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Obama Wrong: Housing Policy, Not Tax Policy, Caused Recession
IBD ^ | 12/06/2012 | Paul Sperry

Posted on 12/08/2012 10:50:16 AM PST by SeekAndFind

President Obama argues Republicans want to go back to pre-recession policies of cutting "taxes for the folks at the very top" and rolling back "regulations on big banks."

He warned: "We tried that top-down approach. It's what caused the mess in the first place."

Did it, though?

Most economists agree the recession was caused by the subprime mortgage crisis, which had little if anything to do with tax policies.

In fact, real economic growth accelerated after 2003, when the Bush tax cuts for top earners and small businesses fully went into effect. The 73-month economic boom of the 2000s didn't end until December 2007, when the housing market collapsed.

So what killed housing?

To hear Obama, greedy bankers were allowed to run amok, rubber-stamping loans for practically anyone with a pulse.

He's right that underwriting was a joke, and as someone who advocated for easier home lending, he would know. Clinton's Role

Only, it wasn't because regulators looked the other way. Quite the opposite; they encouraged lenders to make risky loans.

Shoddy subprime lending expanded due in large part to federal housing regulations that institutionalized "flexible" mortgage underwriting standards for loan originators and government-backed mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

And they, under pressure from Congress and their Housing and Urban Development "mission" regulators, wound up underwriting nearly half the risky subprime and other nonprime mortgages outstanding, fueling the financial market for subprime securities.

While Bush is commonly blamed for the historic housing bubble that burst in 2007, housing experts now agree it began 10 years earlier in 1997 — under a Democratic administration.

The easy-credit orgy that took place over that decade was fed by federal housing policies designed to pump up homeownership rates.

It had a name: the National Homeownership Strategy.

(Excerpt) Read more at news.investors.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: financialcrisis; obama; recession; taxes
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1 posted on 12/08/2012 10:50:21 AM PST by SeekAndFind
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To: SeekAndFind
It wasn't Bush's fault. There was an international deleveraging.

Bush has gotten a bad rap for the worldwide meltdown.

2 posted on 12/08/2012 10:52:05 AM PST by Tau Food (Never give a sword to a man who can't dance.)
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To: SeekAndFind

The Democrats and their media boot-lickers are going to contine to blame Bush as long as it continues to work.

Hoover was blamed for the Great Depression through the 1970s; it was a powerful “agrument” used by the left for decades.

As long as the msm continues to kiss Obama’s butt...they will make this argument.


3 posted on 12/08/2012 10:56:14 AM PST by kjo (+)
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To: SeekAndFind

1)Bush never fought back.
2)The GOP communication skills are pathetic.
3)The state run MSM has mind control over the public educated morons.


4 posted on 12/08/2012 10:58:01 AM PST by cp124 (Government is value subtracted.)
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To: SeekAndFind

Clinton started the housing crisis with commanding the banks to give those loans and Barney Frank, et al, fought the Bush admin when they questioned them on it. CSPAN has a video of it all; yet, the lies persist because the lies are repeated and the truth isn’t.


5 posted on 12/08/2012 11:03:00 AM PST by presently no screen name
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To: cp124
That is one thing that I will never forgive Bush for. He never defended himself, nor the Republican Party and it's principles.
6 posted on 12/08/2012 11:04:15 AM PST by Cowboy Bob (Greed + Envy = Liberalism)
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To: cp124

the rinos never tried to fight back. who knows if their rebuttals would have worked? they have/had dozens of overwhelming examples of what caused the mortgage crisis, but they did nothing, just like they’ve done nothing with the birth certificate issue, or the SS#, voter fraud, & on & on & on. they will not present information that the media will not, that could drastically sway public opinion, with common internet social sights, etc. what possible good is the GOP-e? they just run a body to say they have a candidate.


7 posted on 12/08/2012 11:08:36 AM PST by stickywillie
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To: SeekAndFind

Obama says whatever he thinks idiots want to hear and the congress will buy. But, I repeat myself.


8 posted on 12/08/2012 11:08:52 AM PST by Don Corleone ("Oil the gun..eat the cannoli. Take it to the Mattress.")
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To: SeekAndFind; Tau Food

This was actually true in Europe, too, particularly in Spain under Zapatero. Housing prices inflated enormously because just about anybody could get credit (thanks to government programs ensuring this) and the Socialist Zapatero government also “guaranteed” housing to various groups, such as “youth,” which in Spain is anybody under about 40, especially if among the lifetime unemployed. I remember hearing an interview with one woman, a perpetual student, who had “bought” an apartment with the government’s money despite the fact that she had no job, no prospects of one, and lived entirely on government money to begin with. Naturally, this was bound to collapse in no time at all...as it did.


9 posted on 12/08/2012 11:13:37 AM PST by livius
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To: Cowboy Bob

It was always a mystery to me why Bush never said anything. I can only think he felt that there was controversy over his election, and he didn’t want to stir up more rancor or give the Dems and the media any more reason to hate him. But he didn’t realize that silence looks like weakness, and there’s nothing that emboldens the Dems (or any enemy) like perceived weakness.

