History of the current financial crash

[Epidemic]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sharder8

Chuckie and his friends are blaming the Democrats . . . MTA and his friends are blaming the Republicans . . . ScottW and his friends are blaming President Bush . . .

The fact is, both the Republicans and the Democrats are to blame and it all started prior to President Bush . . .

Here is an interesting read on the history of it.

Source

You forgot SJ he is blaming the masons or illuminatti or skull and bones.

I agree with the analysis that dems and republicans are to blame.

[surreal]

Quote:

Originally Posted by outlaw2001it

Exactly. Until we get these lobbyists out of the mix, and return the government back to the people there is only one way to go, and that's down.

WE? And where do you live?

I'm going to invent a chastity belt for government workers, I'll make millions.

[outlaw2001it]

My vote counts just as much as yours. Doesn't matter where I live...what the F*** are you going to do??? Not much more than I am, or anybody else in America...except talk s***, and don't do anything.

[surreal]

wow, you are an ass.

[cyphen]

here are some steps suggested by the heritage foundation, and the rationale for those steps...

Financial Cleanup Steps for Congress—The Next Steps and Beyond

Quote:

Passage of financial legislation this week is important, but much remains to be done in follow-on legislation to address factors that contributed to the current turmoil. Here are some of the key issues Congress should take up:

• Adopt Tax Policies to Encourage Recapitalization: Many financial firms are in serious need of recapitalization. They need to raise additional equity capital to restore their balance sheets and participate again fully and normally with other financial participants and non-financial borrowers. To facilitate this process, Congress should allow these firms to issue new classes of common and preferred equity shares for which resulting capital gains and dividend income would be tax exempt.
• Dissolve Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac: The federal government seized Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and they are now operating under conservatorship. Congress should now pass legislation to put Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac on a clear path to eventual dissolution.
• Reconsider Mark-to-Market Rules and Their Application: An accounting rule known as "mark-to-market" has been blamed as a major factor contributing to weaknesses in financial markets. In brief, this rule requires firms to value the assets they hold at current market values rather than some other value such as its purchase price. Under most conditions, this rule is perfectly appropriate, as it contributes to more accurate valuation of assets and firms.

However, when applied to assets traded in stressed markets or markets where normal trading has ceased, the mark-to-market rule results in the value of assets held in portfolio to be marked down below the fair value that would be established in the market under more normal conditions. Under the present circumstances, the mark-to-market rule has further and artificially impaired the capital of already weakened firms and has made it more difficult for market participants to gauge the value, capitalization, and ultimately the potential solvency of troubled firms. In short, mark-to-market rules have exacerbated the tendency of financial weakness to spread from firm to firm.
Mark-to-market rules are set by a private entity, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB). The FASB should reconsider the application of these rules under extraordinary circumstances. In no way should Congress undertake to dictate accounting standards, but there may be circumstances in which Congress may need to reconsider the effects of those standards with respect to bank capitalization rules, for example.

• Revise the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA): The CRA and other initiatives require banks and other financial institutions to better serve lower-income workers. While a worthy cause, the net effect is often to encourage loans at lower credit standards and to encourage people to buy houses they really cannot afford. As a result, too often they lose their homes, thereby losing savings that took a great effort to accumulate. Congress should revise these laws to ensure normal lending standards are maintained for all prospective mortgage borrowers.
• Review Treasury and the Federal Reserve: Recent events raise questions about the adequacy, or expansiveness, of authorities now exercised by the Treasury and the Federal Reserve. The Federal Reserve has vastly expanded on its traditional role as "lender of last resort," and the newly proposed entity of the Paulson plan creates a similar role but in a different bureaucracy. Congress should review carefully whether the management structure, authorities, and oversight of the Treasury and the Federal Reserve are correct for such roles.
• Reform the Financial Regulatory System: Current events underscore the need to modernize the nation's financial regulatory structure. The current regulatory structure of financial institutions is a patchwork of rules and regulations cobbled together over decades. This structure needs to be reformed to ensure the safety and soundness of the institutions and of the financial system as a whole. At the same time, efforts at reform must reflect the need to maintain the competitive strength of America's financial markets in providing services and capital to businesses and consumers at home and abroad.
• Reform the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC): Questions have been raised in particular about the performance of the SEC and whether it has the authorities and resources needed to fulfill its intended role in protecting the soundness of financial markets and the safety of individual investors' positions. Congress should examine the performance of the SEC in the current episode to judge whether specific statutory changes are needed.

[mlee97]

Sharder, how well were you able to vet this information? I can't get open Secrets to load here.

[sharder8]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mlee97

Sharder, how well were you able to vet this information? I can't get open Secrets to load here.

No problem connecting from home last night . . .

Extremely slow connecting from work this morning . . . but page loaded.

Harder

[aldtech]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sharder8

Let's take it forward another step and look at who got the money, how much, and how they voted on the Financial Services Modernization Act back in 1999 and continuing on to present.

This is only the top 6 . . . the rest of the lawmakers and their amounts can be found at the source.


Source

You'll note that Hilary and Obama didn't vote, as they weren't in office at the time of the vote. However, they've still collected money from the Financial sector.

Harder

Great post sharder8 - I agree whole heartedly with you comments afterwords as well as others who have commented on this thread. But . . . (yeah - everybody has one )

I question you intention in regards to the above post and reference. You initially come across as being un biased or independent minded and then in this post you attempt to link H Clinton (who cares) and Obama to to it all by proxy just because they received "money from the Financial sector." I think it has been well documented and your allegation has been rebuffed by others amounting to nothing more than private donations from people who happen to work for financial institutions.

With this in mind I'm sure that you and others would agree that guilt such as this, by association, is wrong. I'm sure someone down the road, if it has not already been done, will arbitrarily make the same argument against republicans in regards to supporting white supremacy because I'm sure there is a money trail that leads from such narrow minded people into the GOP coffers. In fact I would bet a large substantial amount that there is such a link and most of it goes under the guise of religious affiliation.

Thanks for the post - everyone should read it but I'm sure someone will twist it into a one sided affair against the democrats somewhere down the line.

/al

[sharder8]

Quote:

Originally Posted by aldtech

Great post sharder8 - I agree whole heartedly with you comments afterwords as well as others who have commented on this thread. But . . . (yeah - everybody has one )

I question you intention in regards to the above post and reference. You initially come across as being un biased or independent minded and then in this post you attempt to link H Clinton (who cares) and Obama to to it all by proxy just because they received "money from the Financial sector." I think it has been well documented and your allegation has been rebuffed by others amounting to nothing more than private donations from people who happen to work for financial institutions.

With this in mind I'm sure that you and others would agree that guilt such as this, by association, is wrong. I'm sure someone down the road, if it has not already been done, will arbitrarily make the same argument against republicans in regards to supporting white supremacy because I'm sure there is a money trail that leads from such narrow minded people into the GOP coffers. In fact I would bet a large substantial amount that there is such a link and most of it goes under the guise of religious affiliation.

Thanks for the post - everyone should read it but I'm sure someone will twist it into a one sided affair against the democrats somewhere down the line.

/al

If I wanted to twist it against Hilary and Obama . . . I would have also mentioned that McCain, who was in office, was absent for the vote, but also collected big time. But, you'll also find him listed.

Harder

[sharder8]

Hey!!!!

Where's MTA's, Chuckies, Prex's, SJ's, or ScottW's, response in this thread???

Come on guy's, you've all been blaming the other guy . . . so why not provide some proof that this info is wrong about your party or Bush????

Not even a response from Theo!

Harder