Say it often enough, and some folks will begin to believer it.
Sometimes the big lie is a sin of commission. Sometimes it’s a sin of omission.
Self-identified Democrat Orson Scott Card calls the media out on both:
This housing crisis didn’t come out of nowhere. It was not a vague emanation of the evil Bush administration.
It was a direct result of the political decision, back in the late 1990s, to loosen the rules of lending so that home loans would be more accessible to poor people. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were authorized to approve risky loans…
This was completely foreseeable and in fact many people did foresee it. One political party, in Congress and in the executive branch, tried repeatedly to tighten up the rules. The other party blocked every such attempt and tried to loosen them.
Furthermore, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae were making political contributions to the very members of Congress who were allowing them to make irresponsible loans…
Isn’t there a story here? Doesn’t journalism require that you who produce our daily paper tell the truth about who brought us to a position where the only way to keep confidence in our economy was a $700 billion bailout? Aren’t you supposed to follow the money and see which politicians were benefiting personally from the deregulation of mortgage lending?
I have no doubt that if these facts had pointed to the Republican Party or to John McCain as the guilty parties, you would be treating it as a vast scandal. “Housing-gate,” no doubt. Or “Fannie-gate.”
Instead, it was Senator Christopher Dodd and Congressman Barney Frank, both Democrats, who denied that there were any problems, who refused Bush administration requests to set up a regulatory agency to watch over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and who were still pushing for these agencies to go even further in promoting sub-prime mortgage loans almost up to the minute they failed.
You can rage against traders that exploited the new opportunity that providing mortgages to those who couldn’t afford them presented. But capitalism, excesses and all, exists to exploit opportunities. Crises are built into the system, but everywhere a free market has been allowed to flourish, peoples’ lives have been improved, and everywhere it has been suppressed, misery has become the general currency.
Crises carry within them the seeds of their own resolution. Because even the cleverest dicks on Wall Street can’t make money by losing it. Not over the long term.
But not everybody gets it. Some folks will stage absurd theaters. Others will demonize – literally – the opposition. You can almost forgive loons for being loons, and haters for being haters. It’s in their nature.
Journalists, as Card points out, face a rather higher standard.
“Change” for change’s sake assumes that all change is for the better. But history teaches us that “hope” is not a stategy.
Speaking of journalists, have you seen this unbelievable story?
The Bill of Rights guaranteed that the Press was to have their say, to be the “Check” in the “Checks and Balances”. Instead, they’ve become the lampooners of the Republic, decrying any and all who would dare to oppose the Annoited One, and spuriously feigning impartiality in their coverage of McCain. They only have fooled those that look back at them when they shave in the morning (and by the looks of some of their fairer sex, they ALL need a shave each day).
Free Press indeed.
They’ll pin this on W yet…
There is no way the socialist members of Congress who were responsible for the genesis of the Housing Bubble, which in turn has caused the economic meltdown this past year, are going to accept responsibility for the damage they have caused to economies around the world. No doubt that there is plenty of blame to spread around concerning the credit crisis, with Wall Street firms who took advantage, but Mr Card is absolutely correct that the “Main Stream Media” have completely abandoned and corrupted the principles of their profession. There is NO WAY that the past month of this election would have occurred as it did, if the truth of this economic mess were reported accurately.
David: the story you linked to is proof of what I just stated. I will not believe what the MSM reports ever again, without first attempting to fact-check them.
[Yeah, I can already hear the groans. But I can't keep quiet. Just consider this a small balancing-act attempt from a 'peckerwood crumudgeon'.... and then I will go away for awhile.]
When looking for causes for our current economic crises, one would do much better in reading the established financial press – conservative and liberal, foreign and domestic. Indeed, the conservative and foreign Economist has done as good a job as any in reporting the major causes and status of our current financial, credit, and economic woes. Check them out.
Reading an article posted in the Rhinoceros Times of Greensboro (of all places) by an ersatz Democrat science fiction author, Orsen Card, who uses Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae to grind his obvious axe against the MSM may be a fun read for many here… but it sheds no light on our current crises.
