Posted on 04/24/2010 10:50:06 AM PDT by Sub-Driver
Media Heresy: Bill Clinton Helped Cause 2008 Financial Crisis By Noel Sheppard Created 04/24/2010 - 13:04
In the past 20 months, liberal media members have routinely blamed 2008's financial crisis on George W. Bush, Republicans, Wall Street, and greed.
Someone that has hardly ever been accused of having a hand in what led to the tumult is former President Bill Clinton.
As NewsBusters has been reporting almost since the crash began, it was Clinton who signed into law two key bills -- the Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999 and the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000 -- that ushered in the malfeasance that almost toppled the world economy.
On Saturday, a former editorial page editor for the Wall Street Journal, George Melloan, made the connection even stronger as he pointed a finger [1] at someone most in the media have shamelessly given a pass for his involvement in this crisis (h/t @RLMcMahon):
To promote "affordable" housing, Bill Clinton had excused the two giant government-sponsored housing finance agencies, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, from normal banking rules, allowing them leverage ratios far in excess of the limits on ordinary lenders. Banks were forced to write risky mortgage loans, a large number of which were then folded into mortgage-backed securities that Fannie, Freddie and others sold internationally with triple-A ratings.
This business seized up, crippling banks throughout the world, when holders began to realize that the assets that backed the securities, home mortgages, were going under water at an alarming rate.
Of course, Melloan was right. As the New York Times reported [2] in September 1999:
In a move that could help increase home ownership rates among minorities and low-income consumers, the Fannie Mae Corporation is easing the credit requirements on loans that it will purchase from banks and other lenders.
The action, which will begin as a pilot program involving 24 banks in 15 markets -- including the New York metropolitan region -- will encourage those banks to extend home mortgages to individuals whose credit is generally not good enough to qualify for conventional loans. Fannie Mae officials say they hope to make it a nationwide program by next spring.
Fannie Mae, the nation's biggest underwriter of home mortgages, has been under increasing pressure from the Clinton Administration to expand mortgage loans among low and moderate income people and felt pressure from stock holders to maintain its phenomenal growth in profits.
Wait. It got better:
These borrowers whose incomes, credit ratings and savings are not good enough to qualify for conventional loans, can only get loans from finance companies that charge much higher interest rates -- anywhere from three to four percentage points higher than conventional loans.
''Fannie Mae has expanded home ownership for millions of families in the 1990's by reducing down payment requirements,'' said Franklin D. Raines, Fannie Mae's chairman and chief executive officer. '
Ah yes. Franklin Raines, proud of reducing down payment requirements. Wasn't that a BIG part of the problem? You bet:
In moving, even tentatively, into this new area of lending, Fannie Mae is taking on significantly more risk, which may not pose any difficulties during flush economic times. But the government-subsidized corporation may run into trouble in an economic downturn, prompting a government rescue similar to that of the savings and loan industry in the 1980's.
''From the perspective of many people, including me, this is another thrift industry growing up around us,'' said Peter Wallison a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. ''If they fail, the government will have to step up and bail them out the way it stepped up and bailed out the thrift industry.''
So, back in September 1999, the Times was expressing concern that this move by Fannie Mae, prompted by pressure from the Clinton administration, could lead to a government rescue.
Yet now, almost eleven years later, the media blame Bush, Republicans, Wall Street, greed, and anybody that doesn't have a "D" next to his or her name.
Fortunately, Melloan wasn't done setting the record straight:
One of the great ironies of our times is that the two strongest defenders of the Fannie-Freddie shell game, Chris Dodd and Barney Frank, are now in charge of reforming banking regulation.
Would this be the case if our media had been honest about the causes of the 2008 collapse when it happened?
If Dodd and Frank had "R's" next to their names, would they be at all involved in reforming banking regulation?
Maybe most importantly, how much different might the 2008 election results have been if the Obama-loving press would have told the truth about this issue before people went to the polls?
I actually heard this on the TV news this week. Oh yeah, it was on Fox. Well, that’s a start.
Republicans should be pushing back hard with the Fannie, Freddie and Barney story.
;From CNS:
The 1,400-page cap-and-trade legislation pushed through by House Democrats contains a new federal policy that residential, commercial, and government buildings be retrofitted to increase energy efficiency, leaving it up to the states to figure out exactly how to do that.
This means that homeowners, for example, could be required to retrofit their homes to meet federal “green” guidelines in order to sell their homes, if the cap-and-trade bill becomes law.
The bill, which now goes to the Senate, directs the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to develop and implement a national policy for residential and commercial buildings. The purpose of such a strategy – known as the Retrofit for Energy and Environmental Performance (REEP) – would be to “facilitate” the retrofitting of existing buildings nationwide.”
