Did traitors deliberately crash the economy?

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Why has job creation in America slowed to a crawl?

Why, after several months of economic hope, are things suddenly turning sour?

Republicans are so intent on defeating President Obama that they are purposely sabotaging the country's economic recovery.

The most obvious piece of evidence of GOP premeditated malice is the 2010 quote from Senate minority leader, Mitch McConnell:


"The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president."

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Such words lead some to the conclusion that Republicans will do anything, including short-circuiting the economy, in order to hurt Obama politically.

Considering that presidents – and rarely opposition parties – are held electorally responsible for economic calamity, it's not a bad political strategy.

Beyond McConnell's words, though, there is circumstantial evidence to make the case.

Republicans have opposed a lion's share of stimulus measures that once they supported, such as a payroll tax break, which they grudgingly embraced earlier this year.

Even unemployment insurance, a relatively uncontroversial tool for helping those in an economic downturn, has been consistently held up by Republicans or used as a bargaining chip for more tax cuts.

Ten years ago, prominent conservatives were loudly making the case for fiscal stimulus to get the economy going; today, they treat such ideas like they're the plague.


http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/jun/09/did-republicans-deliberately-crash-us-economy
 
It would take a great philosopher to know all the causes of the current economic crisis, suffice it to say there was a failure of the government to exercise proper regulatory control over mortgage banking and securities. Between 2004 and 2006, banks and mortgage lenders made millions of high-risk, subprime loans (i.e., 100% “piggyback” loans with adjustable interest rates “ARMs”, etc.) to borrowers that were unqualified for conventional financing and without due-diligence requirements for collateralization on the assumption that the real estate market could only go up and no one could lose. These loans were then packaged and sold as debt securities on the financial markets worldwide.

Then, predictably, things took a downturn. The interest rates on these loans went up, and borrowers started defaulting on their loans, precipitating a rash of foreclosures across the country. By August 2007, Countrywide Home Loans, the largest mortgage lender on the planet, was on the verge of bankruptcy; but was bought out by Bank of America in an effort to prevent its own equity position in the company from being extinguished. (A very risky move, for in taking over Countrywide, it had to assume a large portfolio of very bad loans.) The disintegration, however, continued with millions of defaults followed by foreclosures as real estate values plummeted. This in turn precipitated bank failures, including Indymac Bank (the largest since the crash of 1929), which was followed by the collapse of some of the biggest investment firms like Bear Sterns, Morgan Stanley, and Lehman Brothers (the biggest bankruptcy in history), the federal “conservatorship” of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and finally the outright takeover of AIG. It had a cascading effect necessitating a government bailout with taxpayer funds just to stabilize the financial markets and prevent widespread, systemic economic chaos.

It was the fault of deregulation. The FDIC, FSLIC, HUD and FTC failed in regulating the banks and mortgage lenders, and the SEC failed to exercise proper oversight of the sale of mortgage-backed securities. (Even Alan Greenspan was forced to admit that he was wrong in thinking that the market could be left to its own devices.) And, it will happen again because the Congress lacks the political will to establish regulatory control over financial markets. Dodd-Frank - which the banking lobby is working night and day to repeal - is not the answer. Regulation must be measured, but effective; and not so heavy-handed as to stifle economic growth. To work, there must at least be a level playing field, which requires more transparency that will promote value over speculation. If there are no penalties for failure - if executives are rewarded for running their companies aground - there is no incentive to exercise restraint over irresponsible action.
 
Rune said:
Why don't we start with what relevance 2008 has to the OP?
Click to expand...

When did the economy crash? I'll give you another hint. It was in 2008 during a Presidential Campaign...

We have to go real slowly for those who are being deliberately obtuse, I understand, but promoting that some party tried to "crash" the economy then ignore when it crashed is pretty clearly being obtuse. It would take a bit of work to get around that...
 
Since the original stimulus bill passed in February of 2009, Republicans have made practically no effort to draft comprehensive job creation legislation.


Instead, they continue to pursue austerity policies, which reams of historical data suggest harms economic recovery and does little to create jobs.


In fact, since taking control of the House of Representatives in 2011, Republicans have proposed hardly a single major jobs bill that didn't revolve, in some way, around their one-stop solution for all the nation's economic problems: more tax cuts.




http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/jun/09/did-republicans-deliberately-crash-us-economy
 
\\()// said:
Since the original stimulus bill passed in February of 2009, Republicans have made practically no effort to draft comprehensive job creation legislation.


Instead, they continue to pursue austerity policies, which reams of historical data suggest harms economic recovery and does little to create jobs.


In fact, since taking control of the House of Representatives in 2011, Republicans have proposed hardly a single major jobs bill that didn't revolve, in some way, around their one-stop solution for all the nation's economic problems: more tax cuts.




http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/jun/09/did-republicans-deliberately-crash-us-economy
Click to expand...

True, yet Damo says I am being obtuse. Pot-kettle, black.
 
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