We must boost middle class

The Republicans spent millions of our tax money trying to get rid of Bill Clinton, and in the end Clinton stayed and his attacker Newt Gingrich had to resign.

We have a new president. Give him a break. Our economy depends on us working together. The current administration is responsible for the state of the economy. But you wouldn’t understand that by many of the letters to the editor.

You can’t spend money you don’t have and not devalue the dollar. This is a major part of the Wall Street collapse that you don’t hear about. The deficit spending is also allowing the takeover of American companies such as Amoco by BP and Budweiser by InBev.

As we rebuild our economy, we must remember what made our country strong in the past. By having a large middle class, we generated an economy that continued to regenerate itself. Without a strong middle class, we have no one to buy our products and keep the economy going.

Don Scarbrough
Kansas City

Comments

[Pub 17]

EKAN
FYI it wasn't securitization of loans. That's solid finance IFF accompanied by appropriate due diligence. The problem was the derivatives, which were specifically prohibited by law for many years. Alan Greenspan, driven by Friedman/Chicago School market-uber-alles economics, and thus backed by Clinton who actually understood this stuff enough to get him into big trouble, honestly believed that financial institutions would self-regulate the derivative market by discounting risk throughout the system. Now Greenspan says he's wrong, and sensible people everywhere want Friedman's Nobel revoked.

[Casady]

EKAN:

Please indicate where in the CRA does it specifically call for the securitization of sub prime mortgages. I've read the CRA and I do not recall that provision.

I'm really tired of partisan hacks pointing fingers on this issue. You made a good point on another post which stated that part of the current situation was caused by interest rates remaining too low for too long (I agree) yet here you are pointing the finger at Clinton.

Do you honestly believe investment bankers are victims here? That they were unaware of the risks associated with the sub prime instruments that they packaged and repackaged and repackaged again? Do you not feel their actions warrant a lions share of the blame? Please!

[EKAN]

Can any of our liberal friends name the specific regulation that was repealed that would have avoided this mess? Until someone can come up with specifics, your just parroting the liberal talking heads.

The securitization of the loans is what has caused the current crisis and the CDS market has never been regulated. By the way, this securitization market was created by the Community Revitalization Act which was passed in 1996 and signed by Bush, no wait, um, uh...

[solomon]

8.5x2,

Shouldn't that read "blueberry" smoke?

[Pub 17]

Wow, Rogue's now ready to thank Pelosi and Reid for bringing oil prices back down! And boy, do I remember all those liberal Democrats screaming for deregulation of the financial markets all through the seventies and eighties, and all those Republicans demanding strict regulation of the markets or chaos would certainly ensue!

Check the oil in the Original Maverick, Rouge, it's been spewing blue smoke like Tommy Chong.

[jholz]

Thanks for the speculation Rougey, but their not my buddies. Your other facts are well taken.

[Rogue]

Here are a couple of facts for you Holtzy. First it was not this administration or the Republicans who blocked drilling for own oil off shore and in the Artic at every turn. It was your pals Pelosi and Reid, we have them to thank for gasoline prices that killed our economy the past serveral months.

Secondly it was not the Republicans who turned Fannie and Freddie lose to make subprime loans and sell them in the secondary markets as "Securities", it was your pals Chris Country Wide Dodd, and Barney (my boy lollipop) Frank.

You want to know who cause this economic mess, I suggest you look in the mirror.

[Marctnts]

"The current administration is responsible for the state of the economy."

I'd agree in part, but add the legislative branch and market forces, among other things. I guess to some, it's easier to have one boogeyman to blame than to consider the the whole picture.

One thing I do to tend to lay almost entirely at Bush's door is the bailout, as the administration was behind it's push and it's biggest champion. Many seem to fear Obama's "spread the wealth" socialistic remarks, but don't worry at all about the nationalization of the banking industry (by FORCE with about half of the initial wave). It seems to me that if you fear the one, you should be deathly afraid of the other.

I said a few weeks back that one of my biggest concerns about the bailout is that you cannot "unring" the bell, and wondered what the next industry to climb up onto daddy's lap with its hand out would be. Apparently we have our answer with GM. Good news, it looks like we will all soon be owners of a failing auto manufacturer as well.

"The deficit spending is also allowing the takeover of American companies such as Amoco by BP and Budweiser by InBev."

So, it's great when American companies use a strong dollar to make foreign acquisitions, but bad when foreign companies use a weak dollar to make American acquisitions? Isolationist thinking at its best...

[solomon]

What do you get when you mix a Bible thumper with a Republican fanatic?

[jholz]

Dan don't fool yourself. The only filthy thing here is your mouth, and your not spitting on anyone except yourself-in the mirror. Dan , try to post a fact that does not contain hate. Or just a fact.

[Dan Beyer]

Nasty filthy Republicans! I hear they steal orphans and sell them to "BIG OIL"!
I spit on the Republicans!

[Engineer]

I keep hearing about the "middle class" but no one defines it. When a politician uses the term the Pol usually hopes that every one listening will identify them self as a member.