Clinton's role in the Mortgage Crisis / Susequent Financial Crisis

[JMan]

Progressive Historians: History For Our Future

And others...
Stephen C. Rose: Democrats and Republicans Made The Mortgage Crisis -- Quit The Blame Game


Although these events occurred through government pen and ink, the individual home-owner is responsible as well, for knowing and budgeting their own obligations. Tough pill to swallow, but true. Mortgage foreclosures due to poor planning, poor individual money management on a large population scale, led to mortgage brokers, banks & lenders holding the bag. Granted, the lenders themselves launched relentless campaigns to attract consumers/home buyers at an unprecedented scale. All of a sudden every other show on TV was about flipping houses and home makeovers, buying and selling.

So, fingers go in three directions: the government, the public, and the mortgage brokers (and, I guess, the media/TV shows/entertainment). Everybody grab an oar -we're all in this together.

[Dan.Linehan]

I agree. The homeowners definitely share the responsibility for their foreclosures.

The thing that bothers me about all of this is the idea of the "subprime mortgage bubble" being used as a scapegoat for the entire financial crisis.

The math does not add up. This financial crisis was caused by banks selling products (level II and level III assets, derivatives, auction bonds, etc.) that had very little real worth.

Now they are trying to blame foreclosures, when really this is fraud and profiteering.

[Brutha]

There certainly was also deregulation under Clinton that added to the problem.

Now the real question is whether we should regulate a lot stronger and forbid all of those strange derivatives that create unmesurable risk.
Especially in a country where gambling is only allowed in Las Vegas I don't see why those things should be allowed at Wall Street.
Banks really should go back to providing the services they did 40 years ago and not allowed to do anything else.

[JMan]

Originally Posted by Brutha

There certainly was also deregulation under Clinton that added to the problem.

Now the real question is whether we should regulate a lot stronger and forbid all of those strange derivatives that create unmesurable risk.
Especially in a country where gambling is only allowed in Las Vegas I don't see why those things should be allowed at Wall Street.
Banks really should go back to providing the services they did 40 years ago and not allowed to do anything else.

Heh, funny - you been out of the U.S. for a while? Here's a list of states that allow gambling: American Casinos and Gambling in United States

[Brutha]

Originally Posted by JMan

Heh, funny - you been out of the U.S. for a while? Here's a list of states that allow gambling: American Casinos and Gambling in United States

Ah then I got that wrong. I have never been in the US. But at least online betting seems forbidden (I thought they simple forbid all betting so my mistake), but I still think that banks gambling for trillions of dollar is to risky for the economy. Especially if government has to bail them out in cases like this.