn’t tell the whole story.
And, becasue of that, it most certainly wont change my vote.
>>And, becasue of that, it most certainly wont change my vote.>>
I rather doubt that there’s anything that would…
rather doubt that there’s anything that would- suek
The blatant intellectual dishonesty of videos like this is revolting. Though, I suppose, it’s aimed at those who dont know any better.
Though, I suppose, it’s aimed at those who dont know any better.
Real conservatives know why spending by government for boondogles is bad and why regulation can be both good and bad (Democrat based).
We, however, know that Democrats aren’t operating the way they are because “they don’t know any better”. We have more respect for their brains than they have for ours, or people like you who have those that don’t think like you.
The Democrats and Leftists know exactly what is going on: they lie anyways.
So Ozzie,
What did precipitate this liquidity crisis?
And please, no generalities like deregulation caused it.
Are you in favor of the Paulson proposal?
If not how would you recapitalize the financial industry?
What percentage of these sub-prime loans would you estimate were caused by predatory lending practices?
What did precipitate this liquidity crisis?- Brain
According to this video, the evil Democrats are to blame. Oddly enough, there’s no mention of the legislation passed in all 50 states to curb predatory lending, or the Bush White House’s aggressive campaign to prevent the states from doing so.
Intellectual dishonesty. Pure and simple.
“Are you in favor of the Paulson proposal?” – Brian
I liked Section 8, which stated that no court could have a look-see at what Paulson was doing with the $$. And the fact that this bailout plan was prepared months ago, but presented at the last minute. Did they think Congress would overlook that part?
But as to what should be done? Nobody seems to have a clue.
Many of been pointing to the GOP platform which states that Republicans are against bailouts of private organizations, but that doesnt seem to be true, either.
Others say that a bailout will lead to the collapse of the dollar.
Kevin Phillips says that we should never have gone down this baliout road, and that we are headed for 20 years of hardship.
All I know is that this video doesnt even mention how the states passed legislation to stop predatory lending, and the Bush administration used the OCC to stop them.
Everyone talks about DNC propanganda being awful, but GOP propagnda is just as vile.
Ozzie I didn’t ask you what the video said precipitated this crisis, I asked what you thought caused it.
You obviously don’t think it was caused by the events shown in the video.
I’m not sure about your second answer either. I think you were using sarcasm.
But I’m guessing you don’t think it’s a good idea.
You’re answer to my third question is- you don’t know (and nobody else does either)?
Do you want to venture a guess on the percentage of sub-prime loans that involved predatory tactics? Just so we’re talking about the same thing, here’s a definition:
If a majority of these were Liar loans, where no financial information is taken, credit rating can’t be the cause. High fees might be a problem, but that wouldn’t cause the default in a loan. High interest rates? Bingo. People were given ARM’s at incredibly low rates, which allowed them to buy more house than they could afford. But they knew, or should have known that these loans would reset based on prime, and were speculating that increased value would allow them to re-finance. Upside down is not a new term. Maybe these lenders should have talked these people out of the loan, or told them that they shouldn’t spend 50% of their income on a mortgage payment.
But where does individual responsibility come into this? And if these people got into these loans at zero down, then what have they really lost?
You obviously don’t think it was caused by the events shown in the video- Brian
My problem is the dishonest one-sidedness of the video, Brian.
“But where does individual responsibility come into this? Brian
Lemon Laws have been enacted to protect consumers, as they should have been. And all 50 states tried to curb deceptive lending practices and protect consumers and were stopped.
We’re all paying now, though.. or at least we will be.
Ozzie,
So, I’ll try once again. What caused this crisis?
And lemon laws? Ozzie, do you know what you’re talking about?
And who loses on _these_ loans!!
http://astuteblogger.blogspot.com/2008/09/obama-and-dodd-countrywide-was-on-their.html
So, I’ll try once again. What caused this crisis? It depends on who you listen to, Brian.
I dont know what caused it.
This video suggests that the subprime mortgage crisis started it, and that it began during the Carter years. Kevin Phillips, on the other hand, says deregulation has been the buzzword for both parties for years and that it started during the Reagan administration, and picked up steam during the Clinton administration.
Everyone has a different take
I know that Democrats are pinning it on Republicans and Republicans are pinning it on Democrats and that neither scenario is 100% honest.
Why did the Bush administration aggresively prevent states from passing their own legilslation to curb predatory lending?
>>Why did the Bush administration aggresively prevent states from passing their own legilslation to curb predatory lending?>>
I know you had a link to Spitzer saying this…but what proof do you have that it’s so? What actions did the Bush administration take?
Since you don’t know what caused it, you can’t say that the events described in this video are not as likely to have caused it as caused it.
So Ozzie says there is a 50% probability that the events in this video caused the crisis. Absent any other explanation that fits the set of facts we face, the probability rises. True?
Source: Wikipedia
25 state have anti-predatory lending laws on the books all passed before 4/2003.
Source: Acorn
ozzie;
On the last thread you pedaled this bunk I linked to sources that refuted your position. Did you not read them?
The man running the OCC was a Clinton appointee.
Don’t let the facts get in your way of blaming Bush for everything.
You have now become entirely too predictable.
Rehash.
on 24 Sep 2008 at 6:49 pm 21 http://www.bookwormroom.com/2008/09/24/doom-and-gloom/#comments
on 24 Sep 2008 at 6:58 pm 23
I dont know what caused it.
Oz may not know what caused it, but Oz surely knows what’s dishonest in an ad. Yeah.
My problem is the dishonest one-sidedness of the video, Brian.
Since when Has Oz ever cared about the decidedly “one-sidedness” of any of her reported figures, interpretations, and opinion pieces?
I know that Democrats are pinning it on Republicans and Republicans are pinning it on Democrats and that neither scenario is 100% honest.
Your scenario is not 100% true. And you deem yourself fit to decide the honesty of others, based upon a false and inaccurate premise? That’s certainly one way to do things.
Oz may not know what caused it, but Oz surely knows what’s dishonest in an ad. Yeah. – ymar
Actually, Ymar, when the video said, “This might change your vote,” I KNEW it would be a bunch of bull.
And sure enough, while searching for a 1975 Harper’s article entitled “Seizing Arab Oil,” I stumbled upon this article, that featured the tagline:
Conservatives blame the housing crisis on a 1977 law that helps-low income people get mortgages. It’s a useful story for them, but it isn’t true.
http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?article=did_liberals_cause_the_subprime_crisis
“On the last thread you pedaled this bunk I linked to sources that refuted your position. Did you not read them?” – Rock
Yes, so what if the guy was a Clinton apointee. That doesnt alter the fact that the Bush administration used the OCC to stop efforts by all 50 states to curb predatory lending.
The states passed legislation to head off financial crisis and the Bush White House stopped them.
Your scenario is not 100% true- Ymar
So far, it looks as of there was plenty of blame to go around. I see fault with Democrats and Republicans alike.
I’ve been reading and watching interviews trying to figure out what happened.
So far, Kevin Phillips seems to have the most accurate and independent-minded assessment. . but this video , saying “Maybe it will change your vote,” is meant to manipulate.
Actually, Ymar, when the video said, “This might change your vote,” I KNEW it would be a bunch of bull.
What you knew was that it was contrary to the narrative you have adopted.
Things that reject your narrative are dishonest while those that appeal to your sense of how things should go, like Phillips, are labeled as “accurate” and “independent-minded”.
It’s incorrect to believe that simply because people tell you what you want to hear, that they are accurate and independent-minded. It is also erroneous to believe that a narrative of events and an explanation of their causes becomes dishonest and a “bunch of bull” simply because it rejects the personal narration of an Ozzie.