While hardly definitive, it’s better to read Pat Buchanan’s (with whom I almost never agree) comments here.
BT
As far as the notion of peoples’ lives having been improved “everywhere a free market has been allowed to flourish,” I disagree.
So too would the early 20th century child laborers; the sewing sweat-shop women; the dying, young black-lung coal mine worker who is forever in debt to the “company store;” Sinclair Lewis’s exploited meatpackers, and the ‘formerly’ wealthy investors who lost all in railroad-stock insider trading scams that flourished in our free market.
Thankfully, we long ago backed off from Laissez-faire free markets that had created the robber barons on the backs of labor, to a far more successful “mixed economy” now that is ever more productive and regulated. Our more regulated, level playing field markets, and the rise of unions created a middle class that has been a major engine for decades of incredible economic growth, that most all of us have shared and enjoy.
Today, isn’t it extraordinarily ironic that the greatest nationalization of our financial institutions occurring now (socialism) is under a supposed conservative, Republican administration? But it is of necessity. It also shows that the extremes of Laissez-faire, unregulated free markets don’t work. Now with globalization, the effects of an excessive and unregulated free market not only put people out of jobs here and ruin family’s retirement funds, but it affects the people of the whole world – their economies and lifestyles.
It shows the fact that pure free markets include the seeds of their own destruction, just as has happened with communism.
There is a strategic lesson here. And it’s hardly about the MSM, or Feddie Mac.
It’s kind of interesting to note that the current economic crisis was part of an effort by Congress to make housing more affordable.
Wonder just what will happen when they make my health care more affordable too?
Because as everybody knows when we wish to make something more affordable, lower cost, higher quality, the first thing to do is put a bunch of Harvard lawyers in charge of it.
Thankfully, with a Free Press I won’t have to worry my pretty little head over it, since I’ll never know…
– Max
Let us not forget the notable lawsuit against Citibank back in the mid-90’s regarding the business decision NOT to lend to people who could not afford to pay them back. Their “crime” was to simply redline out geographical areas known to them to have too many people of low income thus the conclusion that these folks would not have the means to pay back any loan. Seems like a smart plan to me, albeit a tad too formal for my tastes but then, I don’t have millions to loan out. I might have done the same thing given the same circumstances.
One guess who the principle lawyer was on that case – none other than the anointed ‘One’. Settled out of court you know, like all self respecting court cases are settled.
The real Change on the way will be to use the press to stifle the dissenting opinion out there by the adoption of the Fairness Doctrine once again. What little voice there is will be driven completely underground. Then we can all Hope they don’t go after internet ‘chatter’ and rein in what little voice there is, completing the bloodless coop here in the U.S. of A.
Time to buy more guns and ammo!!!
BT: Jimmy T sends.
Card’s analysis is pretty simplistic. Yes, Fannie and Freddie were loosened in the 1990’s under the Clinton Administration, true enough. Had that been the end of the story, we would be facing a mild housing decline or as some people would say “market adjustment.”
But that is not the end of the story… In 2000 Congress passed the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000 which basically unregulated the credit default swaps (which is a fancy name for insurance on risky contrived instruments) and also took the regulatory umph out of the electronic energy trading market (oil hedge funds et.al.). Also signed by Pres. Clinton.
The 103rd congress, Democrat, was responsible for the first part, the 106th congress, Republican, was responsible for the second part. The 107-110th congress turned a blind eye and here we are, with more than enough blame to go around, if one were concentrating on fixing blame vs. fixing the problem.
Regarding free markets… Markets in this country and the rest of the world are anything but free. In order to have a true capitalist economy, all subsides and corporate tax breaks, grants and other give aways would need to be removed. That would be a great way to lower taxes. Of course, that would mean much higher food prices, energy prices, interest rates, etc. What we have now is sort of like corporate socialism or socialism for the rich.
Speaker for the Dead Party?
Fliterman’s Game?
“always remember, the enemies polls are DOWN.”
