Interactive Graphic: Major Players in Economic Crisis

Banks make capital gains. banks are exempt from taxes with
the owens-glass bill
. I WANT BANKS TAXED
REPEAL AND NEW LEGISLATION NEEDED.
LET THE ROBBER BARONS PAY..

It seems to me that two significant events coming together created this massive problem. The Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) of 1977 passed under Carter (and modified under Clinton) which forced banks to make loans that they wouldn't ordinarily make, and the invention of Credit Default Swaps (an unregulated quasi insurance). When these two ideas met, it gave the green light to sell subprime mortages without regard to risk, so greed and opprotunity grew exponentially. So why didn't some politician on either side shut down the CRA? We'll thats the problem with our system. No politician is going to take the lollipop out of the babies mouth once its in there. Whether it's a bad program for wellfare, immigration, bank loans or healthcare, or any of the hundreds of government sponsored programs that are obsolete yet continue to thrive, because they are all too afraid to take something away for fear of loosing votes. This falls into the category of "Be careful what you ask for, you just might get it". The question I have is "What branch of the government should have been over seeing and regulating the credit swaps?" One last thing....the best way for us citizens to fix this problem is to vote out every member of congress regardless of party affiliation and start over again. That includes mine, yours, the state next door, everyone. Then put in term limits and line item veto and get these "representatives" back to the job of looking out for our interests!

In a few weeks we will make a choice that will decide our future.
I follow an economist named Bob Proctor. He has called the top and bottom of every market crash since the 70s correctly.
Also, he perfectly predicted the current real estate market meltdown and the picture he paints about what will happen in the next couple years
is terrifying.He thinks it will be worse then the great depression.
The banks in the U.S. are going under one after the other. Countrywide ,Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch , Fanny and Freddy Mae ,AIG
The government took them over because they are essentially bankrupt. Even with the goverment nationalizing hundreds of billions of dollars in debt the stock market is crashing
the credit markets are frozen and all of us may suffer beyond anything in the last 80 years.
McCain just like Bush " doesn't understand the economy".
That not just my opinion its his own words. Not only does he not understand how to fix it but he does not understand exactly what is broken.
It is no surprise that he doesn't. The people that make up these securities use complex mathematical models very few people understand.
Bush and McCain both can take the credit for this mess since they helped deregulate the laws that were protecting us.
Bush's economic advisor Phil Graham wrote the deregulation bill that allowed banks to take huge risks with all of our future.
Now, Phil Graham is the head of McCain's economic policy.He is also McCain's choice for the next secretary of the treasury.
No one in this country can afford for that to happen. The last time Bush met with his economic advisors was in March. He didnt realize that anything was wrong. Phil Graham had the guts to say that we are in a mental recession after he helped create the worst economy meltdown in our lifetime. Check out this link to the truth http://my.barackobama.com/keatingvideo
It will take the best and brightest minds in the world to get us out of this nightmare. As bad as Bush has done, McCain would be
even more destructive because things are in much worse shape. The next president will not inherit a surplus like Bush did but a crashing economy and a 11,600,000,000,000 (trillion) dollars deficit. Most of it Bush created and it will take decades to pay it back.
If you do what you have always done then you will get what you have always got.
When it comes to policy Bush and McCain are the same 90 percent of the time.
So why are the polls even close then ?
Mccains team just said they no longer want to talk about the economy.Instead they would like to spend time talking about obama
which means running the biggest smear campaign in history.
They think they can just tell you lies and you wont be smart enough to see through it
Let's teach him we are smarter than that .
Elect Obama Biden 2008


Check out this video of sarah palins interview and ask your self if she understands what she is talking about.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r36Xc0GG4iQ

