Comments on: Could the lending problem actually have been caused to the Clinton administration?

By: oscar_peter_rodger

oscar_peter_rodger — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 16:14:23 +0000

Nope. your boy dumbya has been at the helm since January 2001, this is on him.

By: Monk68

Monk68 — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 02:57:01 +0000

Yes. I’ve been saying it for years. All sorts of credit became available to people who otherwise couldn’t, or shouldn’t have gotten it because of Clinton. Does anyone remember all the Credit Card offers that began pouring into your mailbox during the Clinton years? All of a sudden everyone had money! Great years, huh? And when people got in over their head they began to file for Bankruptcy, or letting their homes go into foreclosure. Those “bad” loans were bundled-up with good loans and sold from bank to bank. Eventually someone had to take the hit, and that’s what we’re seeing now. Unfortunately, it’s not over and is gonna get alot worse. House prices are rising, fuel prices are rising, and wages are not keeping pace. C.E.O.’s are taking large bonuses, the Unions are squeezing big business, while free-trade is showing that we can’t compete with low wage countries like China and Japan. Watch the big 3 auto makers for the next shoe to drop. You won’t believe how many people will be out of work! Education is important, but we’ve forgotten how to make things using our hands and our backs, and we don’t put VALUE on those things anymore. Too many people are looking for that BIG payday.

By: BekindtoAnimals22

BekindtoAnimals22 — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 14:16:53 +0000

If that were true, then why did it take so long for these people to go into foreclosure? I never saw the teaser loans advertised all over the place when Clinton was president. Balloon mortgages were available for quite some time, but people had enough brains and good enough credit to refinance before the balloon completely inflated. What appears to have happened is that poor business practices were used in lending the money in the first place. The loan officers got a bigger cut for making the unethical loans than they did when they made conventional mortgages. Greed and bad business practices cause the whole thing along with further deregulation.

By: Griggnax

Griggnax — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 20:42:08 +0000

(rolls eyes), yes, everything is Bill Clinton’s fault. Bush and the Republicans who controlled Congress for 6 years have no blame whatsoever.

Vote McCain, for 4 more years of blaming Clinton.

By: tribeca_belle

tribeca_belle — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 08:55:50 +0000

Even assuming for argument’s sake that that were so (which it isn’t), then the Bush administration should have exercised good sense and leadership and instituted appropriate oversight. Instead they proceeded to employ lax regulation, deregulation, lack of oversight and general laissez-faire ideology to allow greedy companies to run amok.

In addition, when it became clear that there was a subprime mortgage crisis brewing, the Bush administration ignored it and even ridiculed Democrats who were expressing concern.

In any event, can the Republicans who are always preaching about “personal responsibility” ever actually take responsibility for anything? Why is it always someone else’s fault?

Eight years later, blaming Clinton for absolutely everything is looking truly pathetic.

By: john_d_ayer

john_d_ayer — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 10:26:13 +0000

If you mean, did the deregulation of the lending industry that President Clinton lobbied for cause the current credit crisis?

The answer is yes.

Clinton also lobbied for oil deregulation legislation. Guess why gasoline prices are so high.

By: dconstruct

dconstruct — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 09:22:41 +0000

Whatever…Republicans have controlled the White House for 20 of the last 28 years and 8 out of the last ten, five of which was marked by Republican control of the White House AND Congress. What manner of intellectual lightweight needs to look to Clinton for the trouble we are in right now?

Hmm…?

By: whats your excuse

whats your excuse — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 12:12:29 +0000

exactly, and he didn’t inhale.

By: Moose

Moose — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 03:24:33 +0000

No, Gramm removed regulatory authority from examiners and Bush encouraged GSE’s to grant mortgages to those who could not afford them.

Nice LIES though, are you getting that tactic from the RNC headquarters or directly from McCain?

By: Philip G

Philip G — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 21:05:25 +0000

It is the product of a systemic attack on “government” by sabotaging it from the inside. Tax policies that favor irresponsible investments. Promoting a culture that exalts exorbitant pay and dividends over investment or value. Reduction of oversight of the financial markets; politics replacing ethics in the Justice Department, which would otherwise pursue and prosecute wrongdoing discovered by the agencies tasked with oversight (which have been reigned in, in the first instance, so even if they did point out wrongdoing, it would never get prosecuted). Capitalism is a good thing. Reasonable regulation is also a good thing. When there is balance, everyone benefits. When it is out of balance, as it has been under President Bush and Vice President Cheney and the policies of Phil Gramm, (Senator McCain’s BFF), greed takes over and the only thing to provide checks and balances is the crushing and dramatic “correction” we are seeing right now.

As for the housing slump? Same thing. By dropping regulation and oversight to ensure that actual review of loan documentation was occurring, the foxes were in charge of the hen house. Without oversight, bogus loans were made, with mortgage brokers and real estate sales people raking in cash, arranging absurd loans to people who were not qualified. Everybody got paid, then handed the loans to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (and several large European banks that were looking to make exorbitant profits in our smoking hot housing markets), and home ownership increased. President Bush then says, “economy is great! More homeowners than ever!” Republicans say, “see, policies work, economy is great, look at all the new homeowners!” Well, how long can “irrational exuberance” [Greenspan's words] last? Until now…

And now, all the “pure” capitalists that say “get government off our backs” come calling and say “oh, big government, please save us!” And, because they are so entwined in our national financial fabric, letting them die the death they have brought upon themselves, would hurt us all, leaving the President no alternative but to bail them out. Except the President has so overspent our national treasure, while failing to ensure sufficient revenues to cover his checks, that we will have to go even further into debt in order to appease our creditors (primarily the Chinese).

In conclusion, if there had been adherence to sound government, reasonable regulations and oversight, and diligence and ethics in the Justice Department, we wouldn’t be in this mess. President Bush’s (with the Republican Party that controlled both houses of congress for six years) policies of deregulation and political intervention with Justice, led to the environment that resulted in the financial mess we are in now.

Barack Obama cannot have all the answers. But he is at least intelligent enough to lead the process to find and implement them.