Posted on 03/06/2009 10:43:10 AM PST by Syncro
*snip*
In April 2001, before the events of 9/11 and just after entering the White House, President Bush began signaling warnings to members of congress that both Fannie and Freddie were headed into deep treacherous waters which could cause “strong repercussions in financial markets.”
In early 2003, the Bush White House upgraded its warnings to “a systemic risk that could extend well beyond just the housing markets.”
On September 10, 2003, Bush Treasury Secretary John Snow testified in congress that something had to be done to confront the growing storm at Fannie and Freddie. Democrat Barney Frank, now Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, reacted by saying “Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are NOT in a crisis...” completely rejecting Bush administration calls for reform.
Frank went on to say that Fannie and Freddie should do even more to get low-income families into homes. “The more people, in my opinion, exaggerate the threat of safety and soundness, the more people conjure up the possibility of more serious financial losses to the treasury, which I do not see, I think we see entities that are fundamentally sound financially, and withstand some of the disaster scenarios, and even if there were a problem, the federal government doesn’t bail them out, but the more pressure there is there, then the less, I think we see, in affordable housing.” Said Democrat Frank
Congressional Democrats then killed the 2003 bill put forth by Republicans, intended to head off financial crisis.
In 2005, Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan went before congress to sound an even louder warning concerning the soundness of the Government Sponsored Enterprises headed for disaster, testifying that...
(Excerpt) Read more at canadafreepress.com ...
good thread, thanks.
Clinton said yesterday that she is no fan of ‘multi-party democracies.’
The murder of JFK has now extended its reach to the nation.
Arlen Specter’s magic bullet theory might have been seen for the sham it is, but Arlen still serves his purpose, doesn’t he.
As a college student over 30 years ago, I remember distinctly all the Little Red books that young men espeicially would carry around as their ‘bibles,’ and now I hear the phrase ‘social justice’ like it is some type of governmental objective. Who among modern notables breathes life into the principles of those that founded this nation? What school teaches these in any American public school? What citizenry stands on its own as a question of pride and duty rather than take a handout?
FDR turned this nation into a semi-socialist state that LBJ expanded with the ‘War on Poverty.’ Carter humiliated us in a Middle Eastern desert and still hobnobs with terrorists. Clinton sold our military crown jewels. 0bama, well, he’s well paid for, now isn’t he, the athiest/moslem marxist. Republicans, at least, aren’t traitors.
The Democrat party is not the party of the little man & fairness, any more than the Republicans are the friends of big business & wealth. Truth to tell, the Democrat party is rife with millionaires and multi-millionare communists and the Republicans are dying off with the Greatest Generation.
The wealth destruction of the United States is going to pulverize other nations and beat down the actual poor in this country like no one’s seen in our lifetimes. Lay this at the foot of Republicans or Democrat partisans, but this is an all out war against the greatness of this nation and its leadership position of the world.
25,000 lives were lost on American soil at Gettysburg, Antietam and the Wilderness, with blood so deep it ran in rivers. At least those men actually, physically fought.
Most excellent find syncro...
It seems to me that Bush really loves America, and always tried to do the right thing by her. He made the mistake of thinking that the DemoRats think the same way ("New Tone"). That, combined with his famous lack of communication directly to the public that we all grew so frustrated with (that and the enemedia) kept this story under wraps until it blew up and couldn't be denied any more.
When I say it's Bush's fault, what I really mean of course is that he should have done more to sound the alarm to the public. Although you could make the case, given that as of November 4, 2008 we have empirical evidence that 52% of America is clinically brain dead, he could have showed up naked to a press conference with the message tattooed on his back, and no one would have noticed.
LOL. Truth is stranger than fiction at times.
2003 was a Republican congress, the year Republicans increased seats (2002 election) and you blame this on democrats?. But what you are claiming was that Bush knew all about this problem yet in 2006 and 2007 he let investors keep buying houses and stocks at hugely inflated prices, he kept telling everyone how good the economy was so WE would borrow even more money. Last he promoted SS taxes to go into inflated stock market in 2006, 3 years after you claim he knew about this problem. That's criminal. Trillions lost that could have been avoided if he warned the public in a speech , like his TARP or WMDs speeches.
