Posted on 11/03/2008 4:51:00 PM PST by Libloather
Frank: U.S. is in worst economic crisis since Great Depression
By Ben Kossack/Correspondent
Mon Nov 03, 2008, 04:20 PM EST
SHERBORN - This is the worst economic crisis the United States has been in since the Great Depression, but it will likely not turn into a depression, a cautiously optimistic Congressman Barney Frank, D-4th, told a crowd of more than 100 during a recent visit to Sherborn.
Frank took the stage to explain how the country got itself into the current economic crisis, and how it will bring itself out of it.
Regulation was the watchword as Frank addressed the three questions that needed answers that night: How did we get into this crisis; how do we get out of it; and how do we prevent another from happening?
To answer the first question, Frank began with an explanation of sub-prime mortgages and securitization. These sub-prime mortgages were the “bullets” that shot the economy, Frank said. But, he added, bullets are nothing without a gun, and the “gun” was securitization.
Frank said the crisis “crystallized” in his head when he heard a story from a man whose family had been evicted from an apartment because they were unable to make rent. They looked for another place to rent, but with no luck. Nobody would rent to someone who couldn’t make rent payments. So, he got a loan and bought a house.
Frank lay partial blame for the crisis on not only the kinds of unwise loans that made buying a house easier than renting an apartment, but also the push towards an “ownership” society. Some people, he said, for social or economic reasons, simply should not be buying homes.
Near the end of the talk, Frank began to outline how the bailout plan helps not only the banks and other financial institutions that the money is being directly given to, but the economy as a whole, and what further measures are needed to continue to bring the economy out of its slump, including giving more money to states and towns for infrastructure work, which would not only maintain funding for much-needed projects already in the works, but also create domestic jobs to curb unemployment.
When the floor was opened for questions, they ranged far from the immediate topic, and reflected the range of people asking, from high school students to bankers. Generally, those who took the microphone seemed to be concerned with how the financial meltdown would affect other areas of the economy. There was a question on the auto industry, and one on credit cards. There was one on commodity futures, and one on the Cuban embargo. There were a few on clarifications of statements Frank had made earlier, and a few on how to preserve or rebuild trust relationships in the economy. One questioner asked Frank to assume some of the responsibility for causing the crisis.
In the end, Frank left to a standing ovation.
Don't forget the dust bowl. I read a depression-era cookbook talking about how they canned weeds because nothing else was growing.
When even folks on Section 8 have big screen TVs, IPods and cell phones, I would hardly call this economy in crisis.
“Frank: U.S. is in worst economic crisis since Great Depression”
Well Bwaney...if that’s the case why don’t you just bend over and take it like a “real man”? ...oh wait, Bwaney’s already tried that solution....never mind.
Barney seems to have forgotten the Carter years. How convenient.
You clearly haven't been to Dover lately.Chock full of guilt-ridden trust fund babies who have a thing for horses and Porche SUVs.
I guess Massachusetts wants more help to pay off the Big Dig, or maybe they have another boondoggle planned. Woads and bwidges, wight Bawney?
Yes, I am shouting.
"America's best years",says Baaaaaarney.
The only GREAT DEPRESSION that Barney Frank is really interested in resides between the butt cheeks of a man.
Don't know where you're from....you may well not be aware of this (even many Gay Staters aren't) but Baaaarney was a very early,and very strong,critic of the Big Dig.Especially the cost.
But then,even a stopped clock is right twice a day.
They have always been there!
I am there all the time but I speak only to the dead.
More peaceful that way.
I know Sherborn well. It’s a wealthy, very liberal New England town that has been defaced with an ugly monument to Ghengis Khan and a museum run by a bunch of trust account hippies. The center of town needs to be plowed under and rebuilt.
“My memory is a bit foggy on this, but just a few weeks back either Barney Frank of Henry Reid said that the fundamentals of the economy were solid, but the psychology of the economy was weak.”
The psycology of the economy wouldn’t be weak if the government hadn’t tried to scam mortgage investors into financing houses for indegents under the auspices of unregulated, exotic securities that has the same ratings as treasury bonds.
If you ask me, Barney Frank, et al, have a lot more culpability in this financial system collapse than anyone realizes. I mean really, how did all those exotic mortgage securities coming out of Fannie and Freddie get AAA credit ratings? It certainly wasn’t an accident.
Barney’s gotten a lot of standing “O”s
In Back Bay poolhalls and highway rest stops.
The center of town has ALWAYS needed a giant mushroom cloud to swallow it up and spit it out!!
Save Saint Theresa’s.. move it.
And it’s your fault you miserable bastage!
It is documented. Problem is finding unbiased judges in the matter.
Who put us there Barney?
I wonder how many cartons of cigarettes that cost him? :)
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.