More economic GOOD News...DOW hits new record..on track to hit 17K.

[KissMy]

then again the democrats had the power when obama was elected and did nothing to fix it. not one policy they claimed the republicans were resposible for was reveresed. hell obama even extended the patriot act whic during his campaign he warned us if you elect mccain you will have to continue to live with the patriot act.

the market is up because corporate profits are up. i thought that was a bad thing? these evil corporations and 1%'rs the democrats warned us about are doing better then ever. in fact they are the only ones doing better. all of a sudden an over inflated marked is good, because democrats are in control. wow, what a reversal of opinion from the unsutainable bubble it was called when republicans were in control

Wait what?

What do you think Dodd/Frank and the Consumer Protection board were all about?

As for the Patriot Act? Yeah..he should of jettisoned that fucker..but..it would have really made him a one term President.

The rest of your babble..is just that.

if it was an issue that would have made him a one term president he never would have been elected in the first place.

now help me out. what bush legislation the destroyed the economy did the dodd/frank consumer protection board overturn? you claim the collapse was bushes fault, you claim the democrats fixed it. so tell me how. you should know, you work on wall street

Loan Originator Compensation Requirements under the Truth in Lending Act (Regulation Z)


Ability to Repay and Qualified Mortgage Standards Under the Truth in Lending Act (Regulation Z)

Disclosure and Delivery Requirements for Copies of Appraisals and Other Written Valuations Under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (Regulation B)


2013 Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (Regulation X) and Truth in Lending Act (Regulation Z) Mortgage Servicing Final Rules

 

[Vigilante]

 

[Listening]

I loved it when the Market hit 14K during the Bush administration and the right was crowing about what a miracle that was..

Now?

The Market isn't a big deal.

Oh..and it WAS a big deal during the Reagan administration.

It just gets so confusing.

(Not really)

Never saw a better market than under Clinton

You mean under Newt ?

 

[Theowl32]

Look....there are Recessions and then there are Republican Recessions. They are not the same thing

When you get a full blown Republican Recession the future of the country is at stake. You can't resolve it through normal means

That is why it takes Messiahs like FDR and Obama to save us

Yeah, keep on ignoring the facts. "There are recessions and republican recessions."

Notice folks, like I predicted, they will not acknowledge the facts about the Bush administration presenting official warnings over and over again. Of course they ignore that. I mean how would they ever be able to acknowledge what the democrats did and did not do that directly resulted in the bubble bursting and the unemployment rate sky rocketing.

Remember folks, these are the same people that cheered and celebrated when the media reported the fraudulent 7.8 unemployment number in October of 2012. It has been proven that was yet another lie by this administration. Not that they would care. They think those are all myths regardless of the conclusive evidence.

They sure as shit yelled and screamed in 2006 about the price at the pump and ignored the 4.6 percent. They then ignored the highest gas prices EVER in 2012, and cheered about 7.8 percent.

Those are facts folks and rightwinger keeps posting stuff that would make a 10 year old proud.

In case you ever want to know why are country is being dismantled and destroyed to loud cheers from the left, look no further than the ridiculous blather from left wing pieces of steaming shit like rightwinger.

What "official warnings" by Bush do you speak of?

I am so glad you asked. You must have missed my earlier post. Here you go.


The White House released this list of attempts by President Bush to reform Freddie Mae and Freddie Mac since he took office in 2001.
Unfortunately, Congress did not act on the president’s warnings:

Briefing Room | The White House

** 2001

April: The Administration’s FY02 budget declares that the size of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is “a potential problem,” because “financial trouble of a large GSE could cause strong repercussions in financial markets, affecting Federally insured entities and economic activity.”

** 2002

May: The President calls for the disclosure and corporate governance principles contained in his 10-point plan for corporate responsibility to apply to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. (OMB Prompt Letter to OFHEO, 5/29/02)

** 2003

January: Freddie Mac announces it has to restate financial results for the previous three years.

February: The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) releases a report explaining that “although investors perceive an implicit Federal guarantee of [GSE] obligations,” “the government has provided no explicit legal backing for them.” As a consequence, unexpected problems at a GSE could immediately spread into financial sectors beyond the housing market. (“Systemic Risk: Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Role of OFHEO,” OFHEO Report, 2/4/03)

September: Fannie Mae discloses SEC investigation and acknowledges OFHEO’s review found earnings manipulations.

September: Treasury Secretary John Snow testifies before the House Financial Services Committee to recommend that Congress enact “legislation to create a new Federal agency to regulate and supervise the financial activities of our housing-related government sponsored enterprises” and set prudent and appropriate minimum capital adequacy requirements.

October: Fannie Mae discloses $1.2 billion accounting error.