It was too bad, because I think he actually would have gotten support had he fought back.


10 posted on 12/08/2012 11:16:29 AM PST by livius
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To: Tau Food

I give Bush a slice of blame for pushing home ownership for minorities to even more unrealistic levels and not actually doing much or succeeding at anything to rein in the abuses that were built into the system when he took office.

You can’t be the guy in charge for eight years of a federally-caused crisis and not have at least some responsibility for it.

Also, he got completely rolled by Paulson to push massive Goldman Sachs bailout bills.


11 posted on 12/08/2012 11:17:34 AM PST by 9YearLurker
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To: SeekAndFind
Everytime the government is involved in our personal finances: College loans, housing loans, car loans/kickbacks, health ins, car insurance, we get scre***.
12 posted on 12/08/2012 11:25:11 AM PST by Sacajaweau
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To: Tau Food

The problem was not Bushs creation,but certainly his lack of outrage and failure to expose the Depth of this problem as well as the rest of the republican establishment IS to blame. Just as Bush let Himself get Hammered for 8 years,and not defend the Right side ,led us to the Marxist we have now.
Ihave spoken to some democrat relatives for years about this,telling them that the CRA was responsible for this and they just laugh,they never heard of it and just say,yeah,sure it was Bush, his wars and tax cuts,they dont have a Clue.The fault is the Lap Dog Main Stream Media,as well as The Republican Establishment which has given up the fight and Joined the Dark Side.


13 posted on 12/08/2012 11:30:44 AM PST by ballplayer
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To: Tau Food

The problem was not Bushs creation,but certainly his lack of outrage and failure to expose the Depth of this problem as well as the rest of the republican establishment IS to blame. Just as Bush let Himself get Hammered for 8 years,and not defend the Right side ,led us to the Marxist we have now.
Ihave spoken to some democrat relatives for years about this,telling them that the CRA was responsible for this and they just laugh,they never heard of it and just say,yeah,sure it was Bush, his wars and tax cuts,they dont have a Clue.The fault is the Lap Dog Main Stream Media,as well as The Republican Establishment which has given up the fight and Joined the Dark Side.


14 posted on 12/08/2012 11:30:44 AM PST by ballplayer
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To: livius

it makes it impossible to make our arguments on the street when our supposed leaders completely ignore the egregious acts that we spread the word about.....that infuriates me as much as anything out there.


15 posted on 12/08/2012 11:30:58 AM PST by stickywillie
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To: Tau Food

The problem was not Bushs creation,but certainly his lack of outrage and failure to expose the Depth of this problem as well as the rest of the republican establishment IS to blame. Just as Bush let Himself get Hammered for 8 years,and not defend the Right side ,led us to the Marxist we have now.
Ihave spoken to some democrat relatives for years about this,telling them that the CRA was responsible for this and they just laugh,they never heard of it and just say,yeah,sure it was Bush, his wars and tax cuts,they dont have a Clue.The fault is the Lap Dog Main Stream Media,as well as The Republican Establishment which has given up the fight and Joined the Dark Side.


16 posted on 12/08/2012 11:31:14 AM PST by ballplayer
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To: Tau Food

The problem was not Bushs creation,but certainly his lack of outrage and failure to expose the Depth of this problem as well as the rest of the republican establishment IS to blame. Just as Bush let Himself get Hammered for 8 years,and not defend the Right side ,led us to the Marxist we have now.
Ihave spoken to some democrat relatives for years about this,telling them that the CRA was responsible for this and they just laugh,they never heard of it and just say,yeah,sure it was Bush, his wars and tax cuts,they dont have a Clue.The fault is the Lap Dog Main Stream Media,as well as The Republican Establishment which has given up the fight and Joined the Dark Side.


17 posted on 12/08/2012 11:31:14 AM PST by ballplayer
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: Tau Food

The problem was not Bushs creation,but certainly his lack of outrage and failure to expose the Depth of this problem as well as the rest of the republican establishment IS to blame. Just as Bush let Himself get Hammered for 8 years,and not defend the Right side ,led us to the Marxist we have now.
Ihave spoken to some democrat relatives for years about this,telling them that the CRA was responsible for this and they just laugh,they never heard of it and just say,yeah,sure it was Bush, his wars and tax cuts,they dont have a Clue.The fault is the Lap Dog Main Stream Media,as well as The Republican Establishment which has given up the fight and Joined the Dark Side.


18 posted on 12/08/2012 11:31:17 AM PST by ballplayer
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To: cp124
The GOP communication skills are pathetic

In today's world that should be point NUMBER #1 and #2.

19 posted on 12/08/2012 11:32:41 AM PST by VideoDoctor
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To: 9YearLurker
It wasn't Bush's fault. Bush didn't force any banks to make any loans they didn't want to make. If a president could force banks to make loans, don't you think Obama would be forcing banks to make loans right now?

Bush was president when he world's economies deleveraged. He didn't cause it. He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

20 posted on 12/08/2012 11:47:23 AM PST by Tau Food (Never give a sword to a man who can't dance.)
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