Is Alan Greenspan to blame?

re: Is Alan Greenspan to blame?

Female Techie — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 16:15:51 GMT

Hey, let’s get back down to earth and take a reality check here. The basis of the problem I think is the fact that Americans are greedy and feel entitled. Think how many people purchased things they couldn’t afford and couldn’t pay for, and I’m not just talking about houses. Although houses play a big part, I’m also talking about all the other debt Americans have racked up that they cannot pay, Corporations included. I saw a story on a news magazine about a woman who purchased a home with a monthly payment that was more than her monthly income. I realize that the lender probably played a part in convincing her to do that, but anybody who can’t manage money better than that needs a caretaker. My daughter and son-in-law went to apply for a mortgage to purchase there new home, and the lender told them they could afford a home that was three times the price of the one they were planning to buy. He encouraged them to purchase a bigger home and get a larger mortgage, but they refused. What I’m saying is that nobody made all these people go into debt; they just wanted more than they could afford and it was easy. They behaved like children without parents to set limits. We really don’t want Government to set our limits DO WE? Why can’t we learn to set our own limits, and not expect Government to TAKE CARE OF US? After all, AREN’T WE GROWN UPS?

re: Is Alan Greenspan to blame?

Brian Johnson — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 02:01:48 GMT

Greenspan did a great job as Fed Chair. The blame belongs with greed, deregulation, repeal of usury laws and predatory practices. The predatory behavior of credit card companies (banks) contributed significantly to unsecured credit defaults--with penalties along with layoffs leading to secured credit defaults and foreclosures---thus leading to falling property values--thus leading to bad mortgages in the eyes of Wall Street--thus leading to bank failures. The house of cards goes on and on. Congress (Dems included) dropped the ball during the Bush years by enabling with language attached to the bankruptcy legislation. Consumer protection has practically disappeared with exisiting laws not being enforced. The SEC was warned about Madoff and did nothing. ENRON ruined people's lives before they were stopped. How many others are getting away with stuff?

re: Is Alan Greenspan to blame?

Skeptical Sam — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 00:49:58 GMT

The summary story has it exactly right: "Derivatives" is a loosey-goosey concept that allowed so-called "financial engineers" on Wall Street (and in London) to take a time-honored and time-tested concept (commodity futures in real commodities) and turn it into shams to end-run honest financial accounting and reporting and financial convenants in loan agreements and corporate documents (not to mention tax shenigans). That's one of the things that happenen in Enron (huge off-balance sheet loans to Enron by a bunch of banks disguised as a pair of sham natural gas forward contracts). And, of course, so-called "credit derivatives" (really, just guarantees designed to end-run financial and insurance regulation) were one of the main contributors to the recent housing bubble via the MBS/CDO market. In the name of free market "innovation", Greenspan and the free-market crowd including such eminent Republicans as Phil Gramm (and his wife/sidekick Wendy Gramm, who was Chairwoman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission) promoted lack of regulation of derivatives (although, of course, Bill Clinton and his Wall Street/Citicorp pal Bob Rubin went along with it).

re: Is Alan Greenspan to blame?

Mr. Positive — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 00:22:41 GMT

Greenspan was asleep at the wheel. He's one of the main reasons we're in this position. Long term cheap money, lack of lending oversite "Barny Frank - Maxine Waters" a recipe for disaster. Greenspan needed to get out and talk to those actually doing the lending. Commercial real estate is next, notice all the "for lease signs". Watch for a declining dollar and hyper-inflation.

Lets stay positive!!!!

re: Is Alan Greenspan to blame?

haf canadian — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 22:13:33 GMT

Galliano-

Clinton wasn't perfect, but the Democrats weren't in control of Congress in 2001-2004. Bush had 8 years and a Republican legislature to fix whatever he thought was wrong. It'll take longer than that to undo his and Chaney's fiasco.

re: Is Alan Greenspan to blame?

Leyton — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 21:54:51 GMT

I do not think we should try to control the economy by lowering or raising interest rates. The result of that is boom and bust periods. What we need to control is greed. How can we do it? By having a tax system based on profit margin. Not just profit. The higher the profit margin of company, the higher its tax rate should be. In this way, companies that take jobs overseas in order to make higher profits, would not get to benefit over another company that keeps the jobs in America. The greedy companies that want to raise the prices just because they can, would not have the incentive to do so since the tax rate they will pay is going to be higher than that of the companies that do not raise their prices and whose profit margins are smaller.

re: Is Alan Greenspan to blame?

lizzy — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 21:41:26 GMT

Greenspan, maybe just a mite....Banks made it too easy to borrow.

Mostly its the consumers themselves...overspending their budget..

SUV's, eating out, not saving a cent for tomorrow...and wanting someone

else to blame.

re: Is Alan Greenspan to blame?

sicotanman — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 21:39:40 GMT

Truth of the matter is that the market would have had many small corrections over the last 18 years if Greenspan did not try to manipulate the market by controlling the FED interest rates !

Let the markets correct themselves and we will avoid the big one!

re: Is Alan Greenspan to blame?

Hughes1 — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 21:14:00 GMT

He should be in jail like the rest of the greedy republicans.

re: Is Alan Greenspan to blame?

steveo49 — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 18:58:27 GMT

Galliano says it was Clinton who started this mess. WRONG!!!! It was Carter 1977. Clinton just did a new and "improved" version of what CARTER started. Wat asssssses excuse me , What Dems.