November: Council of the Economic Advisers (CEA) Chairman Greg Mankiw explains that any “legislation to reform GSE regulation should empower the new regulator with sufficient strength and credibility to reduce systemic risk.” To reduce the potential for systemic instability, the regulator would have “broad authority to set both risk-based and minimum capital standards” and “receivership powers necessary to wind down the affairs of a troubled GSE.” (N. Gregory Mankiw, Remarks At The Conference Of State Bank Supervisors State Banking Summit And Leadership, 11/6/03)

** 2004

February: The President’s FY05 Budget again highlights the risk posed by the explosive growth of the GSEs and their low levels of required capital, and called for creation of a new, world-class regulator: “The Administration has determined that the safety and soundness regulators of the housing GSEs lack sufficient power and stature to meet their responsibilities, and therefore…should be replaced with a new strengthened regulator.” (2005 Budget Analytic Perspectives, pg. 83)

February: CEA Chairman Mankiw cautions Congress to “not take [the financial market's] strength for granted.” Again, the call from the Administration was to reduce this risk by “ensuring that the housing GSEs are overseen by an effective regulator.” (N. Gregory Mankiw, Op-Ed, “Keeping Fannie And Freddie’s House In Order,” Financial Times, 2/24/04)

June: Deputy Secretary of Treasury Samuel Bodman spotlights the risk posed by the GSEs and called for reform, saying “We do not have a world-class system of supervision of the housing government sponsored enterprises (GSEs), even though the importance of the housing financial system that the GSEs serve demands the best in supervision to ensure the long-term vitality of that system. Therefore, the Administration has called for a new, first class, regulatory supervisor for the three housing GSEs: Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Home Loan Banking System.” (Samuel Bodman, House Financial Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Testimony, 6/16/04)

** 2005

April: Treasury Secretary John Snow repeats his call for GSE reform, saying “Events that have transpired since I testified before this Committee in 2003 reinforce concerns over the systemic risks posed by the GSEs and further highlight the need for real GSE reform to ensure that our housing finance system remains a strong and vibrant source of funding for expanding homeownership opportunities in America… Half-measures will only exacerbate the risks to our financial system.” (Secretary John W. Snow, “Testimony Before The U.S. House Financial Services Committee,” 4/13/05)

** 2007

July: Two Bear Stearns hedge funds invested in mortgage securities collapse.

August: President Bush emphatically calls on Congress to pass a reform package for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, saying “first things first when it comes to those two institutions. Congress needs to get them reformed, get them streamlined, get them focused, and then I will consider other options.” (President George W. Bush, Press Conference, The White House, 8/9/07)

September: RealtyTrac announces foreclosure filings up 243,000 in August – up 115 percent from the year before.

September: Single-family existing home sales decreases 7.5 percent from the previous month – the lowest level in nine years. Median sale price of existing homes fell six percent from the year before.

December: President Bush again warns Congress of the need to pass legislation reforming GSEs, saying “These institutions provide liquidity in the mortgage market that benefits millions of homeowners, and it is vital they operate safely and operate soundly. So I’ve called on Congress to pass legislation that strengthens independent regulation of the GSEs – and ensures they focus on their important housing mission. The GSE reform bill passed by the House earlier this year is a good start. But the Senate has not acted. And the United States Senate needs to pass this legislation soon.” (President George W. Bush, Discusses Housing, The White House, 12/6/07)

** 2008

January: Bank of America announces it will buy Countrywide.

January: Citigroup announces mortgage portfolio lost $18.1 billion in value.

February: Assistant Secretary David Nason reiterates the urgency of reforms, says “A new regulatory structure for the housing GSEs is essential if these entities are to continue to perform their public mission successfully.” (David Nason, Testimony On Reforming GSE Regulation, Senate Committee On Banking, Housing And Urban Affairs, 2/7/08)

March: Bear Stearns announces it will sell itself to JPMorgan Chase.

March: President Bush calls on Congress to take action and “move forward with reforms on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. They need to continue to modernize the FHA, as well as allow State housing agencies to issue tax-free bonds to homeowners to refinance their mortgages.” (President George W. Bush, Remarks To The Economic Club Of New York, New York, NY, 3/14/08)

April: President Bush urges Congress to pass the much needed legislation
and “modernize Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. [There are] constructive things Congress can do that will encourage the housing market to correct quickly by … helping people stay in their homes.” (President George W. Bush, Meeting With Cabinet, the White House, 4/14/08)

May: President Bush issues several pleas to Congress to pass legislation reforming Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac before the situation deteriorates further.

