Was the Economic Crisis Manufactured?

American Thinker ^ | March 05, 2011 | Nancy Morgan

[Rashputin]

Was the Economic Crisis Manufactured?

By Nancy Morgan

In the summer of 2008 as McCain and Obama were in the midst of their campaigns to capture the presidency, a series of events dramatically changed the focus of the campaign from Iraq to the economy. From that point on, Obama took the lead and eventually won the presidency.

Now, a full two years later, the Pentagon has issued a report on the series of events that led to the 2008 economic crash. Bill Gertz writes in the Washington Times:

Evidence outlined in a Pentagon contractor report suggests that financial subversion carried out by unknown parties, such as terrorists or hostile nations, contributed to the 2008 economic crash by covertly using vulnerabilities in the U.S. financial system

"There is sufficient justification to question whether outside forces triggered, capitalized upon or magnified the economic difficulties of 2008," the report says.

Notable for its absence is any suggestion that the economic events that arguably catapulted Obama into the White House may have originated in our own political system.

Consider: The economic house of cards started tumbling on June 26, 2008, when Senator Chuck Schumer leaked a memo questioning the solvency of IndyMac bank. This memo precipitated a run on IndyMac which led to its failure. Federal regulators pointedly cited U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., in explaining the bank's failure. "The immediate cause of the closing was a deposit run that began and continued after the public release of a June 26 letter to the OTS and the FDIC from Senator Charles Schumer of New York."

As I wrote in February of 2009, this event, coupled with the Lehman Brothers collapse in September, marked the beginning of the current economic meltdown and provided the environment that enabled Barack Obama to focus on the economy instead of his position on Iraq - and, not incidentally, resulted in his election as President.

For the last two years, the media has neglected to connect the dots regarding the strange gyrations in our financial markets that started in the summer of 2008. After Schumer caused the run on IndyMac in June, the government moved in:

July 12, 2008: The federal government takes control of the $32 billion IndyMac Bank. *

* Six months later, Jan 2, 2009, a seven-member group of investors agreed to buy the remnants of failed lender IndyMac for $13.9 billion. Other investors included a fund controlled by billionaire George Soros' Fund Management.

Sept. 6, 2008: Fannie Mae begins its downward spiral, which will end with a crash in November. This crash was avoidable, as the problems with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were identified in June of 2006, when 15 Republicans on the Senate Banking Committee introduced legislation to address the problem. Democrats, led by Barney Frank, killed the reform efforts.

Sept. 15, 2008: Obama and McCain are virtually tied in their race for the presidency. Out of no-where, in the space of less than 2 hours, the Federal Reserve noticed a tremendous drawdown of money market accounts in the U.S. to the tune of $550 billion. Rep. Paul Kanjorski of Pennsylvania said that if authorities had not closed the banks, $5.5 trillion would have been withdrawn from US banks, which would have caused the collapse of the US within 24 hours.

This seminal event marked the ascendancy of Obama's candidacy, and arguably resulted in his election as president.

Fast forward to February of 2009:

The markets reacted to Obama's proposal to bail-out mortgages and Senator Christopher Dodd's talk of nationalizing banks by reaching 11-year lows.

Obama continues to stoke the fears of imminent crisis, actually using the word 'crisis' a total of 26 times in one speech.

Enter George Soros. The infamous one-worlder, billionaire George Soros adds his voice to the media doomsayers by opining that the world financial system has effectively disintegrated, adding that there is yet no prospect of near-term resolution to the crisis.*

The series of 'inadvertent errors', deliberate obstruction, political shenanigans, behind the scenes manipulation of the money markets and non-stop calls for immediate infusions of taxpayer cash brought the U.S. to its knees by February 2009. And continues to this day.

The newly issued Pentagon report, along with the media and our elected officials, seem intent on not connecting the dots, considering only foreign enemies as the possible cause of the financial meltdown:

Suspects include financial enemies in Middle Eastern states, Islamic terrorists, hostile members of the Chinese military, or government and organized crime groups in Russia, Venezuela or Iran. Chinese military officials.

This author believes there is enough information to at least consider that this crisis was manufactured for political gain. Right here at home.

Nancy Morgan is a columnist and news editor for conservative news site RightBias.com. She lives in South Carolina.

[Rashputin]

This is some very serious stuff, far beyond your garden variety conspiracy theory. IMHO, the chain of evidence leads more easily to internal groups than to foreign ones. Just consider the amount of insider information that was being passed around to protect favored individuals like the owners of Wachovia who dumped in the weeks just prior to the massive meltdown.

[Huck]

If so, it’d be just about the ONLY manufacturing going on in this economy the last several years (rimshot)

[DTogo]

"But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security."

[antceecee]

Is this a rhetorical question? Does a bear sh!t in the woods!

[MediaMole]

Does the foreign-born US citizen George Soros count as foreign or domestic?

IMHO, he is an enemy foreign and domestic.

[funfan]

This is how Obama got elected. Must be nice to have friends in high places with lots of cash and could give you
the Presidency. you have to wonder what the payback will be
expected from our dear leader

[Freedom56v2]

Bump for later reading!

[aces]

under attack from within, would not surprise me..

