#3

The Repub’s didn’t have that strong a majority, to get it out of committees, particularly with the interference from Frank, Dodd, and Fannie/Freddie buyouts.

As we’re seeing now, even a 60/40 majority isn’t enough to run roughshod over the legislature.

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This in an interesting article on the mortgage meltdown of our country.
Sure enough, the media plays a huge role in every issue.
I will be sure to pass this info.

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For one, Glass-Steagal covered an entirely different industry than the one that collapsed. AAMOF, it kept the problem from becoming much worse.

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It’s quite possible that the truth might sway people’s opinions.

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John and others are right that the Republican Congress was a combination of weak and complicit, but the Republicans’ biggest failing was how they knuckled under to the community activist guerilla theater played by ACORN and Obama. Kurtz has the details in the article of his that I linked above:

ACORN’s Democratic friends in Congress moved to force Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to dispense with normal credit standards. Throughout the early ’90s, they imposed ever-increasing subprime-lending quotas on Fannie and Freddie.

But then the Republicans won control of Congress – and Rep. Roukema scheduled her hearing. ACORN went into action to protect its golden goose.

IT struck as Roukema aired her concerns at that hearing. Pro testers, led by ACORN President Maud Hurd, stood up and began chanting, “CRA has got to stay!” and “Banks for greed, not for need!” The protesters then demanded the microphone.

With the hearing interrupted and the demonstrators refusing to leave, Roukema called the Capital Police, who arrested Hurd and four others for “disorderly conduct in a Capital building” – a charge carrying a penalty of a $500 fine, six months in prison or both. As the police arrived, two of the protesters menacingly approached Roukema’s desk, still demanding the hearing microphone.

Requests to the Capital Police to release the activists from Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Rep. Joe Kennedy (D-Mass,) failed. Then Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) showed up at the jail and refused to leave until the protesters were released; the Capital Police relented.

Meanwhile, instead of repudiating ACORN’s intimidation tactics, Rep. Kennedy berated Roukema for arresting one of his constituents and accused the Republicans of preparing for “an all-out attack on CRA.” He also promised to introduce legislation to expand the CRA’s coverage to mortgage bankers and large credit unions.

THIS little slice of political life from 1995 had a variety of ripple effects. Above all, ACORN’s intimidation tactics, and its alliance with Democrats in Congress, triumphed. Despite their 1994 takeover of Congress, Republicans’ attempts to pare back the CRA were stymied.

MataHarley: you and I may consider FA a “media outlet,” but I was using the term colloquially when I said that Fox was the only outlet to report Democrat culpability. I guess I should have used “major media outlet,” but hey, when it comes to who speaks the truth, FA and other hard working blogs are major too.

Funny comment by Bob on how “funny” it is that conservatives are only casting blame now that a meltdown has occured. Apparently he did not bother to read the post, which is about conservative efforts to reign in the affirmative action housing disaster before it exploded.

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Donald Bly, I only wish I was 25% upside down. But I share the same dilemma. What happens if that condo drops to $40,000 over the next 3 years? What if it takes 10 years to reach $120,000? What is the reason he needs to refinance? ARM payment reset? What if the dollar collapses? Interest rates climbing like in the 80s, will drive down the price of real estate even more. What happens then?

These are question that are plaguing the minds of millions of home owners, right now. My ARM doesn’t reset for another 3 years. We all must live somewhere.

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BTW, @bob… you deserved a response all to your truly lowlife self….

CRA loans are not only “negro”. Believe it or not, black Americans are not the only minority. But thank you for interjecting race into a purely fiscal assessment. Or perhaps you think those that are not financially solvent to pass loan qualifications should get a pass because of the color of their skin? Thank you for weighing in, you racist piece of sheeeet.

If you didn’t hear that the bubble was alive and well, and fueled by EZ money from loans with zip for financial qualifications in the late 90s to mid 2000 years, it’s because your head was obviously too far up your derriere.

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First of all, Alec, great post. However allow me to take serious exception to your “only Fox” assertations… Good heavens, man. Are you blind to this blog? As @Mike’s America points out, he’s had numerous posts on this subject. And my own “Perfect Storm” compilation of events is a highlighted linked post in the frames on the right. I assure you, Fox was not the “only voice”.

With the roots of the problem stemming first back to Carters’ era, getting more convoluted with Clinton/Rubin’s backroom regulation changes to avoid an incoming GOP Congress, topped off with the CRA template being the boilerplate for all banks if they wanted to merge and grow, what we had was EZ money, tons of buyers and an existing inventory with prices that were driven up by all those buyers bidding up existing values when writing offers on the hoods of cars outside while the for sale sign were being pounded into the ground.

The market demand is what is to blame for unnatural and unsustainable rise in property values. However that market demand was a created product of Congress and back room regulations. When the damage was prevalent in 2005, the Dems fought the cure, and the GOP didn’t have enough voice to beat them down. It may be hard to believe, but 60 vote majorities are not the norm in our history.