“Americans are concerned about making their mortgage payments and keeping their homes. Yet Congress has failed to pass legislation I have repeatedly requested to modernize the Federal Housing Administration that will help more families stay in their homes, reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to ensure they focus on their housing mission, and allow State housing agencies to issue tax-free bonds to refinance sub-prime loans.” (President George W. Bush, Radio Address, 5/3/08)

“[T]he government ought to be helping creditworthy people stay in their homes. And one way we can do that – and Congress is making progress on this – is the reform of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. That reform will come with a strong, independent regulator.” (President George W. Bush, Meeting With The Secretary Of The Treasury, the White House, 5/19/08)

“Congress needs to pass legislation to modernize the Federal Housing Administration, reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to ensure they focus on their housing mission, and allow State housing agencies to issue tax-free bonds to refinance subprime loans.” (President George W. Bush, Radio Address, 5/31/08)

June: As foreclosure rates continued to rise in the first quarter, the President once again asks Congress to take the necessary measures to address this challenge, saying “we need to pass legislation to reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.” (President George W. Bush, Remarks At Swearing In Ceremony For Secretary Of Housing And Urban Development, Washington, D.C., 6/6/08)

July: Congress heeds the President’s call for action and passes reform of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as it becomes clear that the institutions are failing.

In 2005– Senator John McCain partnered with three other Senate Republicans to reform the government’s involvement in lending.
Democrats blocked this reform, too.

 

[007]

Yup.

I'm not trying to insult you, Sallow, but how is working in IT supposed to constitute anything in terms of financial markets experience? You job has nothing to do with finance.

how is being a community organizer supposed to constitutte anything interms of running a country and foriegn policy

Beat me to it... I was thinking the exact same thing.

 

[zeke]

Yeah, keep on ignoring the facts. "There are recessions and republican recessions."

Notice folks, like I predicted, they will not acknowledge the facts about the Bush administration presenting official warnings over and over again. Of course they ignore that. I mean how would they ever be able to acknowledge what the democrats did and did not do that directly resulted in the bubble bursting and the unemployment rate sky rocketing.

Remember folks, these are the same people that cheered and celebrated when the media reported the fraudulent 7.8 unemployment number in October of 2012. It has been proven that was yet another lie by this administration. Not that they would care. They think those are all myths regardless of the conclusive evidence.

They sure as shit yelled and screamed in 2006 about the price at the pump and ignored the 4.6 percent. They then ignored the highest gas prices EVER in 2012, and cheered about 7.8 percent.

Those are facts folks and rightwinger keeps posting stuff that would make a 10 year old proud.

In case you ever want to know why are country is being dismantled and destroyed to loud cheers from the left, look no further than the ridiculous blather from left wing pieces of steaming shit like rightwinger.

What "official warnings" by Bush do you speak of?

I am so glad you asked. You must have missed my earlier post. Here you go.


The White House released this list of attempts by President Bush to reform Freddie Mae and Freddie Mac since he took office in 2001.
Unfortunately, Congress did not act on the president’s warnings:

Briefing Room | The White House

** 2001

April: The Administration’s FY02 budget declares that the size of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is “a potential problem,” because “financial trouble of a large GSE could cause strong repercussions in financial markets, affecting Federally insured entities and economic activity.”

** 2002

May: The President calls for the disclosure and corporate governance principles contained in his 10-point plan for corporate responsibility to apply to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. (OMB Prompt Letter to OFHEO, 5/29/02)

** 2003

January: Freddie Mac announces it has to restate financial results for the previous three years.

February: The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) releases a report explaining that “although investors perceive an implicit Federal guarantee of [GSE] obligations,” “the government has provided no explicit legal backing for them.” As a consequence, unexpected problems at a GSE could immediately spread into financial sectors beyond the housing market. (“Systemic Risk: Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Role of OFHEO,” OFHEO Report, 2/4/03)

September: Fannie Mae discloses SEC investigation and acknowledges OFHEO’s review found earnings manipulations.

September: Treasury Secretary John Snow testifies before the House Financial Services Committee to recommend that Congress enact “legislation to create a new Federal agency to regulate and supervise the financial activities of our housing-related government sponsored enterprises” and set prudent and appropriate minimum capital adequacy requirements.

October: Fannie Mae discloses $1.2 billion accounting error.

November: Council of the Economic Advisers (CEA) Chairman Greg Mankiw explains that any “legislation to reform GSE regulation should empower the new regulator with sufficient strength and credibility to reduce systemic risk.” To reduce the potential for systemic instability, the regulator would have “broad authority to set both risk-based and minimum capital standards” and “receivership powers necessary to wind down the affairs of a troubled GSE.” (N. Gregory Mankiw, Remarks At The Conference Of State Bank Supervisors State Banking Summit And Leadership, 11/6/03)

** 2004

February: The President’s FY05 Budget again highlights the risk posed by the explosive growth of the GSEs and their low levels of required capital, and called for creation of a new, world-class regulator: “The Administration has determined that the safety and soundness regulators of the housing GSEs lack sufficient power and stature to meet their responsibilities, and therefore…should be replaced with a new strengthened regulator.” (2005 Budget Analytic Perspectives, pg. 83)

February: CEA Chairman Mankiw cautions Congress to “not take [the financial market's] strength for granted.” Again, the call from the Administration was to reduce this risk by “ensuring that the housing GSEs are overseen by an effective regulator.” (N. Gregory Mankiw, Op-Ed, “Keeping Fannie And Freddie’s House In Order,” Financial Times, 2/24/04)

