Monday, December 13, 2010

On Blaming the Republicans Solely For the Financial Meltdown Part 1

"Selling Fannie and Freddie as a purely partisan issue - it doesn't really work. Both parties bear plenty of responsibility." Jonathan Koppell, School of Public Affairs, Arizona State University/The New America Foundation......Hm, OK, let's see hear, who do I believe? Do I believe a respected and nonpartisan professor from a respected university/respected and nonpartisan think-tank, OR do I believe a spate of highly partisan web-sites and publications whose very continuation is dependent upon their not "being convinced"? Gee, that's ballbustingly difficult one - NOT!!!!

7 comments:

Commander Zaius said...

If you really want to get to the root of all the issues facing this country you have to lay the blame on the American people.

You got one side who wouldn't pay in a cent in taxes even though nice things like our infrastructure makes our way of life possible.

Then on the other hand you have people who want everything done right now and will hold their collective breath until its done or pout like children.

Between the two I want to find a desert island away from both groups.

Will "take no prisoners" Hart said...

ABSOLUTELY. And it isn't just us who think that. Time Magazine placed the American people on its list of the 25 people to blame for the financial meltdown.

Dervish Z Sanders said...

Absolutely not. I strongly disagree with any laying of the blame at the feet of the American people. Time Magazine is wrong. This is Right-wing blame the victim propaganda.

If the bank tells you that you QUALIFY somehow it's your fault for not suspecting that the bank is lying to you? This was the bank's responsibility.

You can probably find a small percentage of cases where the person taking out the loan should have known better, but to suggest that because the party that has none of the power in these transactions is to blame because the party that has all the power didn't do their due diligence -- it's beyond ridiculous.

Will "take no prisoners" Hart said...

Only in the far left universe is the concept of personal responsibility seen as "blaming the victim". Of course the American people share a large part of the blame. You do not make purchases that you can't afford - purely and simply. I mean, what, some con artist says that you qualify for a mortgage to purchase the Taj Mahal and you believe him? Come on, man. And why didn't these idiots have lawyers at their closings to help them negotiate these? What kind of an idiot purchases a house (a house, of all things) without a lawyer? My God, I am so sick of this far-left rubbery heart bullshit that I could scream. The devil made me do it!!!

Dervish Z Sanders said...

I'm so sick of the kind of ignorance you exhibited in your last comment that I could scream. Middle and lower middle class people can afford to have lawyers on retainer? What gated community bubble do you live in?

I think the majority of people who sign mortgage contracts believe their broker is working in both of their interests and not trying to fuck them. If the broker says they qualify they believe them.

I find your use of the "personal responsibility" card to excuse incompentence or fraud on a mortgage broker side of the equation reprehensible.

I'd like to see you get punched in the nose after calling someone an idiot because they lost their home after their mortgage broker sold them a subprime mortgage when they qualified for a regular mortgage.

Will "take no prisoners" Hart said...

In CT you are SUPPOSED to have a lawyer at closing. And you're an idiot if you try to purchase a home anywhere if you do not have one. You DO NOT make the most important decision of your life in the same manner that you buy a 3-piece suit. If fraud can be proven against any specific banker, then, yeah, the FBI should go after them (just like they went after Bernie Madoff). But that still does not excuse idiocy and people living beyond their means.....Gee, let's see here, Time Magazine or some "anti-social", angry, envious, scapegoating, "the government needs to protect me" dude who sits behind a typewriter/thinks that Keith Olbermann is some sort of role model? Wow, that's an extremely tough one - NOT!

Dervish Z Sanders said...

That's quite a few negative adjectives you've strung together to describe me. I guess your desire for a "productive conversation" has come to an end.

Using your logic I could conclude that Bernie Madoff is being scapegoated. He offered unrealistic returns, yet some of his clients invested everything they had with him. They should have taken his investment proposals to a third party for appraisal. Surely they would have been told that what he promised was too good to be true.

So, if a white-collar or wealthy individual is ripped off the FBI should go after the perpetrator, but if the victim is blue collar, then they only have their own idiocy to blame?

By the way, lenders are being prosecuted.