Although the US Constitution affords the federal government no such power whatsoever to engage taxpayer revenue in banking or any other economic enterprise, Congress has been recklessly meddling in private enterprise for almost one hundred years now, with a devastating track record of unparalleled failure.
The 2008-2009 collapse of the US banking system is not the result of failed free market mechanics, but rather a clear demonstration of just how unqualified the federal government is to regulate industry and private enterprise. It is not the result of the last eight years, but rather the last eighty years or more… It was not an accident, but instead a natural end to a bad idea.
bump
I have no love for Bush or the Republicans,but Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are 99% the brainchild of the Democrats under Clinton.The justice Dept blackmailed banks to make sub-prime loans under threats od audits and outright discrimination fines.Make no mistake-these two entities were affirmative action programs.Congress has heard testimonies under oath that loaners told people to lie about their actual income.Sure the republicans held a slim majority-some would say no majority in the Senate because of senators like snowe ,collins,Specter,Shays and more.When you add the fact we are in a war of political correctness,it was virtually impossible to say no to any minority applicant.John McCain and Bush warned Barney Frank and Dodd seven times after the Dems retook Congress and Barney gave a rousing spech in 2007,espousing the vitality and solidness of these two hellbound trains.Dodd was busy taking graft from nationwide to pay attention.You can blame Bush for a lot of the problems we face,but this is not one of them.
LOL! The President has no control over what people do with their money. He didn't hold a gun to anyone's head to make them buy real estate at inflated prices. And yes, there was a Republican Congress, but the people in charge of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were Democrats, and the committees that handled the two organizations, though they might have had Republican chairs, were not able to keep the Democrats from voting as a bloc, and with only one or two Republican votes, keep any reform from going forward, which is what happened from the late 90's up to 2005.
Remember, even though the Republicans had the majority in the early part of the Bush years, it didn't mean they were conservatives. In fact, it was that very reason that many of them lost their seats in 2006, handing the majority to the Democrats and shutting down ANY chance at reform.
You're kidding right???? President Bush just "let" everyone keep spending their OWN money...Wow!!
Democrats had good reason to screw up the economy with this, election advantage, but Bush had reason not to let it as he would get the blame(actually republicans). You may want to see this video(near end):
George W Bush May 17,2002 :”Freddy Mac will launch 25 different initiatives to eliminate home-ownership barriers. Under one of these, consumers with bad credit will get amortgage with an interest rate that automatically goes down after a period of consistent payments… I’m serious about this. This is a very important initiative for all Americans, a chance for us to empower people….”
Voices of Freedom: Ron Paul, Peter Schiff, and Jim Rogers school Obama, Bush, Bernanke, and Paulson
Instead of telling us how great the economy was in 2006-2007 he could have warned us that things were amiss so we didnt continue to bid up the prices of stocks and houses with ‘our’ money. He had no trouble warning us about WMDs and TARP why encourage us to get in deeper?. Oh, did I say ‘our’ money???, Excuse, it was borrowed money from foreigners not ours. Once that money got cut off, boom!
Democrats had good reason to screw up the economy to give them two elections. Our problem is we had a fool in the White House who played into their hands, taking credit for a booming economy just before a huge bust.
Well, it seemed like many on Wall Street, and the folks who watch the economy didn’t pick up on it either. How else did all these problems seem to show up, all at the same time, in early 2008, and many folks who are PAID to watch the stock market and the financial institutions seem to get caught flat footed?
It’s a good thing W focused most of his attention on amnesty for illegal aliens, otherwise we would really be in big trouble.
You bring a very good point. I am glad you did. It's at the key to my recent wakeup. Neither party warned us. The stock brokers who needed the investments to go up warned us. To warn us of a collapse of a equity bubble is to risk popping the bubble and few want to do that (unless you are minority party just before an election) because it's a big party and the crash is the hangover.
But one man did warn us in 2006 and he was laughed at by all above and now he rips both parties and earned it. Enjoy your awakening:
correction
The stock brokers who needed the investments to go up definitely didnt warn us.
My guess is that everybody started with the premise that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac knew what they were doing.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.