Posted on 05/15/2011 3:40:23 PM PDT by TheFreedomPoster
I believe that the sine qua non of the financial crisis was U.S. government housing policy, which led to the creation of 27 million subprime and other risky loans -- half of all mortgages in the United States -- which were ready to default as soon as the massive 1997-2007 housing bubble began to deflate. If the U.S. government had not chosen this policy path -- fostering the growth of a bubble of unprecedented size and an equally unprecedented number of weak and high-risk residential mortgages -- the great financial crisis of 2008 would never have occurred...
(Excerpt) Read more at spectator.org ...
Hisk Loans? Illegal aliens? No true identity? Can get a Bank account with the Matricula Consular?
The U.S. Government has done an extensive amount of research on the Matricula Consular, to assess its viability as a reliable means of identification. The Department of Justice and the FBI have concluded that the Matricula Consular is not a reliable form of identification, due to the non-existence of any means of verifying the true identity of the card holder. The following are the primary problems with the Matricula Consular that allow criminals to fraudulently obtain the cards:
First, the Government of Mexico has no centralized database to coordinate the issuance of consular ID cards. This allows multiple cards to be issued under the same name, the same address, or with the same photograph.
Second, the Government of Mexico has no interconnected databases to provide intra-consular communication to be able to verify who has or has not applied for or received a consular ID card.
Third, the Government of Mexico issues the card to anyone who can produce a Mexican birth certificate and one other form of identity, including documents of very low reliability. Mexican birth certificates are easy to forge and they are a major item on the product list of the fraudulent document trade currently flourishing across the country and around the world. A September 2002 bust of a document production operation in Washington state illustrated the size of this trade. A huge cache of fake Mexican birth certificates was discovered. It is our belief that the primary reason a market for these birth certificates exists is the demand for fraudulently-obtained Matricula Consular cards.
Fourth, in some locations, when an individual seeking a MatriculaConsular is unable to produce any documents whatsoever, he will still be issued a Matricula Consular by the Mexican consular official, if he fills out a questionnaire and satisfies the official that he is who he purports to be.
In addition to being vulnerable to fraud, the Matricula Consular is also vulnerable to forgery. There have been several generations of the card; and even the newest version can be easily replicated, despite its security features. It is our estimate that more than 90 percent of Matricula Consular cards now in circulation are earlier versions of the card, which are little more than simple laminated cards without any security features.
As a result of these problems, there are two major criminal threats posed by the cards, and one potential terrorist threat.
The first criminal threat stems from the fact that the Matricula Consular can be a perfect breeder document for establishing a false identity. It is our understanding that as many as 13 states currently accept the Matricula Consular for the purpose of obtaining a drivers’ license. Once in possession of a driver’s license, a criminal is well on his way to using the false identity to facilitate a variety of crimes, from money laundering to check fraud. And of course, the false identity serves to conceal a criminal who is already being sought by law enforcement. Individuals have been arrested with multiple Matricula Consular cards in their possession, each with the same photograph, but with a different name. Matching these false Matriculas are false driver’s licenses, also found in the criminals’ possession. Such false identities are particularly useful to facilitate the crime of money laundering, as the criminal is able to establish one or more bank accounts under completely fictitious names. Accounts based upon such fraudulent premises greatly hamper money-laundering investigations once the criminal activity is discovered. As the Subcommittee is well aware, the FBI is particularly concerned about fraudulent financial transactions in the post 9/11 environment, given the fact that foreign terrorists often rely on money transferred from within the United States.
The second criminal threat is that of alien smuggling, a crime that has resulted in many deaths within the past year. Federal officials have arrested alien smugglers who have had as many as seven different Matricula Consular cards in their possession. The cards not only conceal the identity of the smuggler, they also serve as a magnet for the victims who are enticed to entrust their lives to the smugglers, believing that the MatriculaConsular that awaits them will entitle them to all sorts of benefits within the United States.
