and please advise us what lending problems came out of Chicago?
I'm dying to know, as for being a moron last time I checked my IQ was still higher than my blood pressure.

Blood pressure of 70/50 is very impressive.

IQ of 71, not so much.

Isn't it surprising that the democratic controlled congress would allow something like this to happen? I thought the dems party cared about people?

Too late now. This stems from Phil Gramm's (McCain's budget adviser) legislation in 1999; voted for by all the Republicans and one Dem. Now all the Republican's are born again regulators.

Obama's bump in the polls shows it probably will not work with the voters. The financial crisis is a hard pig to put lipstick on.

"Basically, a major piece of deregulation, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, overturned most of the laws that had kept commercial banks and investment banks separate. This made it much easier for monster-size banks to lay down enormous bets on the direction of housing prices."

Where to Direct All That Rage

Do you remember "redlining"?

That's where lenders did not make loans in certain areas because the people in those areas had a record of not being able (or willing) to repay their loans. Or they did not take care of their houses, so values declined.

Lenders then figured out that they should not make loans incertain areas, and since they were a private business accountable to their stockholders they "redlined" or excluded those areas from their preferred lending areas.

Who do you think it was that came along with his big bleeding heart and said "No, no we have to give these poor downtrodden discriminated against individuals a chance to own their own homes." Solution - make redlining illegal.

Any ideas yet on the answer JeffC - who did that?? Come on, you know.

So, poor ignorant people are to blame for our current crisis?
No, Jimmy Carter is---or is it Clinton (Bill)?

Thinking like yours is what allows such crooks to operate anymore!
Bushanomics! Phew!

No one told the banks to make bad loans, just good loans!

And yes they were forced to make bad loans because in order for the banks to be in compliance with the anti-redlining legislation or whatever it was called, they had a quota to meet in the bad areas that had to be met in order to be allowed to make loans in the good areas. This was all regulated after the fact by auditors and examiners and banks in non-compliance were never seriously punished. It was all very casual, but it certainly led the way to the subprime mess. Plenty of blame to go around, but Congress back then was just as clueless as it was yesterday when Harry Reid said "We don't know what to do". Yep, that's right - brutal honesty from the leader of the Senate.

The "bad loans" were made because it would have been considered discriminatory not to make them. You want someone to blame - go look up what Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton were doing and saying back in the early to mid- 1980's.

It's true that political pressure from the left, which insisted that all po' folks "deserve" to own a house, contributed to the rise of the subprime phenomenon.

But the right also had a big hand in the mess, pushing the "ownership society" concept because it meant raging business for associated industries.

That prompted Wall Street to come up with "innovative" ways to make money by securitizing crappy mortgages. The infamous banking dereg bill of '99, pushed by the heroic free marketeer Phil Gramm, greased the gears.

In turn, that gave rise to a hothouse mortgage industry. These outfits did NOT make loans to anyone with a pulse because they were afraid of being sued. They made loans because their business model and compensation plans emphasized VOLUME, not soundness.

This is truly a bipartisan trainwreck.

Naked short sold stock caused this run due to 10-15% poor loans made by banks.

No one told banks to make such bad loans---just accept applications and sort out those who could pay!

Harry Reid and Pelosi said the administration didn't know what to do!
They knew what to do two-three years ago and failed to do it. Bush would have vetoed any bill congress made on it!

in 2005 as I recall. That was proposed to regulate Fannie and Freddie because of obvious abuses back then. Before what's his name took out the $90million.

Good bill. Bad result. The Dems killed it in committee.

What say you?

but if my memory is correct, 2005 was at a time when Bush and the Republicans had a firm grasp on both houses of Congress and could pass pretty much anything they wanted. Let us keep the facts straight. The Dems did not have the power in 2005 to kill anything in committee. Keep the faith

You're not supposed to look behind the curtain.

I peeked. Keep the faith.

Democracy in not a spectator sport

He was on one side of the issue Tuesday then the other side of it Wednesday. That is brilliant. Skyspy. What was the republican position on this, since you see democrats as the problem? And how would the 51/49 dems changed that?

Is that why obama and pelosi and the whole democratic crew didn't attempt to initiate even one piece of legislation to control their friends on wall street?? Was the 1.5 million a donation to his campaign, or payolla so he and the dems would leave them alone?(as reported on MSNBC yesterday)

Buisness in America is changing and it will change even more dramatically if we levy heavy taxes on buisnesses. More jobs will go overseas. Right now every dollar you have invested in the current market is buying more shares of everything you are investing in. Your dollar is going further. This is not all negative financial news unless you are one of the people who bought a mcmansion on a mcdonalds salary.

