Bush's hand in the subprime crisis spotlighted

[democraticinsurgent]

"Day to Day" carried a story today about Elliot Spitzer accusing the Bush administration of aiding and abetting the subprime crisis. Seems that a few years back Bush used a legal mechanism which allows federal regulation to trump state regulation, with the specific purpose to push liberalization of mortgage regulation to its max. This kept state Attorneys General to keep from tightening regulations.

And now we know the rest of the story...

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=18991472

[Gman]

1. Bush's legacy on this, as Spitzer wrote in his WaPo oped, will be

"The tale is still unfolding, but when the dust settles, it will be judged as a willing accomplice to the lenders who went to any lengths in their quest for profits. So willing, in fact, that it used the power of the federal government in an unprecedented assault on state legislatures, as well as on state attorneys general and anyone else on the side of consumers."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/13/AR2008021302783.html

[LSparkle]

2. Home ownership was a MAJOR component of his "ownership society"

He wanted more people locked into mortgages -- even ones they couldn't pay.

[Fovea]

3. Crushing the soverignity of the States

Like California's Automotive Standards, like California's compassionate use.

Will someone please look up the meaning of tyrannical?

[Rosemary2205]

4. The Bush's are eyeball deep in the lending business.

They created the S&L crisis, you can bet your ass they are heavily handed in this mess too.

[Kingofalldems]

5. Kick this one

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

6. Didn't ChimpCo refuse to regulate the hedge fund industry?

I recall seeing an article in the New York Times about it and the Bush Administration's failure in this regard. The hedge fund industry receives no oversight from the SEC. The Bush Admnistration's official position was that the hedge fund industry can regulate itself and does not warrant any kind of government regulation or oversight. And weren't a lot of home mortgages packaged and backed up by hedge funds, which turned out to be worthless, with lending institutions taking a real hit?