Let's Learn What Caused This Crisis [McCain-Dorgan]

More than $9 trillion -- in taxpayer dollars -- has been pledged, committed, lent or spent by the federal government in response to the economic crisis. Some say that if the economy continues to deteriorate, trillions more might be necessary to prevent another Great Depression.

Yet no one has investigated how this crisis happened. That is irresponsible. A comprehensive investigation is essential to prevent this from happening again.

While much remains to be uncovered, we know that this crisis was triggered in part by unscrupulous behavior in the subprime loan market, the failure of key regulators, widespread greed and the fact that America's largest financial institutions were permitted to regulate themselves.

These guys are so predictable. They'll grandstand and find fault with wall street greed and lax regulation and point fingers in every direction except where they belong - pointed at themselves.

Government intervention into the free market caused this mess, and fixing THAT is the only thing that will keep it from happening again. But of course, this would require disempowering the politicians, so it ain't gonna happen until we get rid of McCain and the rest of the big government crowd.

When G.W. Bush took office in 2001 Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were likely insolvent. More than 40 percent of the mortgages they owned were subprime loans. This time-bomb was created in 1994 when Bill Clinton and HUD Secretary Cuomo expanded federal lending regulations to include high-risk borrowers who fit the demographic profile of Democrat voter. Fannie Mae's board was stacked with former Clinton staffers to help hide growing financial problems at the company resulting from Clinton/Cuomo policy:

FALSE SIGNATURES AIDED FANNIE MAE BONUSES, FALCON SAYS

By Kathleen Day and Terence O'Hara
Washington Post Staff Writers
April 7, 2005

Fannie Mae employees falsified signatures on accounting transactions that helped the company meet earnings targets for 1998, a “manipulation” that triggered multimillion-dollar bonuses for top executives, a federal regulator said yesterday.

Armando Falcon Jr., director of the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, said the entries were related to the movement of $200 million in expenses from 1998 to later periods. The result of the changes was an increase in Fannie Mae's 1998 earnings per share and the release of a $27.1 million bonus pool for senior executives.

Fannie Mae reported paying the following executive bonuses in 1998: chairman and chief executive James A. Johnson received $1.932 million; Franklin D. Raines, chairman-designate, received $1.11 million; Chief Operating Officer Lawrence M. Small received $1.108 million; Vice Chairman Jamie S. Gorelick received $779,625; Chief Financial Officer J. Timothy Howard received $493,750; and Robert J. Levin, an executive vice president, received $493,750.

(scroll down on link)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A32845-2005Apr6.html

Gorelick left Fannie Mae after four years with $26 million. Raines left with $50 million.

From 7-16-08 WASHPOST:

[. . .Raines settled charges brought by the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight by agreeing this spring to pay $2 million and forfeiting $22.7 million in stock and other benefits. And though none of it will come out of his pocket — the payment was covered by insurance — he has not emerged unscathed. He and his wife of more than 25 years, Wendy, are separated. . .]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/15/AR2008071502827.html

“If we’re headed for another Great Depression, what is Boy Wonder doing creating all these expensive government programs. ie: “Free healthcare” for the entire world paid for by the American taxpayers. Something stinks here.”

Some still don’t get it. This economic situation follows the communist step by step plan to destroy this country from within. Obama’s not tryinig to cure anything, but to put the final nails in the coffin of the capitalist economy. Then a dictator will arise to bring about order after the people revolt.

Several years ago, as chairman and vice chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, we conducted an extensive bipartisan investigation when reports of possible wrongdoing surfaced concerning lobbyist Jack Abramoff and his cohorts. We hired investigators, issued subpoenas, took testimony and discovered a web of corruption that led to convictions. Abramoff sits in federal prison today.

McCain is well known for his propensity to gamble big money at the craps tables in casinos, especially Indian casinos. McCain's lobbyist goons made a killing from fees derived from Indian casinos for representing them against Abramoff by gaining access to McCain. McCain withheld evidence in testimony that would have implicated several members in Congress in the scandal, instead, he went after Abramoff specifically for his close ties to Grover Norquist and Ralph Reed who had cost him the South Carolina primary (and nomination) in 2000.

This is an unadulterated effort to provide political cover for McCain's fellow rats in congress who were up to their eyeballs in pushing the sub-prime loan scam along for gaining voting block power. That includes some of his own campaign staff starting with his campaign manager, Rick Davis, who made MILLIONS from lobbying fees working in concert with Fannie Mae to push sub-prime mortgages to high risk income groups such as illegals.

This is quintessential McCain. He builds the scene in his role as the righteous grand inquisitor who will uncover the truth, when in fact he's as caught up in it as anyone else is in the halls of congress. It's the ultimate craps game for him.

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