My main point is that reasonable restrictions by the government are much preferred over a crisis like this– requiring a massive bailout with questionable results that has to be rushed through in a week. A small government role to control the excesses of capitalism rather than the FED merely warning the industry to stop making risky loans would have avoided much of this.

Now many experts are predicting that the next administration will be locked into this domestically, and locked into winding up the Bush agenda internationally. The much touted call for ” Change ” will now be impossible no matter who wins.

What about the hedge funds? What's your point?

You know- the signs for bathrooms and water fountains that said “Coloreds only”.

Cavuto is just another round-headed fat boy pablum puker. Says whatever he's paid to. Thing is, most of the smart, intelligent rational people at Fox are in the (gasp) Unions. You know, the camera men that have to stomach looking at these talking heads 24/7 cuz it's their job to. The floor managers who have to put up with the O'Reilly tirades because it's their job to. And when harridans like Coulter sit with their tight-skirted anorexic crossed legs and spout anti-union platitudes, the make-up people backstage start to wonder where they can get arsenic powder for Ann's foundation…

How high is the Fox talking head High-pocrisy? About 45 stories at least ( well ok, they don't own the whole building….but still)

And even now Paulson was making the rounds of the talk shows begging for alms for the poor, unfortunate CEO's who might lose their golden parachutes and actually be held accountable! It boggles the mind.

My concern is with job situation in America and underemployment. When your wage changes or isn't enough to deal with rising prices, then that's a BIG problem.

Bingo.

http://mediamatters.org/items/200809190021

I enjoy coming to this site, but I would like to know where the moderates are.

Now, who was pushing that mandate? Why, Barney Frank and Chris Dodd appear to have been the most vocal about it- including giving speeches where they claimed that the voices expressing grave concern about the subprime situation were just the usual fearmongering (comparing it to the GOP's claims of a social security crisis.)

Now, Bush and the GOP share the blame- they voiced concern but nothing was ever done. This first came to debate in 2005 while the GOP still had a majority, but enough Republicans opposed the McCain/Dole/Sununu/Hagel bill that it died and was never brought to a vote.

But to shift blame entirely to the GOP (who made errors of being too passive) vs. the Dems who ACTIVELY opposed reform, is partisan hackery.

Yes, Clinton believed in free markets and may have started the ball rolling, but when he left office the economy was sound. Its impossible to blame him when he left office with a large surplus, low deficits and low unemployment. Bush had 8 years to regulate the subprime loan industry, but he chose not to. Even now his bailout plan seeks to preserve CEO's golden parachutes which totally defy logic and any sense of accountability.

An administration which could not afford to spend a few billion to expand S-chip to help struggling working class families pay for health care, believes taxpayers should continue to pay failing CEO's massive payouts in retirement. Why not use that money to help those in foreclosure who are losing their houses?

You'll find this 'rule' listed under 'Exceptions' of the Democratic playbook, to the more general principle:
'Political opposition and dissent are prized as the most cherished aspect of our Constitutional freedoms, and must be preserved at all costs. Attempts to stifle dissent by impugning the motives or patriotism of the dissenting party is a despicable and unacceptable; only free and open debate of opposing opinions should be permissible. (see also, Bush, GW; Cheney, Richard; Rumsfeld, Donald.)'

Your right AR. I have to admit, I used to have a sprinkling of socialist viewpoints in my political heart. When you grow up immersed in black nationalism, it's hard not to. But the recent financial crisis, along with this bailout talk, has dried up those socialist sprinklings. I know this isn't cool to say (well among some people) but I want all of them to fall and if we go down as well, then so be it. Maybe then we can rebuild a true capitalist structure.

One-way ratchet — hooks, claws, fangs…

Hell., the late Gus Hall would have loved it. “80 per cent of AIG? Better than 50.1 per cent, and why not one hundred per cent? Not merely AIG but all the firms?”

“And the oil companies are next! Solidarity with Chavez!”

It's more GOP than Dem overall because of the nature of it and history shows (or demonstrates or proves) it. It's not just a matter of the GOP's own fondness for Wall Street and big money (any “privatization” program for Social Security involving large amounts of securities — stocks and bonds, who knows, someday options and futures and derivatives as well, ayyy — would direct vast amounts of money Wall Street's way, as we all know). The concept of deregulation is sound and obviously superior to government meddling-and-mismanaging-to-death. But that leaves us on an “honor system” and there are those ever ready to abuse it. Plus having Glass-Steagall broken during a bubble was obviously the worst thing to do (a friend of mine and I in Atlanta at the time this happened were aghast at this — while we were also observing colleagues constantly going for call options and betting on the hotter stocks at the time in other ways as well).