[Smokin' Joe]

...financial subversion carried out by unknown parties, such as terrorists or hostile nations, contributed to the 2008 economic crash by covertly using vulnerabilities in the U.S. financial system...

Let me give you a clue, General, one of their spokespersons let slip the little problem with the bank, there, and they use a donkey for their symbol...

[sheikdetailfeather]

I agree TOTALLY with this article and kept my own links in a file around that time period which I thought were rather...interesting:

Democrats were WARNED of Financial crisis and did NOTHING (Fannie/Freddie)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPSDnGMzIdo&feature=related

Now when I look back to late 08, I see a lot of interesting things:

September 7, 2008

McCain Moves Ahead 48-45

http://www.gallup.com/poll/110050/gallup-daily-mccain-moves-ahead-48-45.aspx

To this very day, I feel there is something strange about the Paulsen advice to Bush to do the first bailout. Paulsen is a Goldman Sachs guy and so is Schumer. (They are both Democrats) Remember Schumer caused a run on IndyMac late June of 08. I don’t think he is a dumb guy.

IndyMac: Mini Bank Run, Thanks to Schumer (late June of 2008)

http://www.housingwire.com/2008/07/01/indymac-mini-bank-run-thanks-to-schumer/

I see Goldman Sachs made out like a bandit in the outcome of all of this. I do not know for sure, but I look backward and forward to now and it all makes me wonder. I just did a Google search and found this:

http://www.thedeal.com/dealscape/2008/09/goldman_eyeing_assets_of_small.php

Is Goldman eyeing failed IndyMac?

Per Rep Paul Kanjorski, Democrat, Pennsylvania:

On Thursday Sept 15, 2008 at roughly 11 AM The Federal Reserve noticed a tremendous draw down of money market accounts in the USA to the tune of $550 Billion dollars in a matter of an hour or two. Money was being removed electronically.

http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/2009/02/tight-before-the-election-of-president-hussein-an-electronic-run-on-the-banks.html

Published September 23, 2008 at 2:26 PM
With Goldman Sachs Group Inc. converting itself to a bank holding company to strengthen its future, the New York-based financial institution is said to be on the prowl for deposits, but not necessarily an entire bank. Such speculation has led some in the media to ask whether Goldman could be looking to acquire the assets of failed IndyMac Federal Bank, which has fallen under the control of the FDIC.

Wednesday, September 24th, 2008 at 4:55 pm

Presidential Address: Bush on Economy

http://www.rightpundits.com/?p=2116

Wed Sep 24, 2008 12:48pm EDT

Obama ahead of McCain amid Wall St. turmoil: poll

http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE48N17520080924

Glenn Beck Clips 07-15-09 You Won’t BELIEVE The Goldman Sachs Governmental Ties Chart!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khGZ3a4zTNU

George Soros Major Sharehold In IndyMacOneWestBan.html

http://ml-implode.com/viewnews/2009-09-18_LiberalBillionaireGeorgeSorosMajorShareholderinIndyMacOneWestBan.html

[Sun]

Plus we have a very unintelligent POTUS who hates this country.

[unkus]

Plus we have a very unintelligent POTUS who hates this country.

---

I disagree. Pure Evil is very intelligent. The evil bastard knows exactly what he’s doing.

[Sun]

I feel Obama is unintelligent because he thinks he can fool us, but thankfully more and more people are catching on (with a little help from the Tea Party).

[dixiechick2000]

Barack Obama and the Strategy of Manufactured Crisis

http://www.americanthinker.com/2008/09/barack_obama_and_the_strategy.html

[unkus]

I feel Obama is unintelligent because he thinks he can fool us, but thankfully more and more people are catching on (with a little help from the Tea Party).

---

Not being an American at heart, he does not understand the American Spirit. He is in for a great humbling. Hopefully, sooner than later.

[freejohn]

[sheikdetailfeather]

LOL!

[zeestephen]

I endorse a simpler explanation.

There would have been no financial meltdown without massive overbuilding of single family homes and zero down payment mortgages.

Massive overbuilding and high risk mortgages were based on absurd home values, which doubled in five years.

Then, mix in the $10 trillion mortgage security market, which was built on the economic concept that home prices had not gone down for 75 years.

Few people recognized the risk that home prices could decline dramatically.

And no one - to my knowledge - recognized the risk that millions of people would walk away from their mortgages when their home values went under water.

[sthguard]

Pretty sure Charmin owns the copyright on that pose. ;-)

[socialism_stinX]

The massive withdrawals from money market funds on September 15, 2008 didn’t just start “out of no-where” for no specific reason. That was the day when Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy, so I assume those massive withdrawals were in reaction to that bankruptcy filing. Investors were concerned that their money market funds would actually lose some value in this bankruptcy and “break the buck.” Of course, they were right because a few funds did take slight losses because of the bankruptcy.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bankruptcy_of_Lehman_Brothers

There was no conspiracy to cause an economic collapse in America, this was just a classic run on the bank. Shortly after Sept. 15, if I recall correctly, the Fed backstopped (guaranteed the value of) all Money Market funds to prevent further withdrawals and that part of the crisis ended right then. That said, I suspect Obama supporters did try to make the financial crisis more severe and may have worked to speed up the downfall of Lehman Bros., to make sure that firm went bankrupt before the November election.