June: Deputy Secretary of Treasury Samuel Bodman spotlights the risk posed by the GSEs and called for reform, saying “We do not have a world-class system of supervision of the housing government sponsored enterprises (GSEs), even though the importance of the housing financial system that the GSEs serve demands the best in supervision to ensure the long-term vitality of that system. Therefore, the Administration has called for a new, first class, regulatory supervisor for the three housing GSEs: Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Home Loan Banking System.” (Samuel Bodman, House Financial Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Testimony, 6/16/04)

** 2005

April: Treasury Secretary John Snow repeats his call for GSE reform, saying “Events that have transpired since I testified before this Committee in 2003 reinforce concerns over the systemic risks posed by the GSEs and further highlight the need for real GSE reform to ensure that our housing finance system remains a strong and vibrant source of funding for expanding homeownership opportunities in America… Half-measures will only exacerbate the risks to our financial system.” (Secretary John W. Snow, “Testimony Before The U.S. House Financial Services Committee,” 4/13/05)

** 2007

July: Two Bear Stearns hedge funds invested in mortgage securities collapse.

August: President Bush emphatically calls on Congress to pass a reform package for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, saying “first things first when it comes to those two institutions. Congress needs to get them reformed, get them streamlined, get them focused, and then I will consider other options.” (President George W. Bush, Press Conference, The White House, 8/9/07)

September: RealtyTrac announces foreclosure filings up 243,000 in August – up 115 percent from the year before.

September: Single-family existing home sales decreases 7.5 percent from the previous month – the lowest level in nine years. Median sale price of existing homes fell six percent from the year before.

December: President Bush again warns Congress of the need to pass legislation reforming GSEs, saying “These institutions provide liquidity in the mortgage market that benefits millions of homeowners, and it is vital they operate safely and operate soundly. So I’ve called on Congress to pass legislation that strengthens independent regulation of the GSEs – and ensures they focus on their important housing mission. The GSE reform bill passed by the House earlier this year is a good start. But the Senate has not acted. And the United States Senate needs to pass this legislation soon.” (President George W. Bush, Discusses Housing, The White House, 12/6/07)

** 2008

January: Bank of America announces it will buy Countrywide.

January: Citigroup announces mortgage portfolio lost $18.1 billion in value.

February: Assistant Secretary David Nason reiterates the urgency of reforms, says “A new regulatory structure for the housing GSEs is essential if these entities are to continue to perform their public mission successfully.” (David Nason, Testimony On Reforming GSE Regulation, Senate Committee On Banking, Housing And Urban Affairs, 2/7/08)

March: Bear Stearns announces it will sell itself to JPMorgan Chase.

March: President Bush calls on Congress to take action and “move forward with reforms on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. They need to continue to modernize the FHA, as well as allow State housing agencies to issue tax-free bonds to homeowners to refinance their mortgages.” (President George W. Bush, Remarks To The Economic Club Of New York, New York, NY, 3/14/08)

April: President Bush urges Congress to pass the much needed legislation
and “modernize Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. [There are] constructive things Congress can do that will encourage the housing market to correct quickly by … helping people stay in their homes.” (President George W. Bush, Meeting With Cabinet, the White House, 4/14/08)

May: President Bush issues several pleas to Congress to pass legislation reforming Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac before the situation deteriorates further.

“Americans are concerned about making their mortgage payments and keeping their homes. Yet Congress has failed to pass legislation I have repeatedly requested to modernize the Federal Housing Administration that will help more families stay in their homes, reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to ensure they focus on their housing mission, and allow State housing agencies to issue tax-free bonds to refinance sub-prime loans.” (President George W. Bush, Radio Address, 5/3/08)

“[T]he government ought to be helping creditworthy people stay in their homes. And one way we can do that – and Congress is making progress on this – is the reform of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. That reform will come with a strong, independent regulator.” (President George W. Bush, Meeting With The Secretary Of The Treasury, the White House, 5/19/08)

“Congress needs to pass legislation to modernize the Federal Housing Administration, reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to ensure they focus on their housing mission, and allow State housing agencies to issue tax-free bonds to refinance subprime loans.” (President George W. Bush, Radio Address, 5/31/08)

June: As foreclosure rates continued to rise in the first quarter, the President once again asks Congress to take the necessary measures to address this challenge, saying “we need to pass legislation to reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.” (President George W. Bush, Remarks At Swearing In Ceremony For Secretary Of Housing And Urban Development, Washington, D.C., 6/6/08)

July: Congress heeds the President’s call for action and passes reform of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as it becomes clear that the institutions are failing.

In 2005– Senator John McCain partnered with three other Senate Republicans to reform the government’s involvement in lending.
Democrats blocked this reform, too.