These criminal threats are significant, but it is the terrorist threat presented by the Matricula Consular that is most worrisome. Federal officials have discovered individuals from many different countries in possession of the Matricula Consular card. Most of these individuals are citizens of other Central or South American countries. However, at least one individual of Middle Eastern descent has also been arrested in possession of the Matricula Consular card. The ability of foreign nationals to use the Matricula Consular to create a well-documented, but fictitious, identity in the United States provides an opportunity for terrorists to move freely within the United States without triggering name-based watch lists that are disseminated to local police officers. It also allows them to board planes without revealing their true identity. All of these threats are in addition to the transfer of terrorist funds, mentioned earlier.
In addition, it is important to note that the White House Homeland Security Council is currently chairing an interagency working group that is developing recommendations on Federal policy for Federal acceptance of these cards as well as guidance to state and local governmental agencies on acceptance. The interagency group is examining policy for acceptance of all consular identification cards. They are also specifically examining counterfeit and fraud concerns with the Mexican consular identification card that would impact its acceptance for identification purposes. The Department of Justice is an active participant in that group.
The events of 9/11 forever changed our world. As unpleasant as it may be, we must face the realities of our current world as they relate to protecting the people of the United States. This requires continual vigilance, particularly when it comes to being able to detect and deter those who might abuse the system to directly cause harm, or those who might aid and abet the financing of terrorist operations.
http://www.fbi.gov/news/testimony/consular-id-cards-in-a-post-9-11-world
That’s just the symptoms.
The FED is the reason for the financial mess we are in. Read “The Creature from Jekyll Island”.
This is the 3rd iteration of a central bank in the US. The first 2 collapsed for the same reason this one will collapse.
The name of the game is bailout!
How many have defaulted and are all the way through the foreclosure pipeline?? Anyone know? I think it is safe to assume that we have a lot more to go. Good post.
Good article, and the domino that pushed the bubble was the high gas price spike. The housing bubble would have burst at some point, but high gas prices on the folks who could barely afford their mortgages gave it one hell of a shove.
And what do you know? High energy prices, like sub prime lending, were the result of LIBERAL policies. Are we seeing a trend here?
I’ll say it again: If you want to understand the history of this bubble, read “All The Devils Are Here” - it’s just an outstanding piece of work.
Every six months or so, FMHA asks for more money and the Executive branch grants it to them without appropriation from Congress. The Constitution of the United States is no longer applicable in this country.
ping
In other words, the Congressional Black “Criminal” Caucus was directly responsible by demanding banks lend to minorities who could not pay their Government guaranteed mortgages.
Rep. Barney Frank denounced financial warnings, saying he had no 'concern about housing.' How dare you oppose suicidal loans to people who can't repay them! The NY Times reported that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were 'under heavy assault by the Republicans.'
Welcome to Marx-o-nomics.
Thank you RATS for taking us from 13,000 DOW, 3.5% growth in the GDP and 4.6% unemployment to this recesion by dumping $6 trillion of toxic loans on the economy from your Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac policy!
To Blame: Basically the Community Reinvestment Act and its subsequent revisions and the insane practice of the government suing banks for NOT giving high-risk subprime loans.
Next: The FNMA and government meddling by packaging its bogus securities.
Pure harassment of the government on the citizenry; no one has been punished for doing this to millions of Americans.
Of note Frank was reelected and laughs as all of us for not having the guts to bring him to justice.
This is a sign of a government completely dedicated to harassing the citizens and destroying their livelihoods.
Globalwide investors were able to see that an “Obama admistration” was looking likely. An “anticipatory sell-off” resulted. It caught many by surprise as Hillary was the favorite at the end of ‘07 ... when it became obvious that McCain would turn out to be the loser .... total collapse came.
Add to that the fact that China had no interest in propping up its economy after the Aug ‘08 olympics ended. And then the international shenanigans to attempt to help Obama by collapsing things.
Economic Warfare.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.