Despite all of this, I blame Congress – both aisles – equally in this. The Treasury and Fed Reserve even more. The astronomical rise in values could have been held in check by raising the rates… but no, said Greesnspan. Had the rates been raised to curb the insanity, home values would not have risen past sustainable foreclosures. A home worth $300K defaulted on by a buyer not able to pay $300K would simply have been replaced by another buyer who could pay that mortgage. But no… that $300K home was actually a $220K home, driven up in price by a fake buyers market created by legislation and regulations

And most of all, I blame Obama and this Congress for perpetuation of an ugly nightmare. @Donald Bly: is correct. Foreclosures and short sales are about to skyrocket once again. And home values are about to take another dump when the rates rise. Latest call from the economist heads is rates between 6.8-8% by the end of 2010.

And guess what… all these “recovery” sales are FHA mortgages (50% approx of all mortgages now) that have 3.5% down payments. Let’s see… easy math here. Purchase FHA home at $150K. 3.5% down, plus 1% mortgage insurance upfront fee means that $150K valued home has a mortgage of $146,197 on it….. or $3,803 equity.

If the home values drop even 2.5%, the home is under water and in a short sale position. Oh happy days… aren’t we doing good?

Now, that said, despite your usual great quality posts, Alec, I’m going to completely disagree with you. I can’t lay the mortgage meltdown solely at the Dems feet…. nor will I.

I agree that were I to assign culpability to one party more than the other, it certainly would be to them. However my disdain for both is just about danged equal. I cannot, and will not give the GOP a pass on this. Did too much research, and watched it happen before my very eyes. It’s a bipartisan destruction of the heart of the US economy, housing – whether out of stupidity or intent – slightly weighted in the Dems favor.

But I will give you this… the BS they call “housing recovery” is an onus all on the Dems… Pelosi, Reid, Obama specifically. The GOP get a complete pass on this. Not because of their dedication, but because they’ve been powerless to thwart the government intervention that is the jam in the cog of recovery. The HVCC, the 1st time home buyers credit, and the new RESPA rules? All “do good” legislation that sticks in the throat of recovery.

This ain’t getting better.. .it’s going to get worse. And that one truly does belong solely to the Dems and Obama.

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You must clearly live in a fantasy World, Bob. Let alone a hateful one at that.

Apparently you don’t understand that all of this grew from fraud that was mandated to take place by Government itself. Apparently you turn a blind eye to the truth and just use your opinion as fact when the truths are staring you in the face. It is ill practice in public (non-profit) or private business to ever make loans of credit to low-income indivduals whose income is unable to maintain payments of the loan ontop of their basic daily needs. This generaly results always in loan defaults and shouldn’t surprise folks why this house of shakey cards came finaly crashing down.

When liberal/moderate RINOs pushed forth to repeal the Glass-steagall Act in 1999, and Democrats willingly backed the repeal, the floodgates of massive fraud related to loans to low-income earners exploded. This has nothing to do with race, just as many whites in low-income brackets took on these loans just as minorities did at the nudging of the creditors that it was a wise move. Certain banks and loan offices were praticaly giving loans to people who either worked at minimal wage or no income at all and these people mostly took annualy adjusted rates to the loans thus compounding the issue.

As for good from the Government? Little to nothing comes good from the Government when it tries to step outside it’s bounds of limitations written with in the Consitituion. Every single Entitlement program placed forth since the Great Society experiment enslaves people to idle depedence on Tax Payer dollars and is abused by a large portion of Americans no matter the skin color. If you want to enrich and empower people you do not simply toss them the fish for the day and say, “Good Luck.” You teach them how to fish or in this case promote Private businesses to build training systems to get people readjusted in skills to re-enter the work place while removing that free fish for the day style entitlement system. The “Welfare” of the People within the Consistution does not mean what today’s Society views it as, the word then refered to the private liberties of the person. Cessna Aircraft and Beechcraft have had extensive programs in the past and present to assist in training new hires and potential new hires in handling many various jobs, this model is what should be done outside of Government involvement to solve employement problems and income issues. Mandates do not solve anything but to further dig the hole.

And the computer you are using? It was designed, engineered and built by a private firm. That microwave you use? Private business. That Aircraft? If it’s not a piece of crap Airbus, Private Business. That Car you drive? Private Business. Trust me, you do not want to end up using Soviet style built machines, especialy cars.

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

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It’s funny how rightwingers can believe that everything that is good is the product of private enterprise, and that everything that is bad is the product of government. During the bubble, I didn’t hear you boy geniuses saying “Lordy, Lordy, those record quarterly results for Citigroup, Countrywide, Wachovia and the rest are the result of a massive bubble inflated by negro loans handed out by Fannnie and Freddie!” But now, you can blame the government, and more specifically blacks and the gays in government for the downside?

You must be happy about that.

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