If Clinton had vetoed Graham Leach, the collapse could have been avoided. But you have to give the Repubs credit, they were persistent in getting this legislation through, some how some way. And they did. A weakened President signed terrible legislation. Oh boy. Good for us eh?

 

[Kosh]

More proof that the far left does not have a clue beyond their programming.

 

[FireFly]

Look at all the Republican nutjobs trying to blame Democrats for diving the economy into the ground when Republicans held the House, Senate & Presidency.

 

[Theowl32]

Look at all the Republican nutjobs trying to blame Democrats for diving the economy into the ground when Republicans held the House, Senate & Presidency.

Actually you ignorant fuck, the last time the republicans had the house senate and presidency the unemployment rate was 4.6 percent. The democrats have had majority of the power since 2007 and the economy took dive under democratic control.

You stupid fuck.

What is the matter? Cannot handle the truth? You stupid fuck.

 

[Vigilante]

Look at all the Republican nutjobs trying to blame Democrats for diving the economy into the ground when Republicans held the House, Senate & Presidency.

And the Pièce de résistance...

FACT: Liberal Public Policy caused the mortgage crisis by mandating eased requirements for lending, even to people who had no chance of ever paying the loan back. If banks and other lending institutions did not comply, their "score" from the SEC was too low to permit certain business transactions such as merges, etc. This is nothing less than a gun held to the head.

FACT: Many lending institutions were sued or otherwise pressured by ACORN, forcing them to make loans to folks who didn't qualify nor had any chance of ever repaying that loan.

FACT: HUD (Housing and Urban Development) under Andrew Cuomo, head of HUD) browbeat banks to make loans to folks who they knew couldn't pay them back.



FACT: Fannie Mae's sole purpose for being was to offer a Federal Guarantee of loans. So banks and other lending institutions didn't need to worry about thing. If a loan went bad, Fannie Mae was there to pick up the pieces (until there were too many pieces to pick up)

FACT: The Democrats stacked the operations of Fannie Mae with other Democrats who then cooked the books (FM had to pay MILLIONS in fines to the SEC over this) and took HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS in bonuses and funneled MILLIONS in campaign contributions to members of Congress. Franklin Raines (part of the Obama Administration) personally took 90 million dollars despite Fannie Mae's fines and fraud.

FACT: Bill Clinton turned a blind eye to all of this during most of the 90's. In fact, he worsened the situation in 1995 by making the CRA even more lopsided and requiring even MORE bad loans. One thing he did was to force lending institutions to accept up to 31% of one's income for a mortgage whereas previously it was only 25%

FACT: The Democrats who run Fannie Mae took hundreds of millions in bonuses while Congressional Dems provided cover, including Charlie Rangel , Chris Dodd , Barack Obama and Joe Biden.

FACT: Democrat Chris Dodd was #1 recipient with Democrat Barack Obama being #2 in campaign contributions from Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac

FACT: The Democrats blocked every attempt by Republicans to investigate Fannie Mae and its business practices. In fact, the Bush Administration made over 30 attempts over his two terms in office only to have the Democrats block every one through parliamentary procedures as the Republicans, while controlling both Houses, NEVER had a super majority so the Dems could block anything they pleased (case in point - judicial nominees)





http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpag...gewanted=print


Quote:
September 11, 2003
New Agency Proposed to Oversee Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae
By STEPHEN LABATON

WASHINGTON, Sept. 10— The Bush administration today recommended the most significant regulatory overhaul in the housing finance industry since the savings and loan crisis a decade ago.

Under the plan, disclosed at a Congressional hearing today, a new agency would be created within the Treasury Department to assume supervision of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-sponsored companies that are the two largest players in the mortgage lending industry.
Note the date


Quote:
New Agency Proposed to Oversee Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae
By STEPHEN LABATON

WASHINGTON, Sept. 10— The Bush administration today recommended the most significant regulatory overhaul in the housing finance industry since the savings and loan crisis a decade ago.

Under the plan, disclosed at a Congressional hearing today, a new agency would be created within the Treasury Department to assume supervision of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-sponsored companies that are the two largest players in the mortgage lending industry.

The new agency would have the authority, which now rests with Congress, to set one of the two capital-reserve requirements for the companies. It would exercise authority over any new lines of business. And it would determine whether the two are adequately managing the risks of their ballooning portfolios.

The plan is an acknowledgment by the administration that oversight of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac -- which together have issued more than $1.5 trillion in outstanding debt -- is broken. A report by outside investigators in July concluded that Freddie Mac manipulated its accounting to mislead investors, and critics have said Fannie Mae does not adequately hedge against rising interest rates.
http://www.bucksright.com/bush-propo...n-in-2003-1141


Quote:
A September 11, 2003 New York Times article shows that President Bush proposed “the most significant regulatory overhaul in the housing finance industry since the savings and loan crisis a decade ago.” His proposal: An agency within the Treasury Department to supervise mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Fearing that mortgages would no longer be available to people who were unable to pay them back, Democrats eventually killed the proposal. The current meltdown in the mortgage industry is a direct result of giving mortgages to people who could not pay them back, a practice protected by Congressional Democrats.

