Posted on 02/01/2009 10:42:38 AM PST by ScaniaBoy
It is all very well for President Obama to vent his anger on all those US bankers who continued to claim billions of dollars in bonuses while expecting Washington to bail them out after the sub-prime mortgage scandal brought the banks to their knees. But conveniently overlooked has been the curious part Mr Obama himself played in the sub-prime debacle.
At the heart of it was a 1995 amendment to the Community Reinvestment Act which legally required banks to lend money to buy homes to millions of poor, mainly black Americans, guaranteed by the two biggest mortgage associations, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. And no one campaigned more actively for this change to the law than Mr Obama, as a young but already influential Chicago politician.
It was this Act which, more than anything, helped to create the US housing bubble, well beyond the point where it was obvious that hundreds of thousands of homeowners would be likely to default. And in 2005 no one more actively opposed moves to halt Fannie Mae's reckless guarantees than Senator Obama, as he was by then.
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
Then articles like this will be good to bring up to remind people.
PS: Don't miss the comments.
Excellent post.
It is pathetic that I have to read this in a British newspaper, with there being a total US media blackout of the true facts behind the recession.
Best comment from the article: “The Community Reinvestment Act (CRA), a Carter Administration creation strengthened in the Clinton era, mandated “lousy loans to crummy credits” for low-income “affordable” housing by banks. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were then required by Congress to buy and securitize them. Since the securitized subprimes were Fannie/Freddie paper, they were triple-A (by virtue of the implied federal guarantee)and could be used by banks to meet their Basel capital requirements A house of cards waiting for a collapse - which came.”
From the article:
Comments:
Very true. The Community Reinvestment Act (CRA), a Carter Administration creation strengthened in the Clinton era, mandated “lousy loans to crummy credits” for low-income “affordable” housing by banks. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were then required by Congress to buy and securitize them. Since the securitized subprimes were Fannie/Freddie paper, they were triple-A (by virtue of the implied federal guarantee)and could be used by banks to meet their Basel capital requirements A house of cards waiting for a collapse - which came.
In addition,spurred on by the CRA, Mr.Obama as a member of community organizing groups regularly used strong arm legal tactics to bring pressure on lending instutions. I believe in return these groups had some shady influence on voter registrations. Now, we hear he plans to repay these groups with $4.2 billion taxpayer funds hidden(neighborhood stabilization activities?) in his stimulus Bill.
it seems the only chnage being brought to the beltway is Chicago style underhanded backhandery.
This issue is one of the main keys to getting rid of the Dems in Congress who reached into our pockets and grabbed. If Republicans can re-attach their maleness keep explaining who got us into this mess, amazing things can happen.
Amazing to think that the very criminals who caused this are now in control of everything.
“The Community Reinvestment Act (CRA), a Carter Administration creation strengthened in the Clinton era, mandated “lousy loans to crummy credits” for low-income “affordable” housing by banks. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were then required by Congress to buy and securitize them. Since the securitized subprimes were Fannie/Freddie paper, they were triple-A (by virtue of the implied federal guarantee)and could be used by banks to meet their Basel capital requirements A house of cards waiting for a collapse - which came.
In addition, spurred on by the CRA, Mr.Obama as a member of community organizing groups regularly used strong arm legal tactics to bring pressure on lending instutions. I believe in return these groups had some shady influence on voter registrations. Now, we hear he plans to repay these groups with $4.2 billion taxpayer funds hidden(neighborhood stabilization activities?) in his stimulus Bill.
it seems the only chnage being brought to the beltway is Chicago style underhanded backhandery.”
A comment from the board
I am sure he was at the forefront in the fight against “redlining”
Its funny how that term disappeared.
Anyone who bothered to dig a tad into the 0's past knew this 6 months ago. That it is news abroad and not newsworthy in the US merely demonstrates that anyone who knows anything about 0 is shocked and dismayed that he was elected. Next time around I hope we will be able to elect a man for the content of his character, not the color of his skin.
It was all out there for everyone to see but no one listened. Hannity, for one, did a great show on Hussein’s shady dealings.
“It’s funny how that term (”redlining”) disappeared.”
When the majority of the “media” was and still is in Obama’s (and Democrats’) hip pockets, it isn’t funny at all. It makes perfect sense. Heard today that Stephanopolis has a daily briefing (marching orders?) from the Obama “handlers”, I just answered “surprise, surprise - him and who else?” - “Journalism” is a JOKE and dead, has been headed that way for many years. A dead JOKE. Not funny and not near as respected as they all think.
It is embarrassing that the media has catapulted a Marxist teleprompter reader to the highest office in this land because of the color of his skin. (IF President Bush had botched his oath of office simply because he didn’t have a teleprompter and couldn’t follow the lead of the Chief Justice, and then walked into a window - does anyone think for a moment it wouldn’t have been driven into the ground by “Charlie”, “Katie” and “Broke-off”?) Oh, and imagine how Bush would have been castigated daily if he had continued to smoke one day after he took office.
I've seen too many articles written lately that blame Pelosi and Reid for leading Obama astray, which is nonsense. He knows, approves and helped engineer the pork as payback to his supporters, with no regard to actually stimulating anything but his re-election.
In 1981 mortgage debt was $1.5 trillion, or more than 50% greater than the federal debt. God knows what the ratio is now. We are doomed.
Indeed, much of the best reporting on what’s going on in DC these days is coming from British papers. National Post in Canada is great too.
Indeed, much of the best reporting on what’s going on in DC these days is coming from British papers. National Post in Canada is great too.
Here’s audio of Bush’s speech, pushing mortgage liar loans to millions of unqualified minorities.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eW9viaJatpo
Does anyone have a link to the page and line of the CRA, where it says that. I've never seen it???http://www.occ.treas.gov/ftp/bulletin/2001-50a.pdf
Thanks, more evidence of the catastrophe in making. Wonder how many European investment bankers who had actually read these rules and regulations. Very, very few I imagine.
The difference is, Bush didn't profit personally from his mistakes and he did try to stop the Fannie/Freddie corruption as far back as 2000.
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