(with copious apologies to Orson Scott Card)
It must have been close to a month ago that I asked a question that I never saw answered. But then again, I have the sense that occasionally my *legit* questions are seen as sacastic comments and ignored.
So, let’s try again … the general *party* (using the term loosely) line being that regulation is bad and the freer the markets, the better … wouldn’t you say at least part of this “crisis” was caused by degregulation? Okay, I get that some of it involved legislative moves to open credit to people of lower income who might not otherwise have qualified under legitimate income guidelines. But part of this was caused by too much deregulation, right? Hence, my previous comment/question about my banker telling me that the industry is more regulated in Canada and thus, although some of the same thing happened, it wasn’t as bad here. Agree/disagree/comment?
** Just as a side note, none that that really matters now, given that we will take the hit from what happened in the US anyway.
RetRsvMike, also don’t forget;
Obamacide.
Children who don’t Mind.
and my favorite;
Shadow of the Chicagomon.
And, if you’ve never read Orson Scott Card’s fiction you’re definitely scratching your head right now.
Fliterman, it may be easy for you to dismiss Card (and misspell his name) since he “only” writes science fiction, but he has been a social and political commentator for many years. He is also published many other places than his hometown newspaper, he just gives them the first shot.
I don’t always agree with Card, but I’ve been reading him for years and he always has a well thought out defense for each and every point he makes. But then, you wouldn’t notice that, because he doesn’t agree with you.
Card hit the bullseye!
AMEN, AMEN, AMEN!
When I was younger than you folks, and just married, Jacques Maritain came to talk one evening at Princeton, where my husband and I lived. He made one comment which stuck in my mind all these years. “Democracy” he said, “is the free operation of pressure groups.” Sounds a bit simplistic, but there’s a lot there. When the g’ddam government starts to micromanage the free market, the trouble starts. If you apply regulations to one portion of the market, it unbalances the thing and you have to apply countervailing regulations in the other parts, and pretty soon you’ve gone too far with a tottering pile of rules and regs and we get a mess like we have at present.
How we’re going to clean up the mess I have no idea. But I do think we’re going to have to try, and we’re going to have to err in the direction of too little regulation rather than too much.
Marianne — who hates the cruel things that happen in free markets, but fears the “socialized society” a lot more.
#9 Michelle – OK. I’ll try to answer. And you are correct.
While there were many factors that combined to produce our current crises, deregulating, or loosening the former regulations on financial institutions and transactions are at the center of this meltdown. Paul in #7 above gives a nice summary of this, and correctly notes that both Democratic and Republican administrations foolishly loosened the financial regulations.
Then there were the exotic and new financial derivatives and insurance vehicles. These were so new, complex and high risk that they outpaced the the existing regulations that remained. And worse, no new regulations were put in their place. So the markets became an unregulated wild, wild west of extraordinary risks and unmitigated greed.
And yes, Canadian banks and financial institutions are more regulated, and thus have not suffered like the US’s. But our current crisis is so great, it affects and will affect most all-major world economies for quite some time.
What you were told about regulation was correct. And nothing underscores that more than today’s amazing testimony of former Federal Reserve Chairman, Alan Greenspan. A long-time outspoken proponent of free markets, and one to rarely ever concede a mistake, today he finally admits he was “partially” wrong. Now, the anti-regulation, ‘free-market man’ himself calls for tighter regulation of the financial markets.
In his irrational exuberance for free markets, Greenspan somehow forgot that Greed needs to be regulated. Fortunately, he understands and admits it now. But it is a little late for the mess he made.
Regulations or other legal mechanisms by themselves are meaningless if they are not enforced. How many of the folks that caused the S&L debacle went to jail? Probably about the same percentage that will be true of those who caused the mortgate/credit crisis.
Our border/illegal immigration mess is a case in point (or is it a point in case? -can never remember).
Half of our esteemed Members of Congress are lawyers -not good for the Republic.
Members of Congress are reelected at a rate somewhere North of 90% -not good for the Republic.
Justice, equity, accountability; these core aspects of a healthy society have been increasingly MIA.
Oh thats right, let us just make some more laws.