Both entities were recently taken over by the government, a move that puts trillions of taxpayer dollars at risk.

Under the plan, disclosed at a Congressional hearing today, a new agency would be created within the Treasury Department to assume supervision of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-sponsored companies that are the two largest players in the mortgage lending industry.

The new agency would have the authority, which now rests with Congress, to set one of the two capital-reserve requirements for the companies. It would exercise authority over any new lines of business. And it would determine whether the two are adequately managing the risks of their ballooning portfolios.

The plan is an acknowledgment by the administration that oversight of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — which together have issued more than $1.5 trillion in outstanding debt — is broken. A report by outside investigators in July concluded that Freddie Mac manipulated its accounting to mislead investors, and critics have said Fannie Mae does not adequately hedge against rising interest rates.

But Democrats in Congress, also known as “the caucus perpetually on the wrong side of history,” were having none of this “responsibility” stuff.

”These two entities — Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — are not facing any kind of financial crisis,” said Representative Barney Frank of Massachusetts, the ranking Democrat on the Financial Services Committee. ”The more people exaggerate these problems, the more pressure there is on these companies, the less we will see in terms of affordable housing.”

Representative Melvin L. Watt, Democrat of North Carolina, agreed.

”I don’t see much other than a shell game going on here, moving something from one agency to another and in the process weakening the bargaining power of poorer families and their ability to get affordable housing,” Mr. Watt said.

The proposal worked its way around Congress for a couple of years. Efforts at reform of the kind proposed by President Bush were shot down by Democrats each time.

In 2005, Republican Mike Oxley, then chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, brought up a reform bill (H.R. 1461), and Fannie and Freddie’s lobbyists set out to weaken it.

[...]

During this period, Sen. Richard Shelby led a small group of legislators favoring reform, including fellow Republican Sens. John Sununu, Chuck Hagel and Elizabeth Dole. Meanwhile, [Democrat in bed with the mortgage industry Chris] Dodd — who along with Democratic Sens. John Kerry, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton were the top four recipients of Fannie and Freddie campaign contributions from 1988 to 2008 — actively opposed such measures and further weakened existing regulation.

According to OpenSecrets.org, between 1988 and 2008 Dodd received $133,900, Kerry $111,000, Clinton $75,550, and Obama — in only 143 days in the Senate — received a whopping $105,849 from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Pennsylvania Democrat representative Paul Kanjorksi, who also opposed new Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac regulations, was given more than any other member of the House of Representatives. He was paid $65,500 by representatives of these entities.

And, in case you were wondering, John McCain co-sponsored a bill requiring greater Fannie Mae / Freddie Mac regulation in 2005. It was also blocked procedurally by Democrats.

The 2003 New York Times article was unearthed by a Free Republic poster.

UPDATE: 2004 video posted to YouTube shows Republicans arguing for, and Democrats arguing against, regulations that would have saved us from the current crisis.
http://www.bucksright.com/congressma...ge-crisis-1451


Quote:
Congressman Sorry Democrats Dropped Ball On Mortgage Crisis
Wed, Oct 1, 2008 at 10:55 am Posted by Steven in Economy

After being featured on Hannity & Colmes in a damning 2004 video showing Democrats fighting tooth-and-nail against greater Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac regulations, Democrat Congressman Artur Davis admits Democrats dropped the ball on reigning in the failed institutions and calls on fellow Democrats to do the same.

“Like a lot of my Democratic colleagues, I was too slow to appreciate the recklessness of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. I defended their efforts to encourage affordable homeownership, when in retrospect I should have heeded the concerns raised by their regulator in 2004. Frankly, I wish my Democratic colleagues would admit that when it comes to Fannie and Freddie, we were wrong. By the way, I wish my Republican colleagues would admit that they missed the early warning signs that Wall Street deregulation was overheating the securities market and promoting dangerously lax lending practices. When it comes to the debacle in our capital markets, there is much blame to go around for both sides.”

Along with President Clinton, I take issue with Davis’ contention that equal blame exists on both sides. President Bush requested greater oversight in 2003, Republicans are clearly seen in the video fighting for greater oversight in 2004, and John McCain led the charge for greater oversight in 2005. All efforts were rebuffed by Democrats, who demagogued the issue with racial politics that made reform impossible to accomplish. At least they tried. I see no evidence of any push toward greater Fannie Mae / Freddie Mac oversight since the short bus rolled onto Capitol Hill in January 2007.

That said, I appreciate Congressman Davis’ candor in admitting Democrats let their ideology get in the way of what was right for the country.


FACT: Obama's Stimulus Bill REQUIRED that the AIG bonuses be paid.

