Mind blowing story from yesterday's Yahoo News. Here's the lede:
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Bush administration backed off proposed crackdowns on no-money-down, interest-only mortgages years before the economy collapsed, buckling to pressure from some of the same banks that have now failed. It ignored remarkably prescient warnings that foretold the financial meltdown, according to an Associated Press review of regulatory documents.Check out the full article here.
"Expect fallout, expect foreclosures, expect horror stories," California mortgage lender Paris Welch wrote to U.S. regulators in January 2006, about one year before the housing implosion cost her a job.
Bowing to aggressive lobbying -- along with assurances from banks that the troubled mortgages were OK -- regulators delayed action for nearly one year. By the time new rules were released late in 2006, the toughest of the proposed provisions were gone and the meltdown was under way.
That's right, folks. The Bush administration was well aware of the banking industry's ongoing Ponzi scheme more than a year before the ultimate meltdown. Nevertheless, administration regulators didn't lift a finger to clamp down on the industry's reckless lending practices. Instead, they sat on their thumbs, and allowed the situation to fester. We suppose they believed the scam could go on forever.
Is anyone wondering who's really in charge in Washington, D.C.? (Hint: the Banks)
9 comments:
Prinicipals in the Bush Administration should have criminal charges brought against them for their failure to perform the responsibilities they had sworn to uphold.
The Bush Justice Department is not about to do that but the Obama Justice Department has its job cut out to charge certain individuals who are responsible for the financial disaster.
Secretary of the Treasury Paulson should be the first one indicted. He has awarded billions of dollars to his old cronies and buddies from his Wall Street days.
His plan to save our financial system is to run it from the seat of his pants with a new giveawy every other day.
I am very concerned that the incoming Secretary of the Treasury who headed up the New York Federal Reserve has been way too close to the planning and implementation of the Paulson financial recovery plan to remain objective so that he can come up with his own new solutions.
From the information I am receiving nothing has changed in the way individuals are getting mortgages they can't afford.
As long as the taxpayers are picking up the check for the bailout nothing will change.
I wwould like to add a P.S. to Dorothy's comments.
The Securities and Exchange Commission is not being run properly.
Chris Cox has got to go and go very quickly as he has not run the SEC according to existing laws and regulations.
This is one of the most important agencies we have to oversee the markets and Cox is not doing his job.
He should be held accountable for the mess he has allowed to develop.
I was glad I was sitting down before I read this one.
I was told by a high profile "business man" that the crisis was the result of Democrates and those darn liberals trying to make loans available to poor people.
Who could have know the Bush people were behind this. Their such sweet men.
"The Bush Justice Department is not about to do that but the Obama Justice Department has its job cut out to charge certain individuals who are responsible for the financial disaster." Dorothy L.
Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
Members, 110th Congress (2007-2008) Recession "began" in Dec. 07according to factual evidence.
2007-08
Christopher Dodd (CT), Democrat, Chairman
Committee on Financial Services
Members, 109th Congress (from 2005-2006)
Barney Frank (MA), Democrat, Chairman
Members of the
Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance, and Government Sponsored Enterprises,
110th Congress (2007-2008)
Paul Kanjorski (Pa.), Democrat, Chairman
Members of the
House Committee on Energy and Commerce,
110th Congress
Barney Frank (Mass.), Democrat Chairman
Members of the
Subcommittee on Domestic and International Monetary Policy, Trade and Technology,
110th Congress
Luis Gutierrez (Ill.), Democrat, Chairman
Members of the
Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit,
110th Congress
Carolyn Maloney (N.Y.), Democrat, Chairman
Members of the
Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity,
110th Congress
Maxine Waters (Calif.), Democrat, Chairman
Members of the
Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations,
110th Congress
Mel Watt (N.C.), Democrat, Chairman
Yeah right! Dorothy... I can just see the new Attorney General going after Barney Frank and Chris Dodd! And others complicent in the loans for the unqualified scamsters. The AP story is not based upon anything except more Bush blame, when the perks are on both sides of the isle. And the majority and chairmanships of all the regulatory committees and commissions have been firmly entrusted to the Donkey or Jackasses.
I remain an independent and interested in the truth (facts), not partisan psychobabble.
I seriously doubt the Jackass' have the gaul to go after anyone. And in fact I believe they will simply continue this farce of bailing out failure, and encouraging more of the same, for many months if not years (hopefully NOT!) to come.
Specially after Obama charged the new Attorney General to not politicize the prosecutions of any who may have been complicent in the current recession and the causes thereof. No special prosecutors of Congressmen who were in charge of the Congressional committees and commissions, who where incompetent and failed us taxpayers.
One thing we all suffer from, is the notion of pointing a finger of blame always involves three fingers (and usually a thumb) back at ourselves. We elected these air bags, and we reelected them term after term after term. Just like here in Utah with the legislature. When are we ever going to actually change the system; institute term limits, ethics reforms, etc.?
Instead of scapegoating George W. Bush, Matthew Godfrey, Sec. Paulson, the list goes on forever... let's just stop the bitching and get rid of them. All of them; Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, Barney Frank, Chris Dodd, Bramble, Buttars, Stephenson, Valentine, Lockhart, Waxman, Levine, Bennett, Hatch, ...all of them with retroactive term limitations.
Any better ideas out there? I'd like to read them.
Here's an idea - go and slap that neighbor (or yourself) if they have credit card debt and are in danger of loosing their home due to greed.
We are all to blame and now we will all pay.
I really think all this Dem and Rep blaming can stop. Greed is Greed and it gets the best of every society!
Thanks Rudi. Thanks for all you do for this blog. I know from personal experience just how much time it takes to maintain and research and write and edit. You and your personal touches and leading the blog are much appreciated.
And thanks too for taking down that last acrid and undeserved comment. Dorothy deserves better than that crap...
It is OK to disagree on issues and points, but personal attacks and inappropriate slams are out of bounds. Job well done Rudi.
The story is bogus. Senator Dodd (D) in the Senate and Rep. Barney Frank (D) in the house this year led unanimous opposition by democrats to any additional control on lending and now want to blame everyone else.
Viking:
Well, the story quotes the documents in the public record. What source do you have for claiming the story is false? You offer none.
I watched Frank and Dodd tapdancing on the subject on C-Span. I don't need documents. You guys just don't face the facts that many democrats are every bit as responsible for this fiasco and now that it is coming out, they have no place to hide.
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