Greenspan's Folly

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  • Posted By: vstillwell @ 09/17/2008 3:49:36 PM

    You're right orry. Unfortunately Congress and the President let the Fed do whatever it wanted. Hey, less regulation's better for us right? At least that's what Republican's wanted. Now, to keep the financial markets from going up in flames, they've now had to socialize Wall Street. Imagine that. Republicans socializing Wall Street. Without healthy financial markets we will be in a depression. One thing we can learn from this crisis is that smart regulation is exactly what's needed. This Republican utopia of no regulations is stupid. It's chaos.

  • Posted By: orry @ 09/17/2008 2:35:02 PM

    Of course it's the Federal Reserve's fault. You can't blame taxpayers, mortgage brokers or event the banks themselves. They simply did what comes naturally. The Fed was practically giving away the money for free, or at the very least ridiculously low rates. Of course everyone was going to jump on free cash. What did you think was going to happen?

    However if the government would stay out of it and let those banks fail, the market would automatically correct itself by getting rid of the waste, greed and ifefficiency. Let people lose their homes, let the banks fail, and most importantly get rid of the federal reserve and let the markets dictate the lending rates.

    Absolutely no bailouts whatsoever! Why should the taxpayers be on the hook to bailout these banks?

  • Posted By: Old Joe @ 09/17/2008 1:33:04 PM

    Once Upon a Time, "credit" meant being able to go to a bank, and if you could make a very substantial down payment and your record was good, financing an auto purchase for two years, or a house for thirty. "Credit" also sometimes meant "90 Days As Good As Cash!!!".

    Then "credit" became three years for an auto, and despite the naysayer's cries of doom, the sky did not fall.

    Then five years, then for longer than the auto would last... and STILL the sky did not fall!

    And then, sayeth Wall Street, "Let there be credit cards!" And truly the plastic did flourish and multiply, fruitfully (at least for the credit card industry).

    And Lo! Anyone could now have anything, any time, and put off payment... forever! And again Wall Street did gather the (low-hanging) fruit.

    And then, said the Republicans, "let there be no more Glass-Steagall! For surely Wall Street knoweth what is Best For Our Country!! "

    Yea, verily, said the Democrats: "and let Everyman possesseth a Large House, procured on Everlasting Credit, for surely this is the right of Everyman."

    "With my Blessing" saith the Lord of the Fed, the Honorable and Saintly Mr. Greenspan: "For truly the Marketplace Will Regulate Itself!" (as it is written on the Sacred Stones). Let us see no Evil and now let us also gather the Higher-Up Fruit!!

    "Hallelujah" said The Government of All The People, "Let Us Print More Money so that all of these things may surely come to pass." An so the money was printed, but for some strange reason the more Money there Was, the less that Other Countries desired it.

    And so it did come to pass that at a certain time, the Fuit was all Gathered, The Sky did in fact Fall, and that time is now upon us.

    And Everyman pointeth to Someone Else, and proclaimith it to be "All Your Fault".

    And all forget the Eternal Words of Kelly: "We have met the enemy, and He is Us!"

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