FACT: Chris Dodd put that language in at the SPECIFIC REQUEST of the Obama Administration

FACT: NO ONE in Congress or the White House read the damm Bill before it was passed.

FACT: The Obama Administration KNEW FOR AT LEAST 2 WEEKS before the bonuses were to be paid AND DID NOTHING TO STOP THEM.



10 Million are illegal
14 Million currently qualify for Government programs but do not sign up
17 Million can afford and are offered coverage in their jobs but refuse it.

National Flood Insurance.

Promoted as an alternative to the high costs associated with private insurance, the .gov promised this insurance would not drive any insurance company's away from the coverage of this, but foster competition, reduce the premium cost escalation, and NOT COST the US taxpayer anything.

Within 3 years not ONE private insurance company offered Flood Insurance. Now why would that be? FACT: .gov set the policy costs lower than the risk costs.

Now the kicker: .gov Flood Insurance is in the red an average of $18 Billion a year (Katrina made the numbers high, and for the purpose of the average that year has not been included to find the average).

Bet you guessed who pays the $18 Billion - yep, the taxpayers who were assured this insurance coverage would cost them nothing, foster competition, control insurance premium costs, etc. etc. etc.

If this is a disgrace - consider if National Health Care Insurance ever gets a foot hold in this country the likely scenario will be we, who pay taxes, will subsidize all those "48 million" [sic] who don't either pay taxes, or are not presently covered.

Do the math: ~50 million subsidized at $5000/year (this is Obama's number, not mine!) = $50 billion/year.

Go peddle your

somewhere else, or come to the party with facts vs left wing, communist propaganda.

 

[rightwinger]

I loved it when the Market hit 14K during the Bush administration and the right was crowing about what a miracle that was..

Now?

The Market isn't a big deal.

Oh..and it WAS a big deal during the Reagan administration.

It just gets so confusing.

(Not really)

Never saw a better market than under Clinton

You mean under Newt ?

Who?

 

[KissMy]

[youtube]kNqQx7sjoS8[/youtube]

Barney Frank - “I was not in charge of anything until 2007"

“At first, I thought it was just subprime and in 2004 and 2005, following the lead of my two North Carolina colleagues, Mel Watt and Brad Miller, we tried to get legislation through to stop the bad subprime mortgages. This notion that the Democrats were pushing these loans is absolutely backwards. George Bush in 2004 ordered Fannie and Freddie to do more lending to lower income people and I objected. I wanted to do more rental housing. I wanted to push Fannie and Freddie into more rental housing but at any rate, the Republicans blocked that.

“In 2007 is when I became chairman and the first thing I did when I became chairman, literally the first thing, was to begin the process of adopting the bill on Fannie and Freddie"

Repubtards had full control & pushed for more & more sub-prime home ownership with tax payers making their down-payment.

 

[RKMBrown]

I'm not trying to insult you, Sallow, but how is working in IT supposed to constitute anything in terms of financial markets experience? You job has nothing to do with finance.

how is being a community organizer supposed to constitutte anything interms of running a country and foriegn policy

Beat me to it... I was thinking the exact same thing.

He's really good at organizing and maintaining slums. Getting them to come out and vote for indefinite hand-outs. If turning the country into a chicago slum is the goal, Obama was the best candidate.

 

[Vigilante]

[youtube]kNqQx7sjoS8[/youtube]

Barney Frank - “I was not in charge of anything until 2007"

“At first, I thought it was just subprime and in 2004 and 2005, following the lead of my two North Carolina colleagues, Mel Watt and Brad Miller, we tried to get legislation through to stop the bad subprime mortgages. This notion that the Democrats were pushing these loans is absolutely backwards. George Bush in 2004 ordered Fannie and Freddie to do more lending to lower income people and I objected. I wanted to do more rental housing. I wanted to push Fannie and Freddie into more rental housing but at any rate, the Republicans blocked that.

“In 2007 is when I became chairman and the first thing I did when I became chairman, literally the first thing, was to begin the process of adopting the bill on Fannie and Freddie"

Repubtards had full control & pushed for more & more sub-prime home ownership with tax payers making their down-payment.

 

[KissMy]

President Bush - Mobilizing the Private Sector: America's Homeownership Challenge

* Establish a national goal of at least 5.5 million new minority homeowners before the end of the decade.

* Challenge the private sector real estate and mortgage finance industries to dramatically increase their efforts to reduce the barriers to homeownership faced by minority families and to work with the nonprofit sector in a concerted effort to achieve this goal through national and local partnerships.

* Convene a White House Conference on Increasing Minority Homeownership, to highlight the homeownership barriers faced by minorities and develop proposed solutions.

