Comments on: "the fundamentals of the American economy are strong." – WTF?

By: Corey Feldman

Corey Feldman — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 10:21:16 +0000

@Carmen Greed is a major driving factor of a free market economy, polices of deregulation fail to take this basic human motivation into account. We are making the same mistake that Communism did, just from the opposite side of the problem. You can’t factor out human nature from the equation. People are messy and any system that fails to take this into account is fundamentally flawed. A deregulated free market economy is a powerful driving force for growth, but if we fail to recognize it for the two edge sword that it is, we are destined for a whole lot of pain and bloodshed.

By: Carmen

Carmen — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 01:53:35 +0000

The banking industry was deregulated and got greedy. Is that a Republican or Democratic problem? No, it’s pure and simple greed. Look at the banks who doled out mortgages and car loans with no money down to bad credit risks, not to mention reverse mortgages that prey on the money needs of the older generation, exorbitant bank fees for simple transactions, etc.. Then there is the proliferation of Check Cashing businesses who charge ungodly and totally unethical interest rates on the money they front. Freddie and Fannie did not have everything to do with the current state of affairs. Greed is greed and you shouldn’t blame the government. Our economic model loosely says that free markets (that is, in this case, deregulated) increase competition and lower prices, making it better for the consumers. Had the bankers not gotten greedy and hedged their bets, it would have worked. I stand by the statement that the “principles of our American economy are strong.”

By: Heather Cook

Heather Cook — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 17:09:00 +0000

Uh, the fundementals are still strong… the fundementals are not what you (or others are thinking). He revised his comment to say:

“”My opponents may disagree, but those fundamentals – the American worker, the innovation, the entrepreneurship, the small business – those are the fundamentals of America, and I think they are strong,” McCain said.”

http://tinyurl.com/4845vt

By: Corey Feldman

Corey Feldman — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 14:20:14 +0000

I absolutely agree that the lenders own much of the responsibility of our current economic woes; this however does not absolve the government of its failures. The government created the environment where Fannie and Freddie were to pander to public policy and where still expected to provide a profit for investors. They were billed as a safe place to keep your money. Why would a reasonable person assume there is a difference between government sponsored and government backed? Congress choose to look the other way when multiple accounting irregularities came to life for fear it might hurt the housing boom. The Government stood idly by when the American populations has been repeatedly encouraged to spend money they don’t have. The Government made money cheap; they filed the teeth and claws of the regulatory agencies. Bush went on nation TV and telling people to go the malls and shop to help the economy. The “fundamentals” of buy now pay later are destroying the economy. Yes, you get a boost when people spend, but it is short sighted. A Mortgage used to be something you got with the intent to pay off. Now we are encouraged to take loans against are future, lets not call it a second mortgage, we’ll call it a home equity loan. Let drop the interest rates to encourage more people to buy houses they can not afford. I’m not looking for a communist lifestyle and I’m not even against a certain amount of consumerism – just ask my wife, she will probably mutter something about two iPhones in a year, more computers then I could possibly need, preference for fine dinning, not to mention a very expensive book habit. It doesn’t have to be all or nothing; you can have regulation and accountability without turning into socialism. Founding stronger regulatory agencies is also a hell of a lot cheaper then massive bailouts. You can even have a government that encourages responsible spending; they could start by leading by example.

By: Carmen

Carmen — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 12:22:12 +0000

The fundamentals of the American Economy are strong. Much the banking meltdown is what happens when banks get greedy. It is not the government or any president that caused the meltdown, nor our economic fundamentals. The bankers decided easy money and reselling foreclosed properties was fast cash, but then the housing market crashed and foreclosures could not be resold, leaving the banks with lots of property and no cash. Banks can’t expect to give money away to people with bad or no credit and not get caught with their pants down at some point. I, for one, am sick of hearing people whine about the fundamentals of our American Economy; our economic system works. Does the banking crisis add strain on the economy? Yes. Are the fundamental principles broken? No. If there is any doubt, go live in or talk with people who live in a communist country and decide if you think that system works better. I believe the dirt bags at the bank that were paid millions to manage them should be giving their entire salaries for the past 5 years back to the failing banks they managed to bail the banks out. This is an example of Enron in another business sector.

By: Corey J Feldman » Blog Archive » Commenting Policy

Corey J Feldman » Blog Archive » Commenting Policy — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 19:28:38 +0000

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