Posted on 09/10/2012 10:19:10 AM PDT by jazusamo
Politics takes a lot of brass. And Bill Clinton is a master politician. His rousing speech at the Democrats' convention told the delegates that Republicans "want to go back to the same old policies that got us into trouble in the first place."
That is world class brass. Bill Clinton's own administration, more than any other, promoted an unsustainable housing boom, which eventually and inevitably led to a housing bust that brought down the whole American economy.
Behind all the complex financial processes that reached to Wall Street and beyond, there is one fundamental fact: many people stopped making their mortgage payments.
Why did that happen? Because mortgage loans were made to people who did not meet the long-established qualification standards for getting a mortgage loan. And why did that happen? Because the Clinton administration threatened lawsuits against lenders who did not approve mortgage loans to minority applicants as often as to white applicants.
In other words, racial quotas replaced credit qualifications. A failure to have racial statistics on mortgage approvals that fit the government's preconceptions was equated with discrimination.
Attorney General Reno said that lenders who "closely examine their lending practices and make necessary changes to eliminate discrimination" would "fare better in this department's stepped-up enforcement effort than those who do not." She said: "Do not wait for the Justice Department to come knocking."
Clinton's Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) had similar racial quota policies, and began taking legal actions against banks that turned down more minority applicants than HUD thought they should.
(Excerpt) Read more at creators.com ...
More truth from Sowell. It’s a shame he’s not looking to get involved with politics.
TS bump - Thanks.
Sad what the elites in Washington admire. Basically, the direct opposite of George Washington.
2 columns in one day? Thomas is on a roll.
LOL. Indeed!
Actually I believe the culpable legislation, the CRI ("Community Reinvestment Act") was initiated under a previous Dem president ... yes, you guessed it ... Jimmah Carter.
What happened under Clinton, iirc, is that Clinton's DOJ stepped up its threats of enforcement of the CRI -- against banks that had not yet knuckled under to the Dems' racial quotas by issuing "enough" mortgages to underqualified "minorities."
And guess who spearheaded that threat?
Why, none other than Eric Holder, who under Clinton was the real operative at the DOJ (not Reno, who was a mere bumbling figurehead).
This is what I thought the title meant...
We're heading toward a "brass standard" of currency, and fast.
Thanks jaz for the ping to another excellent column by Dr Sowell. He hit the nail as always again on the head
Hi, Kas. Yep, he nails another one.
He said master politician, not master statesman. I consider the latter to be great praise and the former a subtle put down.
Which one spends our money?
When it comes to his political prowess, I prefer to think of Bill Clinton as a master baiter.
He’s so right on the mark on this. Is anybody paying attention?
Thanks for the ping jaz.
The brass standard? The left has replaced all our gold with brass, so yeah. We’re on the brass standard.
Thank you for the nice ping to Dr. Sowell’s brilliance. Twice!
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