History? Community Reinvestment Act was obviously wrong, but were there any problems directly attributable to it in the late 1970s or the 1980s or earlier in the 1990s? No. Deregulation with S&Ls happened in the 1980s and by the end of that decade, that's when the problems began. Deregulation of finance began in the late 1990s and about ten years later we have another disaster. The problems seem mainly arising from deregulation if history is any honest account. Deregulation is great — much better than too much ogovernment, the “visible foot” replacing the “invisible hand” — but where there's cheating, where experience has shown there have been problems, there need to be limits. I'm sad that Congress isn't promptly saying first and foremost that Glass-Steagall should probably be renewed. Or must we face mergers now (for survival of the remaining firms) and try to “manage” it as best we can?

Shaun – re: (3.) Some shameless commentators are hinting that it’s all the fault of colored people.

Where have you heard or seen that! I mean, what a crock of shit, but I haven't heard a hint of racial blaming. I cannot even see how that argument can be made, unless you are talking about the complaints of lending discrimination that led to the directives to loosen credit requirements. But even if someone want to go down that path, that may be what, 5% of the cause? And the loosened credit most certainly didn't go only to non-whites, so it is a red herring anyway.

The real underlying cause (IMHO) was primarily the changing of the banking laws that tore down the walls between traditional banking and investment banking, and of course the Freddie/Fannie chicken finally coming home to roost (and THAT fiasco has roots stretching all the back to LBJ!)

re: (6.) American’s faith in its financial institutions has been shattered

So true. Multiple hundred year-old, respectable (in the past) institutions gone forever.

re: (22.) The Great Financial Meltdown of 2008 is fraught with irony, but none is bigger than the fact that the conservative architects of the deregulation movement have become what they long railed against — socialists.

Again, so true. We are nationalizing a HUGE chunk of our economy. And the 'we will give it back as soon as we are able' line, well, that just makes me do a spit take. What government agency, once it gets its hooks into any type of revenue stream or level of control, willingly conceded that authority back, and shuts down?

Also, this will make it a lot hard to criticize Chavez! (snark alert)

Yes, both parties are at fault. The problems go all the way back to the Seventies with the Community Reinvestment Act, the long-notorious behavior of ACORN (which taints Obama to this day among the knowledgeable), and Dems during the Clinton bubble years who competed with the Republicans to do whatever it took to make the masses feel good (good news is one of their opiates along with cheap money). By the way, Robert Rubin, who oversaw Clinton's approval of the repeal of Glass-Steagall, allowing banks, insurers, and investment firms to merge, undoing the barrier erected in the 1930s after mischief as well as a bubble during the 1920s was exposed, then went into, where else, the financial sector, and whose campaign is he how advising, incidentally? And whose administration might he come back to Washington to join?

What we need to do is (a) decide how to repair the damage that has been done and is surfacing, i.e., prevent any economic disaster (which is separate from allowing the institutions that should fail, to fail); (b) reform government as well as the financial sector so this doesn't happen again.

Of course there should be no handouts to executives, nor to occupants of the homes who wanted something for less than it really cost, or for nothing, and who now want to be maintained as federally-supported squatters (parasites) if Obama and other Dems have their way. If loans are not going to be repaid, foreclose and evict. Any federal takeover of properties (a godawful idea) should involve foreclosure, repair and improvements, and reselling at a profit to the federal government and thus a relief eventually to the taxpayers. Hold auctions if need be.

Finally, those of us on planet Earth who have been waiting for this, and have been the first to advocate this, now have learned this is starting: The FBI is beginning to investigate fraud in and by these firms. (Cynical note to execs: Plead guilty early to lesser offenses — you cannot hope that only underlings will take the fall for this — and hope for a Bush pardon next January along with, say, “Scooter” Libby.)

(2.) Efforts by both Republicans and Democrats to the contrary, the meltdown does not have partisan roots. Both parties must share in the blame.

Bullshit!!!!

Bullshit!!!!

The Republicans have been the party of Deregulation for the last 30 years, they have also been in charge of the White House and the regulatory apparatus for the last eight years!

The laws they could not repeal, they did not enforce.

So if we are going to lay blame on both parties, let's do it honestly:

- 80% to the Republicans for being greedy short sighted dumb asses.
- 20% to the Democrats for being spineless cowards.

and 100% to the American public who elected these dimwits.

And one more time BULLSHIT!!!