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When people wake up and realize they will never be able to sell their homes without a RETROFIT. HUMMM will a 2nd wave of people just walking away from homes be in the future.
This is also a way to drive house prices up. artificially.
but Bush failed to fix Bills mess
“I actually heard this on the TV news this week. Oh yeah, it was on Fox. Well, that’s a start.”
This story was news over a year ago. Why are they covering it now? Did they just learn about it last week?
Wish someone would post the youtube of SNL making fun of this situation.
You want to give people money that fine that you business
Bulb-nose is out there taking peoples’ minds off his skulduggery by accusing Tea Partiers of being instigators of violence.
What would be devastating would be the retrofit of your home BEFORE you can sell it.
Just imagine what it would be like to have a job transfer across the country, and then have to “retrofit” your home you left behind - causing you to lose all profits afforded by selling the home .. and causing you to have no down payment for the purchase of a new home in your new location.
Unreal.
One thing the liberals/progressives NEVER learn - the actual consequences of their actions have no basis in reality.
Leaving Dodd & Frank in charge of writing & pushing this new bill is like asking O J Simpson to run the battered women’s shelters nationwide. Wait——since O J is one of NObama’s ‘bros’, it could happen !!!!
Just imagine what it would be like to have a job transfer across the country, and then have to “retrofit” your home you left behind - causing you to lose all profits afforded by selling the home .. and causing you to have no down payment for the purchase of a new home in your new location.
Unreal.”
I view this legislation as a way to keep all of us in the place we are now, and to prevent any person from getting a promotion anywhere else. More control.
This inspection program was presented on local talk radio yesterday as ‘requiring a minimum of 3 Federally approved inspectors in EVERY city-town-village-unincorporated area- etc. That will be part of NObama getting people jobs!!!
Then they continued to talk like this INSPECTION would be mandatory at your home, regardless of whether you are trying to sell it or not.
Reporter was talking as tho there would be INSPECTIONS of your homw- your wiring- your light bulbs currently being used-—even including any small bulbs used to hightlight ‘artwork’. Your windows- wiring- hot water heater- ALL of your appliances....a real intrusion.
My house was built in Jan 2005, and those phoney “Energy Star” stickers were on everything, but I don’t trust that the “inspectors” will find plenty of things wrong, and will tryo to force mandatory changes to my residence- whether or not I want to sell it.
The Mandatory intrusions into our lives with NObama in charge is just starting to happen-—
We better start puching back right now.
I will do my best to keep any strangers from coming onto my place, but this scares the hell out of me.
This is also a way to drive house prices up. artificially.””
One local Reno newsreader said that ANY retrofitting you MUST do to your home, you will NOT be allowed to add to the price of your home. WTF??? Who can afford that?
NObama & his CZARS sure don’t know how to do math, do they?
There are still places in the USA that do not have running indoor toilets and lots of places are “off the grid”.
NOt sure how often these ‘standards’ would be changed, which could keep people from retrofitting any home once, much less more than once.
The EPA is also after people who do their own painting-—asking the Feds for a “federally certified technician” ONLY to be allowed to paint any outside surface in excess of 20 squeare feet—a little larger for an inside paint job.
I live in a rather small house, and I could not paint the trim and be inside the 20 sq ft rule. The only paints we can buy are already not good for much more than 4 years, and having to pay a ‘federally certified technician’ to spruce up the paint sure won’t help keep houses in good condition. This is a recipe for letting your house maintenance go. Then everything will look like the projects in the big cities. How many people on Soc Sec are trying to keep up what they have, and they are being pummeled with these rules.
Wonder what Home Depot—Lowe’s—Do It Center—True Value—Ace hdwe- and all the others across the nation think about this kind of legislation? A whole new section of the USA economy will be brought to their knees.
“It was a hilarious skit on Saturday Nite Live a year ago. The media knew as well.
Wish someone would post the youtube of SNL making fun of this situation.”
I think this is it: Pretty amazing from SNL
That’s it, it is priceless!
One local Reno newsreader said that ANY retrofitting you MUST do to your home, you will NOT be allowed to add to the price of your home. WTF??? Who can afford that?
.............
My Son and I were just discussing this. I expect to see a rash of people selling in the year grace period.
This is the most insane proposition to come down the pike since.....HC Reform.
>> but Bush failed to fix Bills mess
Oh, he tried, but the Liberals in Congress absolutely refused to acknowledge the warnings.
While I live in an apartment, I have the same fear.
What if these “inspectors” tell the apartment owners that they must make hundreds of thousands of dollars in repairs .. that means that my rent will go through the roof. I’ll be spending most of my salary on rent.
I agree .. this is very scary to me too.
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