In a few weeks we will make a choice that will decide our future.
I follow an economist named Bob Proctor. He has called the top and bottom of every market crash since the 70s correctly.
Also, he perfectly predicted the current real estate market meltdown and the picture he paints about what will happen in the next couple years
is terrifying.He thinks it will be worse then the great depression.
The banks in the U.S. are going under one after the other. Countrywide ,Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch , Fanny and Freddy Mae ,AIG
The government took them over because they are essentially bankrupt. Even with the goverment nationalizing hundreds of billions of dollars in debt the stock market is crashing
the credit markets are frozen and all of us may suffer beyond anything in the last 80 years.
McCain just like Bush " doesn't understand the economy".
That not just my opinion its his own words. Not only does he not understand how to fix it but he does not understand exactly what is broken.
It is no surprise that he doesn't. The people that make up these securities use complex mathematical models very few people understand.
Bush and McCain both can take the credit for this mess since they helped deregulate the laws that were protecting us.
Bush's economic advisor Phil Graham wrote the deregulation bill that allowed banks to take huge risks with all of our future.
Now, Phil Graham is the head of McCain's economic policy.He is also McCain's choice for the next secretary of the treasury.
No one in this country can afford for that to happen. The last time Bush met with his economic advisors was in March. He didnt realize that anything was wrong. Phil Graham had the guts to say that we are in a mental recession after he helped create the worst economy meltdown in our lifetime. Check out this link to the truth http://my.barackobama.com/keatingvideo
It will take the best and brightest minds in the world to get us out of this nightmare. As bad as Bush has done, McCain would be
even more destructive because things are in much worse shape. The next president will not inherit a surplus like Bush did but a crashing economy and a 11,600,000,000,000 (trillion) dollars deficit. Most of it Bush created and it will take decades to pay it back.
If you do what you have always done then you will get what you have always got.
When it comes to policy Bush and McCain are the same 90 percent of the time.
So why are the polls even close then ?
Mccains team just said they no longer want to talk about the economy.Instead they would like to spend time talking about obama
which means running the biggest smear campaign in history.
They think they can just tell you lies and you wont be smart enough to see through it
Let's teach him we are smarter than that .
Elect Obama Biden 2008


Check out this video of sarah palins interview and ask your self if she understands what she is talking about.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r36Xc0GG4iQ

When you look at what each of these 'spheres' is responsible for, it does look daunting. But what I find more daunting is that it's pretty obvious none of the checks and balances that appear to be in place have worked very well. I wouldn't begin to want to be in their positions but I question if they ever thought about their qualifications for the positions they are in and did they ever take an oath...whether one was required or not, to serve the people and by people, I mean the every day citizen, not the dude in the 'shark' suit who is buying you lunch, dinner, drinks, a week at a spa, seats to the best games? I'm close to retirement and we have done all the right things and now that date of 2010 is pretty much shot thanks to people who base their daily decisions on which money man is throwing the best 'party'. I???ve decided that not only does America have more than its share of bottom scum feeders; we apparently have more top scum feeders than we should ever allow. The only difference between the welfare mentality and the CEO mentality is $ and opportunity???.the attitudes and entitlement perception are the same. All of the major players who have caused and/or turned a blind eye to the issues fall into this category. On behalf of my family and probably most of America, thanks for nothing. You have all played a part in creating a crisis which each of the departments created were designed to prevent. You're either part of the problem or part of the solution so get to work and earn your paychecks! JM - Illinois

Since the Comptroller of the Currency is part of the Treasury Dept, how come you didn't show a picture of this individual since the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) is charged with chartering and supervising all national banks. And a number of these national banks (i.e.Wachovia) have become so highly leveraged and illiquid because of bad loans. What role did lack of adequate over site by the OCC contribute to the need for the $700B financial institutions resuce bill?

What a discrace to the American taxpayer. The root cause of the problem, foreclosures are not even the true reason for the $700 billion, it is now for the cause of credit liquidity. Meanwhile the taxpayer is footing a huge redistribution of wealth bill on Wallstreet at taxpayer expense. Congress, and Wallstreet are in bed together with the SEC, and US treasury without any reguard to the American taxpayer. I hope voters are paying attention and hold their senators and representatives fully accountable. No way should bills be allowed to be tacked on to other bills when those responsible know they would no pass alone. Term limits on public servants should be mandatory. Is this what we have to look forward to for the next 4 years? We hate being lied to with all the double talk and misrepresentations... The american people will hopefully wake up and start leading the way for to create a responsive government with truth, accountability, transparency, fairness and mostly, ethical leadership.

