[Democrats who blame Bush for the current mess we're in] are so misinformed it's sad. TARP was 787 billion, [and]...you completely ignore all the other funds...the GSE's are up to 400 billion and counting...it will be trillions by the time they are done, FHA is now kicking the can down the road and has an 11% default rate on their mortgages, all the government backup of issued debt to recapitalize the banks, the Fed asset buying program. You have no clue how large a number we are talking about. The US Govt by GSE's now backstops 5 trillion in mortgage debt Dan.
The Fed is to blame also, Bernanke is too smart not to have seen the housing bubble. However, statistics because they substituted rents for home prices in the CPI, allowed the fed to delay raising rates.
You have to net tax cuts against economic growth.
We forced the banks to loan to unqualified borrowers, we incented them towards securitization through the Basel II capital requirements being stacked in favor of securitization. FNM and FRE lent AAA ratings to loans with credit scores as low as 590 and with no money down (despite their charter requiring 20%).
Why has the market been going up...think hard. The Fed has pumped billions and billions into the banks, which we the taxpayer are financing, allowing the banks to invest and trade away to generate profits to recapitalize. and where's the dollar? Stocks in US are priced in what? Dollars.
There were 7 stimulus events during the great depression, none broke the cycle. That's just fact.
Keynsians keep asserting that there is a positive multiplier effect of government spending. Latest estimates say the stimulus multiplier is .89, which is a negative multiplier.
And which President signed the Financial Services Reform Act of 1999? Hint, it was Bill, and the republicans didn't have the votes to overturn a veto. check the money, Pelosi, Reid, Schumer, Dodd...they all voted yes, and got lots of cash for it. www.opensecrets.org
Which Treasury Secretaries shut down Brooksley Borne at CFTC who wanted to regulate derivatives back in 1999? Summers and Rubin with Greenspan's help, and the support of the White House.
It was Dodd who wrote in the language allowing the AIG bonuses.
It was Geitner who allowed them to settle the derivatives trades at full value - shuttling more capital to the ailing banks.
Don't delude yourself, Democrats are just as responsible if not MORE for the mess...