I for one am sick to death of American companies calling me trying to sell me something and using a rag-head who barely speaks english to do it. AT&T has been the worst for trying to sell me something I already have, and using a person who doesn't speak english to do it. At least teach them what NO means in english. Taxing American owned companies a high penalty for doing buisness here will backfire on us. We will lose more jobs here and then you will have something to cry about.

I'm Republican because we can't all be on welfare.

"I for one am sick to death of American companies calling me trying to sell me something and using a rag-head who barely speaks english to do it."

I sense that you are a republican because of the birds of a feather principle. I'll go out on a limb and say you are a white person. "Rag-head" is a word like "spik," "wet back," "gook". Much less classy than "uppity," but every bit as racist and vile. If I felt that way towards Muslims and middle eastern people, I'd be a republican too. That way I wouldn't feel like a racist butt hole when I said the things I say. My fellow republicans would make me feel right at home. And I could support a candidate who calls his wife the C word, making us all seem like... well, birds of a feather.

Hey Spy,
As long as you are the self-professed commentator on campaign finance, and the importance of following the Anglo-Saxon tribal mores, go out and learn English as it is taught, spelled, and written. Then, come back and try again.

so it's Bernie Sander's and Lieberman making up the 51 so it's no real majority there - NOW BUT just wait until Novemeber.

You say you can lead a Repubican to the truth but you cant make him think..........1st as a Repubican I know the truth as for for making us think........it comes naturaly to us. When I was young and thought I knew all I was a Demodummy. I voted for Carter that in itself proved I did not think at that time.......something wonderfull happened ........I grew older and wiser as what comes with age....I became a Ragan Repulican , to this day I still am. Now lets talk Diplomacy........why would any Govt or terror group in this little place we call earth want to talk with our Govt. they know that many of the American people will give in like Sen. BO has and thats that. On the other hand you come to the table with strongist military in the world ready to take you out and finish the job......KEY WORD HERE IS "FINISH" THE JOB. Then they will come to us and want to talk.......Never go to the table in weakness but only in strenth....... McCain knows war all to will he knows the hell it puts on those in it. What does Sen. BO know ? What does BO know about running anything other then being a lawyer for ACORN and its taking tax payer money .............Main Stream you sound more like a Lame Stream.........

Ghandi OK you go over to the war zone and you do as Ghandi would......and where do you want your remains sent........it only works when those you stand against are civilized not those who want all non-belivers of thier faith killed ........My family has both followers of Christ and followers of Mohomand.......trust me you do not want to act weak around them......

For real CHANGE vote McCain Palin not more of BO and the Democrap that has been running the House and Sen. for over 2 yrs now.

'nuff said.

Palin and common sense? You got to be kidding. This broad fired his commissioner to get to her brother-in-law. She is the one for the bridge to nowhere. She compares foreign policy to being able to see Russia from her backyard. If this is "common sense" we're certainly toast.

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Making you think twice......

Huh? Get the facts, pretty boy. Your post is totally wrong. If you can prove any of your crappola, post a reputable link other than a blog or a bleeding liberal rag. Just a suggestion.

You are not the only one that feels that way.
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Caution - The Surgeon General has determined that constant blogging is an addiction that can cause a sedentary life style.

"The only one in the entire race with any common sense at all appears to be Palin. She's probably the only one with any ethics too."

We said thanks, but no thanks for that bridge that I can be seen campaigning for; that bridge I wore a t-shirt supporting; that bridge I kept the money for.

I said my teleprompter failed and I ad-libbed, but everyone behind me says it did not fail, and the republican convention organizers said it didn't.

I said I am an open government girl who welcomed an investigation I am now blocking even though it was and has been run by majority of republicans.

I said I fired the man in question because of budget disagreements. Then I said he resigned. Then I said he was fired for insubordination. Somewhere in there is the truth. A judge and my lawyer had warned me about harrassing my ex brother in law.

I use civilian email with the clever "gov.palin" and "gov.sarah" @yahoo so people won't know what I do on the people's time.

As CEO of Alaska and Commander of the Alaska Guard, I can see Russia from parts of Alaska making me a natural diplomat.

I taxed oil company profits and gave this cash to Alaskans (like the democrats want to do), but on the stump I say "government needs to get out of the way." Some people would salute anything I run up a flag pole; even a rubber chicken.

Yes. We are in trouble. Luckily, even conservative writers are beginning to write in objection to this unvetted woman as they invision a coutry potentially run by her from her tanning bed.