[excon]

Hello Need:

I'll tell you what I'M protecting myself from... We've just had a Republican fostered meltdown of our economy. There is going to be some dislocations...

I use the word "dislocations" kindly... What I mean is a severe depression. In fact, during the height of this coming REPUBLICAN lead depression, there's going to be wandering bands of un-employed, hungry people with lots of GUNS. Some of 'em are members here.

excon

[NeedKarma]

You guy certainly do not help the tourism industry for your country. Anyone reading this board from outside would likely never set foot there.

[J_9]

Gimme a break Ex... it's the thugs who buy the guns, and I can name certain brands, for $25 in the back alleys. It is the law abiding citizen who does it through the proper channels. Us law abiding citizens need to protect ourselves.

You guy certainly do not help the tourism industry for your country. Anyone reading this board from outside would likely never set foot there.

Yeah, and I already booked my ticket for Baghdad!!

[progunr]

Hello Need:

I'll tell you what I'M protecting myself from.... We've just had a Republican fostered meltdown of our economy. There is going to be some dislocations.....

I use the word "dislocations" kindly... What I mean is a severe depression. In fact, during the height of this coming REPUBLICAN lead depression, there's going to be wandering bands of un-employed, hungry people with lots of GUNS. Some of 'em are members here.

excon

What is it that you libs don't understand about the real cause of our economic distress?

The forcing of banks, to lend money to people who could not pay it back, by the "socialistic" dreams of the left to make sure that EVERY American can own a house, without ANY regard to their ability to pay for it.

THAT my friends is what got us to this point. Period.

[J_9]

The forcing of banks, to lend money to people who could not pay it back, by the "socialistic" dreams of the left to make sure that EVERY American can own a house, without ANY regard to their ability to pay for it.

Correct me if I am wrong, but wasn't it Clintoon who started that?

[asking]

I was never a strong supporter of the "Dufus in chief" and will freely admit that he was not a true conservative, especially when it came to spending,

Most of us agree on that. And now that he is nearly out of office, we have to bite the bullet and accept that WE ALL now have to pay for that excessive spending. The debts Bush and friends incurred are not going to go away when he does. In fact, I'm sure there will be more, the result of his poor management. We are stuck with the mess he made.

I have confidence that the Obama administration will do what it can to balance the paying off that debt against the need to keep the economy going and even thriving. But don't assume it's all going to be the way it was under Clinton. It isn't going to be perfect. Nobody thinks we can escape undamaged from the mess the Bush administration got us into. Our country is deeply damaged in many ways.

The reason people are writing to Americans from all over the world to congratulate us is that they are so relieved that we have someone reasonable they may be able to work with. Someone who will not shoot at everything that moves. Bush has been talking about attacking Iran for years. We saw what he did to Iraq. Why wouldn't the Iranians be relieved not to have another avowed hawk in office? That doesn't mean they are going to attack us. And it doesn't mean Obama will be a wuss. If anything, presidents with no military experience have tended to use military force more, or at least that's what I've read.

The greatest danger to Americans comes from ourselves. For example, more Americans (400,000+) are killed by smoking than by terrorists or ANY of the other boogeymen we scare ourselves with. American women and girls who are murdered are nearly always killed by people they know, not by the "scary" stranger from the next town or the next country. We need to keep things in perspective.

The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.

We need to start working to make things better, valuing accomplishment and hard work over having the latest model car, enormous houses, and expensive clothes. Our children and grandchildren will not be able to live as profligately as we have and our parents have, but they may be able to live better lives if we work towards that.

As far as the economy, here's what FDR said in 1933.

More important, a host of unemployed citizens face the grim problem of existence, and an equally great number toil with little return. Only a foolish optimist can deny the dark realities of the moment.

Yet our distress comes from no failure of substance. We are stricken by no plague of locusts. Compared with the perils which our forefathers conquered because they believed and were not afraid, we have still much to be thankful for. Nature still offers her bounty and human efforts have multiplied it. Plenty is at our doorstep, but a generous use of it languishes in the very sight of the supply.. . Practices of the unscrupulous money changers stand indicted in the court of public opinion, rejected by the hearts and minds of men.

"Only Thing We Have to Fear Is Fear Itself": FDR's First Inaugural Address

[excon]

What is it that you libs don't understand about the real cause of our economic distress? The forcing of banks, to lend money to people who could not pay it back....THAT my friends is what got us to this point. Period.

Hello again, prog:

Nope. It's apparently you conservatives who don't quite understand.

Had the problem ended where you say it ends, there would have been a few bank failures. No big deal...

But, it happened because the newly DEREGULATED market allowed Wall Street to package these loans into UNREGULATED OTC derivitives market, with NO capital requirements... Entities who USED sell these unregulated derivatives were called "bucket shops" until they were outlawed. But, the dufus in chief legalized them again. I don't know why the dufus and his minions don't read history.

The TRILLIONS and TRILLIONS of dollars LOST in THIS market is the real bugaboo.

It was, in fact, the Republicans who lead the way for DE regulating these markets, and the coming depression can be laid directly at the foot of the REPUBLICANS.

Period.

excon

[tomder55]

Correct me if I am wrong, but wasn't it Clintoon who started that?

Actually it started earlier with the Community Reinvestment act of 1977; a gift from the Democrat majority and President Carter .
Community Reinvestment Act - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

However you are correct in that it really began to take off during the Clintoon reign. But it lasted throughout the Bush Adm. Also so in that regard it was a bipartisan act of negligence.

[tomder55]

Ex I would agree with you if the Democrats in Congress were not complicit in the blocking of financial reform .But we have already posted the proof that both President Bush and Sen McCain tried to pass reform legislation that the Democrats blocked .

[J_9]

actually it started earlier with the Community Reinvestment act of 1977; a gift from the Democrat majority and President Carter .
Community Reinvestment Act - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

However you are correct in that it really began to take off during the Clintoon reign. But it lasted throughout the Bush Adm. also so in that regard it was a bipartisan act of negligence.

Thank you again for the education. I am still learning all of this at my ripe ole age of 44. I guess I have been in the medical books too long.

[asking]

And while some of the trillions lost was just paper money that has evaporated, a lot of it went to actual people, who have multiple houses and more money than they can ever spend while others live without shelter, medical care, education, and even food.

Don't forget that of the $700 billion we just gave to the "freemarket," $40 BILLION is going to backpay for a handful of executives. If you want to know where your new taxes will be going, stop worrying about the unemployed mother next door who gets a few hundred dollars in food stamps for a few months and start looking at the individuals who really pig out at the slop trough.

[asking]

But it lasted throughout the Bush Adm. also so in that regard it was a bipartisan act of negligence.

I'm happy to call it bipartisan. But I would not call it negligence as if it was just a benign mistake. It was greed, pure and simple.

I called Washington Mutual in early 2007 about a home loan and they pursued me for months trying to sell me a loan I clearly couldn't afford. I'm so glad I had the sense (or at least anxiety) to say no. These financial institutions were allowed to run themselves into the ground by a lack of regulation and so they did. They had apparently no thought for the future, but only of how much money they could make today.

[tomder55]

I'll grant you all that you say. I'll even go further than that . Wall Street Corp has a Sharia Compliant division ;so does many of these financial institutions everyone said we had to save.

But perhaps I should save this for another posting because I have evidence that Paulson would have Treasury jump on board this sharia compliant investment scheme.

The only thing I will add these companies defense is that they were pressured big time by groups like ACORN and their backers in government to loosen up standards for lending .