Post by Erich on Sept 26, 2008 13:29:10 GMT -5
I'm certainly not an expert on economics nor am I a business executive. However, like everyone else, I have an opinion on just about everything that comes down the pike.... and I can do a little bit of research and pull together some facts and figures.
Since the begining of capitalism there have been periods of good times followed by periods of bad. Despite attempts to manipulate and control these with government intervention since the Great Depression, there have still been ups and downs in the economy.... and always will be!! This is the natural result of the law of supply and demand. Not long ago, we had a housing bubble in which investors made huge profits; now the bubble has burst and investors are losing money. That's capitalism. Let those who invested wisely, soar; and those who did not, fall. It's called economis for adults.
This "crisis" has been brought on by homeowners, lenders and bankers who made bad judgments. Let them bear the consequences of their actions. Furthermore, by the account of most analysts, a recession is coming our way, regardless of whether there is a $700 billion bailout. And Americans will weather it, as we have so many times before... what concerns me is congress and their "Feareconomics" is leading us closer and closer to socialism. They want to give everyone "free" healthcare, bail out big companies that fail, and make welfare and SS Disabilty easy to get...
Are we really now heading toward a Great Depression? The answer is: no. Are Americans a little spoiled? Yes. Are these uncertain economic times? Absolutely. Is a bailout the answer? Absolutely not.
It isn't often that public outrage comes so close to an election, but this is an unusual moment in history when the voter can exact a price from our political leaders which has scammed and lied to them, contributing to the current financial mess. Its not just President Bush... it's also the congressional and senate leaders.
Senate Banking Chairman Chris Dodd of Connecticut, seemed to think the mortgage crisis, aided and abetted by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, AIG, Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers and other disasters, occurred on someone else's watch. Mr. Dodd, and ranking Republican Richard Shelby of Alabama, criticized what he said was the ad hoc nature of the government's response to the financial crisis and complained that the Bush administration's proposals lack detail.
Lets look back at history for a moment.... Pressure from the Carter and Clinton administrations forced Fannie and Freddie to grant more high-risk loans to people who otherwise would never qualify. They mostly wanted to promote not only new homeownership numbers, but also more homeownership in the minority community. That was a noble goal, but the cost is a major factor that has lead us to where we are now.
Democrats want to blame the the President for a disaster they mostly helped to create. But, the White House warned that the size of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac was "a potential problem," as early as April 2001.
As recently as June of this year, President Bush asked Congress to take the necessary measures to address growing foreclosures. "We need to pass legislation to reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac," he said. In July, Congress passed reform legislation, but it was too late.
So here we are today after already spending $85 Billion for AIG $200 Billion for Fannie/Freddy Mac $300 Billion for FHA insured loans $29 Billion for Bear Sterns. If we spend an additional $700 Billion more for the latest "financial crisis" that will bring the total cost so far to $1.3 TRILLION dollars. I have no conception of what a trillion dollars means but this is twice what the Government spends on healthcare each year.Or it's double the costs of the Iraq War so far.
I guess we have a right to be scared...
Similar fears have been with us. The savings and loan crisis of the 1980s and 1990s, the dot.com collapse of 2000, and the accounting scandals that afflicted MCI WorldCom, Tyco and Enron were all moments of turbulence. Their were predictions of economic meltdown then- but it did not happen.
An old cliche is relevant here... We have nothing to fear but fear itself. What we need to worry about is interferring government initiatives - otherwise known as socialism.
Since the begining of capitalism there have been periods of good times followed by periods of bad. Despite attempts to manipulate and control these with government intervention since the Great Depression, there have still been ups and downs in the economy.... and always will be!! This is the natural result of the law of supply and demand. Not long ago, we had a housing bubble in which investors made huge profits; now the bubble has burst and investors are losing money. That's capitalism. Let those who invested wisely, soar; and those who did not, fall. It's called economis for adults.
This "crisis" has been brought on by homeowners, lenders and bankers who made bad judgments. Let them bear the consequences of their actions. Furthermore, by the account of most analysts, a recession is coming our way, regardless of whether there is a $700 billion bailout. And Americans will weather it, as we have so many times before... what concerns me is congress and their "Feareconomics" is leading us closer and closer to socialism. They want to give everyone "free" healthcare, bail out big companies that fail, and make welfare and SS Disabilty easy to get...
Are we really now heading toward a Great Depression? The answer is: no. Are Americans a little spoiled? Yes. Are these uncertain economic times? Absolutely. Is a bailout the answer? Absolutely not.
It isn't often that public outrage comes so close to an election, but this is an unusual moment in history when the voter can exact a price from our political leaders which has scammed and lied to them, contributing to the current financial mess. Its not just President Bush... it's also the congressional and senate leaders.
Senate Banking Chairman Chris Dodd of Connecticut, seemed to think the mortgage crisis, aided and abetted by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, AIG, Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers and other disasters, occurred on someone else's watch. Mr. Dodd, and ranking Republican Richard Shelby of Alabama, criticized what he said was the ad hoc nature of the government's response to the financial crisis and complained that the Bush administration's proposals lack detail.
Lets look back at history for a moment.... Pressure from the Carter and Clinton administrations forced Fannie and Freddie to grant more high-risk loans to people who otherwise would never qualify. They mostly wanted to promote not only new homeownership numbers, but also more homeownership in the minority community. That was a noble goal, but the cost is a major factor that has lead us to where we are now.
Democrats want to blame the the President for a disaster they mostly helped to create. But, the White House warned that the size of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac was "a potential problem," as early as April 2001.
As recently as June of this year, President Bush asked Congress to take the necessary measures to address growing foreclosures. "We need to pass legislation to reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac," he said. In July, Congress passed reform legislation, but it was too late.
So here we are today after already spending $85 Billion for AIG $200 Billion for Fannie/Freddy Mac $300 Billion for FHA insured loans $29 Billion for Bear Sterns. If we spend an additional $700 Billion more for the latest "financial crisis" that will bring the total cost so far to $1.3 TRILLION dollars. I have no conception of what a trillion dollars means but this is twice what the Government spends on healthcare each year.Or it's double the costs of the Iraq War so far.
I guess we have a right to be scared...
Similar fears have been with us. The savings and loan crisis of the 1980s and 1990s, the dot.com collapse of 2000, and the accounting scandals that afflicted MCI WorldCom, Tyco and Enron were all moments of turbulence. Their were predictions of economic meltdown then- but it did not happen.
An old cliche is relevant here... We have nothing to fear but fear itself. What we need to worry about is interferring government initiatives - otherwise known as socialism.