You may not like Bill, but sometimes you have to love him!
http://www.foxnews.com/video/index.html

A man of great wisdom:
http://www.atlah.org/broadcast/manningreport.html

The reason the Treasury proposed a 3 page bill is because he wanted to create mis-understanding. Then he would blame all those who oppose him for the ecomonic crises. Taking the blame from himself. And they are definitely playing hardball by offering only one plan (an old Clinton plan, turned upside down).

Why trust Paulson? The stimilus package didn't work and cost billions. He told us to spend billions to bail out Bear Stearns and that didn't do anything. He told us to spend billions on AIG to solve the problem and that didn't work. Now he wants to give the money that would fund good loans to his wall street buddies.

I could do just as well.

Dan Reed
Sunnyvale, CA

need a bailout with some assurance to taxpayers that the people who created this mess won't just say great we get to keep what we pocketed and get another $700b to do it all over again. Reinstate some to the regulations and protections that have been systematically eliminated over the last 20 yrs that were supposed to keep this from happening. Separate investment houses and banks again. Bring back the distinctions between ins companies, investment houses, banks, credit unions etc. that have disappeared recently. Then maybe you can get a bailout passed and not just because the same guy that said Iraq had WMDs so we had to go there says we have to bail out more rich guys like his oil buddies who are still getting richer while we all suffer. Are we suppose to believe this bailout won't just keep rich guys from getting burnt? Prove it with some regulations against their greed. Then make the case that it will help working guys keep their jobs, be able to pay their bills because the economy will be healthy.

I have the solution to getting this economy back on track. Have the IRS seize all the assets of the guilty money-gluttons who???ve caused this nation's economic collapse, and use THEIR money to bail out the economy! Don???t use poor folks??? money like mine to get this economy out of a mess we didn???t get it in! Make those brilliant financial geniuses pay for what???s happened. Make them accountable for the dire mess this economy is in! Make them take ownership of what they???ve done and pay the consequences for their greed!

I have the solution to getting this economy back on track. Have the IRS seize all the assets of the guilty money-gluttons who???ve caused this nation's economic collapse, and use THEIR money to bail out the economy! Don???t use poor folks??? money like mine to get this economy out of a mess we didn???t get it in! Make those brilliant financial geniuses pay for what???s happened. Make them accountable for the dire mess this economy is in! Make them take ownership of what they???ve done and pay the consequences for their greed!

This is a mean circle: people who could not afford the house they were buying and did not read the fine print to the greedy executives who said approve them to the economic crisis that we ALL are paying for. Hope they enjoyed the house and the paycheck. The government does need to do something but this frankly slaps all of us in the face that have suffered financial hardship and were not bailed out. The mortgage companies hold some of the blame but also people need to more careful with their money.

It gave me a renewed sense of hope in the American Public when I viewed a video of American Citizens marching on wall street with their signs and slogans against the bailout. One gray panther declared "it's not thier money to give out!" You Go SISTA! Let them eat cake! No Deal and no bailout. When you've got nothing you have nothing to loose and this is one time when having nothing could be to your advantage! CitizenPower and join the people for promotion of responsible and ethicle government today!

This whole mess was caused mostly by the greedy oil companies. People who took out mortgages could not forsee the price of oil (and it's repercussions) on the price of everything else like food, heat, gas to go to work, etc. This is what is causing the financial crisis. People are loosing their homes so that oil execs can get their golden parachutes by reaching a certain profit margin. Meanwhile everyone is blaming the mortgage idustry and the "irresponsible people". When they bought the homes they could afford them but now even people with fixed rate mortgages are having trouble. That is what you get when you elect an oil barron for president. Now go and vote for 4 more years of McSame. The truth will set you free!

It is ironic that Chris Dodd and Barney Frank the same two who refused the republican request for regulation in 2003, 2005 and 2007 should have anything to do with the bailout.

It was immoral for this wealthy leading members of the financial institutions with no conscious or reservations, made greedy decisions despite of knowing how gravely the were taking advantage of all blue color workers and middle class families, in their desire to have the American dream. Owning their own home. They also had no reservation in placing our country in jeopardy. I guarantee you they are all Republicans who came forward prior to Bush being out of office in fear of being placed in jail due to the high probability of having a future democratic president that will make decisions in favor of the working class and not if the very wealthy.