* A substantial increase of at least $440 billion in the financial commitment made by the government-sponsored enterprises involved in the secondary mortgage market, specifically targeted toward the minority market;

* Twenty-five different local initiatives to be undertaken across the nation, geared toward eliminating the specific homeownership barriers faced by minority families in those communities;

* A commitment to raise $750 million in below-market-rate investments by 2007, which will work in collaboration with local homeownership initiatives and be targeted to heavily minority program areas;

* Pursuing strategic partnerships in 20 top housing markets between homebuilders, lenders, local officials, and community leaders to develop approaches that address the local challenges to building homes for minority families living in urban centers;

* Aggressively developing new mortgage products so that conventional market alternatives are available to combat the predatory loan products that are disproportionately targeted to minorities;

* Creating new mortgage products to meet the unique needs of recent immigrants;

* Establishing multilingual, consumer-oriented internet Web sites designed to help minorities overcome barriers to homeownership, including creation of a central data bank of affordable housing programs made available to real estate agents when working with clients.

December 16, 2003 President Bush signed into law the American Dream Downpayment Act of 2003 which will help approximately 40,000 families a year with their down payment and closing costs, and further strengthen America's housing market. This legislation complements the President's aggressive housing agenda announced in 2002 to dismantle the barriers to homeownership. Today, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Census Bureau released data showing that new home construction in November reached its highest level in nearly 20 years.

President Bush 2004 - Fact Sheet: America's Ownership Society: Expanding Opportunities

* American Dream Downpayment Initiative, which provides down payment assistance to approximately 40,000 low-income families;

* Affordable Housing. The President has proposed the Single-Family Affordable Housing Tax Credit, which would increase the supply of affordable homes;

* Helping Families Help Themselves. The President has proposed increasing support for the Self-Help Homeownership Opportunities Program; and Simplifying Homebuying and Increasing Education.

* The President and HUD want to empower homebuyers by simplifying the home buying process so consumers can better understand and benefit from cost savings. The President also wants to expand financial education efforts so that families can understand what they need to do to become homeowners.

Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan appointed by Bush, near the peak of the housing bubble in 2004, encouraged Americans to take out adjustable rate mortgages.

 

[RKMBrown]

President Bush - Mobilizing the Private Sector: America's Homeownership Challenge

* Establish a national goal of at least 5.5 million new minority homeowners before the end of the decade.

* Challenge the private sector real estate and mortgage finance industries to dramatically increase their efforts to reduce the barriers to homeownership faced by minority families and to work with the nonprofit sector in a concerted effort to achieve this goal through national and local partnerships.

* Convene a White House Conference on Increasing Minority Homeownership, to highlight the homeownership barriers faced by minorities and develop proposed solutions.

* A substantial increase of at least $440 billion in the financial commitment made by the government-sponsored enterprises involved in the secondary mortgage market, specifically targeted toward the minority market;

* Twenty-five different local initiatives to be undertaken across the nation, geared toward eliminating the specific homeownership barriers faced by minority families in those communities;

* A commitment to raise $750 million in below-market-rate investments by 2007, which will work in collaboration with local homeownership initiatives and be targeted to heavily minority program areas;

* Pursuing strategic partnerships in 20 top housing markets between homebuilders, lenders, local officials, and community leaders to develop approaches that address the local challenges to building homes for minority families living in urban centers;

* Aggressively developing new mortgage products so that conventional market alternatives are available to combat the predatory loan products that are disproportionately targeted to minorities;

* Creating new mortgage products to meet the unique needs of recent immigrants;

* Establishing multilingual, consumer-oriented internet Web sites designed to help minorities overcome barriers to homeownership, including creation of a central data bank of affordable housing programs made available to real estate agents when working with clients.

Bush was a socialist. Effing scumbag democrats get what they effing beg for, a moderate conservative that believes in no child left behind bullshit, and they still effing cry about it for decades.

 

[The T]

how is being a community organizer supposed to constitutte anything interms of running a country and foriegn policy

Beat me to it... I was thinking the exact same thing.

He's really good at organizing and maintaining slums. Getting them to come out and vote for indefinite hand-outs. If turning the country into a chicago slum is the goal, Obama was the best candidate.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bg98BvqUvCc]OBAMA'S GONNA PAY FOR MY GAS... - YouTube[/ame]

But don't you DARE ask them for voter I.D.!

 

[The T]

Look at all the Republican nutjobs trying to blame Democrats for diving the economy into the ground when Republicans held the House, Senate & Presidency.

Actually? They are. Obama took a bad situation and made it worse.

Just stop it.

 

[RKMBrown]

Look at all the Republican nutjobs trying to blame Democrats for diving the economy into the ground when Republicans held the House, Senate & Presidency.

Actually? They are. Obama took a bad situation and made it worse.

Just stop it.

Libtards, what can you do. Can't shoot em yet, can't even keep them out of your pockets. Bunch of loosers all of em.

 

[HenryBHough]

Bears make money
Bulls make money
Pigs get slaughtered

Or as Mr. Baruch once said (paraphrased for leftist nit-pickers): Nobody ever went broke leaving a little money on the table.